In a thrilling 10th-inning showdown, Josh Walker secured the victory for the Kansas City Royals as they rallied past the New York Mets 7-6 on Tuesday night, marking their season-best fourth consecutive win.
The Mets, fresh off a surprising deadline selloff that included trading star pitcher Justin Verlander and two other players, took a 6-4 lead in the top of the 10th inning thanks to a two-run homer by rookie Francisco Álvarez. However, the Royals fought back, with Bobby Witt Jr. hitting an RBI double and MJ Melendez delivering a clutch run-scoring single off Brooks Raley (0-2) to level the score.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro praised his team’s performance in the decisive inning, saying, “The whole last inning, really good at-bats. Bobby, MJ, and then taking walks. Raley’s tough. We’ve seen a lot of him, and he can really get you to expand the zone. Our guys didn’t do that.”
Melendez added, “Bobby getting us started right there is huge. Getting that tying run on second base takes a lot of pressure off the guys to come. We had some really good at-bats and some walks after that.”
A two-out throwing error by rookie third baseman Brett Baty allowed Melendez to score, tying the game. Then, with the bases loaded, Walker balked, resulting in the winning run for Kansas City (33-75) in their sixth walk-off victory of the season.
Walker, who was recalled from the minors earlier that day, explained the balk, stating, “I didn’t have a PitchCom in my ear. Álvy didn’t have communication. Basically, I was trying to relay that to him. When I went to step off, my foot was kind of in the footprint of where guys had been throwing, and my knee buckled a little bit before I stepped off.”
The Royals showcased their baserunning prowess, stealing three bases in the seventh inning to take a 3-1 lead. Samad Taylor, who stole two bases and scored twice, commented on the team’s aggressive baserunning strategy, saying, “We’ve got dudes on the whole team that can move the game on the basepaths. Any way we can do something on the basepaths, it’s a plus. This game tonight came down to baserunning and doing the right things on the basepaths.”
Carlos Hernández (1-6) earned the win, pitching one inning in relief.
For the Mets, Pete Alonso delivered his 31st homer and added an RBI single during a three-run eighth inning that briefly gave them a 4-3 lead.
Following a series of recent trades, the Mets called up Walker, RHP John Curtiss, OF Rafael Ortega, and C Michael Pérez from Triple-A Syracuse. On the other hand, the Royals activated 1B Matt Beaty from the seven-day injured list and recalled LHP Angel Zerpa and RHPs Jackson Kowar and James McArthur from Triple-A Omaha.
Up next, Mets rookie RHP Kodai Senga (7-5, 3.17 ERA) will face Royals RHP Alec Marsh (0-5, 7.04) in Wednesday night’s game.
Donovan Solano’s tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh inning propelled the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Pablo Lopez pitched six effective innings to secure the victory for the Twins, snapping their five-game losing streak.
After being swept in a three-game series by the Kansas City Royals and losing the last two games to the Seattle Mariners, the Twins held a two-game lead in the division over Cleveland, which was no-hit in Houston on Tuesday.
Tyler O’Neill homered for St. Louis, who has struggled with four losses in their last five games and eight defeats in the past 11.
The Cardinals’ loss came just hours after they traded right-hander Jack Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for prospects César Prieto, Drew Rom, and Zack Showalter. Flaherty, who had a 7-6 record and a 4.43 ERA for the Cardinals this year, was part of the trade as St. Louis finds themselves mired in last place in the NL Central. The Cardinals also recently dealt left-hander Jordan Montgomery to Texas on Sunday.
Solano, pinch-hitting for Joey Gallo, delivered the game-winning hit on the first pitch from Miles Mikolas, scoring Jorge Polanco and Matt Wallner. Polanco led off the seventh inning with a hit, and Wallner followed with a ground-rule double.
Lopez (6-6) put up an impressive performance, allowing only one run on four hits over six innings and striking out five batters. He retired the first seven hitters he faced and set down eight straight batters from the third to fifth innings.
The Twins’ manager, Rocco Baldelli, expressed satisfaction with his current roster, stating, “We have a great group. We went out there and played a good ball game. Our guys didn’t relent, they kept on it and did some good work.”
Mikolas (6-7) pitched seven innings for the Cardinals, giving up three runs on six hits. He was ejected in his previous start against the Chicago Cubs due to an incident where he hit Ian Happ with a pitch after Happ caught catcher Willson Contreras with a swing that knocked Contreras out of the game. Mikolas received a five-game suspension for the incident but has appealed the decision.
Relievers Emilio Pagan, Griffin Jax, and Jhoan Duran combined to secure the victory for the Twins, with Duran earning his 18th save in 22 chances.
St. Louis, having traded away two starting pitchers recently, is now focused on survival mode. Mikolas stated, “The strategy is to be super-optimistic.”
In a special moment, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, a St. Louis native, threw out the first pitch alongside his son, Deuce.
Trainer’s Room: Cardinals: INF Brendan Donovan is set to undergo season-ending surgery on Wednesday to address a flexor strain in his right arm. He is expected to recover fully and be ready for spring training next year.
Up Next: Minnesota’s RHP Joe Ryan (9-7, 4.06) will start the second game of the three-game series on Wednesday, facing the Cardinals for the first time in his career. St. Louis announced that RHP Dakota Hudson (1-0, 4.19) will make his second start of the season after the game.
Here is the MLB scoreboard for Tuesday, August 1, 2023:
Tampa Bay 5, NY Yankees 2
Philadelphia 3, Miami 1
Baltimore 13, Toronto 3
Milwaukee 6, Washington 4
Texas 2, Chicago White Sox 0
Chicago Cubs 20, Cincinnati 9
Houston 2, Cleveland 0
San Diego 8, Colorado 5
Boston 6, Seattle 4
San Francisco 4, Arizona 3
Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 1
Atlanta 5, LA Angels 1
LA Dodgers 7, Oakland 3
