Kansas City 9, Tampa Bay 5
When: 2:10 PM ET, Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Temperature:
71°
Umpires:
Home -
Tim Welke, 1B -
Marcus Pattillo, 2B -
Todd Tichenor, 3B -
Chris Segal
Attendance:
22386
By The Sports Xchange
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rookie right fielder Paulo Orlando hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-5 on Tuesday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Orlando hit a 1-0 pitch off Brad Boxberger (4-5), who had 20 saves and was selected on Monday to the All-Star Game. Boxberger was brought in to start the ninth with the score tied at 5.
Left fielder Alex Gordon reached base in four plate appearances for the Royals. His fourth-inning homer tied the score at 4.
Kansas City had taken a 5-4 lead in the seventh when second baseman Omar Infante drove home designated hitter Kendrys Morales with a sharp single to center.
Royals reliever Greg Holland failed to protect a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, blowing his second save in 18 opportunities. Rays center fielder Kevin Kierkmaier led off the inning with a triple and scored on a Holland wild pitch.
But Holland (3-0) did pick up the victory after the Royals rallied on Orlando's grand slam in the bottom of the ninth.
The Royals opened the first inning with promise, but it reached an unpromising conclusion. Shortstop Alcides Escobar, Gordon and Morales led off with singles to load the bases with no one out. The inning ended with first baseman Eric Hosmer's broken bat soft liner to Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe and right fielder Alex Rios' groundout into an inning-ending double play.
The Royals loaded the bases with two outs in the second and came away with better results. Matt Moore hit Gordon with the bases loaded, scoring Orlando. Morales' two-out single scored catcher Drew Butera and Escobar.
The Rays used home runs by first baseman James Loney and designated hitter Grady Sizemore for their first three runs.
Loney homered on right-hander Chris Young's first pitch in the second.
Sizemore homered with left fielder Joey Butler aboard in a three-run fourth. Shortstop Jake Elmore's sacrifice fly scored Forsythe for the final run of the inning, providing the Rays with a short-lived 4-3 advantage.
Gordon tied it in the bottom of the fourth with his 11th home run on a full-count offering from Moore.
Moore, who was making his second start of the season after having Tommy John surgery on April 22, 2014, was removed after 85 pitches and 4 1/3 innings. He faced 24 batters and 13 reached base -- 11 hits, two walks and two hit batters. He has an 8.00 ERA in his two starts, both no-decisions.
Young last six innings plus one batter, giving up four runs and five hits -- two of them home runs.
Kelvin Herrera, who replaced Young, struck out Sizemore and Butler to end the seventh with runners on the corners.
NOTES: The Rays placed OF Steven Souza Jr. on the disabled list with a right finger laceration. OF-1B-DH John Jaso, who went on the disabled list after the first game with left wrist contusion, was reinstated. He singled as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. ... The Rays designated RHP Preston Guilmet for assignment. ... Royals 3B Cheslor Cuthbert singled in the third inning for his first major league hit in his debut. ... Rays RHP Chris Archer and Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie are the pitching probables Wednesday. ... Royals LHP Jason Vargas was scheduled to throw a 60-pitch simulated game Tuesday, but it was put off until Wednesday because of the day-night doubleheader.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
| Tampa Bay |
|
Kansas City |
|
Matt Moore
|
Player |
Chris Young
|
|
No Decision |
W/L |
No Decision |
|
4.1 |
IP |
6.0 |
|
1 |
Strikeouts |
5 |
|
9 |
Hits |
5 |
|
8.31 |
ERA |
6.00 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Tampa Bay
|
9 |
2 |
19 |
.250 |
16 |
10 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
| Kansas City
|
15 |
2 |
22 |
.405 |
22 |
1 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
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