Willy Adames gave the Giants exactly what they needed in the top of the ninth at Kauffman Stadium, then turned around and played a part in how it all fell apart.
San Francisco was one out from a loss Monday night when Jung Hoo Lee punched a two-out single into center field to keep the inning alive. Adames followed by driving a sinker from Alex Lange the other way and over the right-field wall, tying the game at 3-3 with his 18th homer of the season. It was his biggest swing of the year, especially considering he had entered the night with no homers and a .393 OPS in high-leverage situations.
But the momentum vanished almost immediately.
In the bottom of the ninth, with no outs and Josh Rojas on first, Tyler Tolbert dropped down a sacrifice bunt that rolled in front of home plate. Daniel Susac charged, made a sharp throw to second, and the ball beat Rojas to the bag.
Rojas never slid. The problem for the Giants was that Adames wasn’t covering second.
Rojas was ruled safe, Kansas City had the winning run in scoring position, and the Royals finished the job from there. Carter Jensen lifted a fly ball to center, moving Rojas to third with one out.
Then Nick Loftin bunted, Rojas came home, and the Royals walked off with a 4-3 win. Bryce Eldridge’s only chance was to try to flip the ball home with his glove, but he couldn’t handle it cleanly, and Rojas scored without a throw.
“A loss is going to be the same way regardless,” manager Tony Vitello told reporters in Kansas City. “It doesn’t feel good.
It doesn’t sound good. Changes things in a lot of different ways, so the way it goes down, especially with how many reps you get, can be a variety of ways.
No matter how it goes down, you don’t like it.”
The Giants had been held to one run before Adames’ blast, with Heliot Ramos accounting for the club’s only other scoring on his ninth home run of the season.
Trevor McDonald started for San Francisco but left after four innings and three runs allowed because of right elbow discomfort, according to Vitello. McDonald warmed up for the bottom of the fifth, then signaled to the dugout after finishing.
After a conversation with a trainer, he exited following 67 pitches. His next start is up in the air, he will undergo an MRI, and Tristan Beck will be with the team on Tuesday.
The bullpen did its part to keep the game within reach after McDonald left. JT Brubaker worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings, Dylan Smith stranded two inherited runners in the seventh, and Jason Foley got through the eighth without allowing a run.
Tyler Mahle (2-8, 5.31 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday night for the Giants against the Royals at 4:40 p.m. It will be his first outing of the second half, and with the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching, it could also be one of his final starts in a Giants uniform.
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