Royals Report: KC Rallies From 4-0 Deficit But Fails In 10th

The Royals lost to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night despite rallying from a 4-0 deficit in the third inning. New York scored in the top of the 10th an a ball that ricocheted off Joakim Soria‘s foot for the win.

The Kansas City Royals fell to 69-63 by losing 5-4 on Tuesday night. They fall to 6.5 games behind AL Central leading Cleveland. Kansas City also lost ground to the Orioles for the second AL wild card dropping to 3.0 games back. The New York Yankees improved to 68-63 and pulled to 6.5 games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East.

The teams endured a nearly one hour rain delay and played past mid-night into extra innings. The KC Royals forced the Yankees into bonus frames despite getting outhit 14 to 7.

Edinson Volquez wobbled through 3.1 innings, allowing 9 hits, 2 walks, and 4 earned runs with 5 strikeouts. However, Volquez actually had a lot to do with Kansas City taking this game into extras.

Steady Eddie escaped jam after jam by getting strikeouts in key situations. Though he gave up four runs, it could have been a lot worse. Volquez escaped runners on first and third with no outs in the first. After giving up three runs in the second, he stranded Jacoby Ellsbury at second. In the third, Volquez held New York scoreless after they opened the frame with runners on second and third and no outs.

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The Royals chipped away by scoring single runs in the third, fourth, sixth and eight innings. In the fourth, Kendrys Morales slammed his 21st home run of the season. In the sixth, Jarrod Dyson scored from first on Lorenzo Cain‘s double. With one out, the Yankees pulled an escape act of their own when Chase Headley turned Salvador Perez‘s smash down the third base line into an inning-ending double play.

In the eighth, Lorenzo Cain led off with a single, then stole second base off Yankees closer Dellin Betances who entered the game after Cain reached. Rookie catcher Gary Sanchez‘s throw dribbled past second baseman Starlin Castro into centerfield. Lorenzo Cain to take took third base on the error, beating out a close play at the hot corner.

Cain’s gamble paid off when Kendrys Morales plated him with a sacrifice fly to deep center.

All of it would have gone for naught had Chien-Ming Wang not escaped a bases-loaded with no outs situation in the sixth after taking over from Brian Flynn following an hour rain delay.

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Unfortunately, the Yankees pulled out the win in the top of the 10th inning when Jacoby Ellsbury grounded a ball that bounced off Joakim Soria‘s foot to put them ahead 5-4.

The Royals blew a runners on second and third with no outs set-up in the bottom of the tenth without scoring a run.