Michael Wacha gave the Royals exactly the kind of start they’ve been leaning on all season, and Kansas City turned it into a dramatic finish Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Wacha worked six innings of one-run ball against the Giants, then watched the game slip away in the ninth before the Royals answered with a 4-3 walk-off win. Nick Loftin, in the game only after replacing Bobby Witt Jr. because of back tightness in the fifth inning, delivered the decisive moment with a safety squeeze that brought home Josh Rojas.
It was the latest example of Wacha doing what the Royals have come to expect from him. Just six days after throwing a scoreless inning for the American League in the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, he was back in his usual role and dealing again. On a sweltering night in the Midwest, he had to grind through a 24-pitch first inning that featured two walks, but he settled in from there and kept Kansas City in control.
The lone blemish came in the fourth, when Heliot Ramos got a hanging curveball and launched it for a home run.
Kansas City answered right away. Salvador Perez followed with a Statcast-projected 440-foot blast to center field, his 316th career homer and one shy of matching George Brett’s franchise record of 317.
That swing was part of a night where the Royals were trying to put together the kind of complete performance they’ve been chasing. They needed a quality start, and Wacha supplied one; it was just the 12th quality start in the last 46 games for Kansas City. The veteran right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.66 in his 20th start and still leads the American League with 125 1/3 innings.
For most of the night, the Royals looked on their way to a clean win. Then Alex Lange gave up a two-out, two-run homer to Willy Adames in the top of the ninth, and the Giants suddenly had life.
Kansas City didn’t stay down long. The Royals came right back in the bottom of the ninth and finished it off, picking up their second walk-off win in four games with the offense once again rescuing the bullpen.
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