Jeremy Guthrie Leads Royals Past Diamondabcks 6-2

A win tonight would put the Royals back into possession of the second Wild Card spot in the American League. Jeremy Guthrie made certain that the Royals would head back to Kansas City on a high note, as the Royals took a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arizona actually led early in the game. Ender Inciarte and Aaron Hill led off the bottom of the first with consecutive base hits, with Inciarte taking third on a fly out to deep center. A sacrifice fly gave the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead. The Royals came right back in the top of the second. Billy Butler continued swinging a hot bat, lacing a double to left. Alex Gordon followed with a two run home run on the very next pitch, a lined shot to right to give the Royals the lead.

Kansas City added to that lead in the top of the third. Nori Aoki and Omar Infante singled with one out, and after a double steal, Salvador Perez followed with a base hit to left, plating both runners to give Guthrie and the Royals a 4-1 lead.

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The Diamondbacks got a run back in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Mark Trumbo had an infield single, and moved to third on a base hit. Jake Lamb, making his major league debut, picked up his first base hit and RBI, dropping a single to left to cut the lead to 4-2.

That would be it for the Diamondbacks offense. Jeremy Guthrie proceeded to throttle Arizona’s hitters, getting into a groove and setting them down with ease. He set down the final 19 batters he faced, cruising through the Diamondbacks lineup.

Kansas City added a couple of insurance runs. Alcides Escobar had an RBI single in the fifth, and Aoki drove in a run with an infield single in the top of the ninth to give the Royals a 6-2 lead. That ninth inning was not without some consternation, at least with Guthrie on the basepaths. First, he was hit on an 0-2 pitch, then he had a truly awkward slide into third base, where he appeared fortunate to escape injury.

Yet, despite those misadventures, Jeremy Guthrie was brilliant upon the mound. He pitched his first complete game of the season, striking out Didi Gregorius to end the game in style. Overall, Guthrie allowed two runs on seven hits, striking out four without issuing a walk in the victory.

Mike Moustakas, Aoki and Escobar each had two hits in the victory.