Omar Infante Leads Royals to 7-4 Victory over Rockies

Omar Infante had been in a major slump lately, with only four hits in his last 37 at bats. Tonight, he broke out of that slump in a major way, belting three doubles as he helped lead the Royals to a 7-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Early on, the game appeared as though it would be the rare Coors Field pitching duel. The Rockies got a run in the first against James Shields when they benefited from a run scoring double play, but the Royals got that run back in the top of the fourth. Billy Butler walked, and scored on Lorenzo Cain‘s double to the wall in right center, just beating the throw home.

Shields and Colorado starter Tyler Matzek essentially matched one another pitch for pitch over the first five innings, as the game remained tied at 1-1. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Shields made a mistake that Nolan Arenado did not miss, belting a solo home run into the seats in left center to give the Rockies the lead.

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Matzek appeared to be en route to a relatively easy victory, as he set down the first two batters in the top of the seventh with ease. Then, the Royals offense came to life. Pinch hitter Josh Willingham singled and Nori Aoki drew a walk, bringing up the slumping Infante. This time, he came through, lining a double down the right field line to plate both runners, giving the Royals the lead. Salvador Perez followed with a double to deep center, plating Infante to give the Royals a 4-2 lead.

They extended the lead in the eighth with another two out rally. Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar singled, and Jarrod Dyson followed with a walk to load the bases. Pinch hitter Christian Colon drew a walk, forcing in a run. Omar Infante then followed with his second two run double in as many innings, giving the Royals a 7-2 lead.

The Rockies attempted to come back in the bottom of the ninth. After recording the first out, Francisley Bueno hit Charlie Blackmon with a pitch. Drew Stubbs followed with a home run to right, cutting th elead to 7-4. After Bueno gave up an infield single to Arenado with two out, Greg Holland entered the game and earned a one pitch save, preserving the 7-4 victory.

James Shields got the win, allowing two runs on nine hits and a walk, striking out six in his six innings of work. It may not have been Shields’ sharpest performance of the year, but given the launching pad that is Coors Field, he performed quite well.

Omar Infante was 4-5 with three doubles, four RBIs and a run scored. Moustakas was 2-4 in the victory.