KC Royals Game Recap: Bullpen, Home Runs, and Career First

MOOSE! Mike Moustakas blasted a game-winning home run to right center field in the top of the 12th inning to give the Royals their first lead of the night. The Rays took a 4-0 lead early, but the KC Royals never gave up and tied the game in the 8th inning thanks to Alex Gordon. The four run comeback was the biggest comeback this season for the Royals as they continued their success at the plate with seven runs. 

The KC Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays in 12 innings with a final score of 7-6. It improved the Royals record to 12-20 on the season.

The game wasn’t all positive though, especially at the beginning. Chris Young’s impromptu start for the KC Royals went just as expected; bad. The Rays used a two run homer in the first inning from Logan Morrison to get ahead early, and big. The Royals were not finished however, and rallied back in the final innings to overcome a four run hole.

The game looked lost at the beginning, during the fourth inning when the Royals trailed 4-1 and had two on and nobody out, they couldn’t capitalize. The KC Royals failed to score during one of the better rallies against Rays starter Matt Andriese and the momentum stayed with Tampa Bay. Alex Gordon, Whit Merrifield, and Brandon Moss all failed to get the ball in play during the inning which killed the early game rally. Seven strikeouts in the first five innings allowed the Royals to see little success before a questionable balk call allowed the Royals to score their first run.

KC Royals starter Chris Young only went three innings and let up four runs on seven hits, also walking four. Travis Wood relieved Young in the fourth and pitched three innings where he allowed two runs which raised his ERA to 11.91. This left the Royals down 5-1 entering the sixth inning, but that’s when things changed.

The game started to swing in the Royals direction in the sixth inning when Salvador Perez crushed a ball over the left field fence to cut the score to 5-3. This was Perez’s seventh homer of the year which tied Mike Moustakas’ record for the team lead.

Spoiler alert, Moose takes the team lead back in a little bit.

Even with Salvy’s homer, the Royals were not back in the game just yet. Brad Miller took Travis Wood deep in the sixth inning to extend the Rays lead over the Royals. The 6-3 lead regained the momentum for Tampa once again and the Royals were in desperate need of runs.

Not to make fans worry, the Royals responded in the seventh with two runs courtesy of a Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer that trimmed the lead down to one run. But the seventh inning rally came to an end when Hosmer was picked off of first base and the Royals were left once again just short of catching up with the Rays.

The game felt like a horrible battle of tug of war where the Royals would get so close to tying the game; just to fall short. With every loss before the trade deadline, it increases the Royals chances to sell their core players. So the Royals knew this game was crucial if they are going to stick around for the entire season.

So the Royals decided to turn on the jets. Alex Gordon drove in Salvador Perez in the 8th inning to finally tie the game and complete the comeback that had been going on all night. But the Royals were looking for more than to just tie the game. The Royals took it into extra’s and Jake Junis, in his first game since being called up from AAA, pitched a scoreless 11th to give the Royals a chance on offense to take the lead.

Mike Moustakas sent a baseball deep into the right-center seats in the 12th inning that gave the Royals their first lead of the ballgame. After trailing 4-0, and 5-1, it was the Royals biggest comeback of the season and their first back to back wins since April 15 and 16.

Kelvin Herrera came in to pitch the 12th and recorded his 5th save of the season. This win felt like a huge game for the team to regain their confidence and their bats. The Royals are finally clicking on offense and can win the series with just one win in the next two games.

If you are a Royals fan, you have to be ecstatic with this comeback. The Royals looked like the team of old and finally played to their potential. This series in Tampa has shown what the Royals can play like when they are hot, and it is good some good baseball. The past two games have been exciting, so don’t be surprised if a long winning streak is in their near future.