Royals manufacture a win late against Orioles
The bunt turned out to be the most dangerous weapon in the arsenal of Royals hitters. They executed three in a row without making an out to set up the deciding runs in their victory on Saturday night.
Catcher Meibrys Viloria deftly placed a bunt for a base hit to start the eighth inning — his third bunt for a hit since being called up on July 16. He then advanced on back-to-back bunts by Brett Phillips and Nicky Lopez in which the defense miraculously failed to record an out.
That set the stage for Whit Merrifield’s sacrifice fly which scored Viloria to break a tie game and eventually lead to a 7-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles in front of an announced 18,385 at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday night.
The Royals (48-89) evened the series at one game apiece heading into Sunday’s rubber match.
“That’s that Kansas City Royal way,” said Phillips, who also made a spectacular diving catch in center field during the first inning. “Meibrys did a heck of a job with the bunt for a base hit with one strike. That was unbelievable. With lefty on lefty with me and Nicky Lopez, we’re going to try to move Meibrys over. Luckily, they made a couple errors for us. We were able to generate some runs.”
With Viloria on first, Orioles catcher Chance Sisco fielded Phillips’ bunt and threw to second in a failed attempt to get the lead runner. With runners on first and second and no outs, Lopez bunted and Sisco again fielded.
Sisco’s throw to third base was off the mark and again all runners were safe on the throwing error. The Royals loaded the bases on three consecutive bunts all fielded by the catcher.
Merrifield drove an 0-2 pitch deep to center field that allowed Viloria to score and Phillips and Lopez to advance a base.
“Momentum is a real thing,” Merrifield said. “Vilo’s bunt caught them off guard. Then Brett’s bunt, they tried to make a good play and couldn’t. Same thing with Nicky. Yeah, momentum is real.”
Hunter Dozier’s ground-out to first base scored Phillips with an insurance run, and Royals closer Ian Kennedy pitched a scoreless ninth and earned his 24th save of the season.
“I told (bench coach) Dale Sveum when the inning started if Viloria gets on, I’m bunting and taking two shots with Nicky and Whit trying to score that run,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I felt like if we could score that run and get Ian (Kennedy) in the game, we were going to be in good shape.
“Then when it was first and second, I’m bunting again. Lefty on lefty, trying to get to second and third. Now, I’ve got Whit and (Jorge) Soler on a fly ball to try get that fly ball that I needed.”
The game featured five home runs, including round-trippers by Royals outfielder Bubba Starling and Dozier. The Orioles (45-90) hit three homers in a losing effort.
Starling’s second-inning homer was the first of his career at Kauffman Stadium. A rookie as well as a Kansas native, Starling previously homered at Progressive Field in Cleveland and Boston’s Fenway Park.
Royals starting pitcher Jorge Lopez allowed four runs on four hits (two home runs) and two walks. He struck out six in 4 and 2/3 innings. He nearly got through five innings, but he gave up a two-out homer to Sisco in the fifth followed by back-to-back singles which put the tying run base.
Left-handed reliever Tim Hill took over and gave up a three-run homer to Anthony Santander, his second of the game, as the Orioles took a 5-4 lead.
The Orioles didn’t score the rest of the night. Hill was charged with one run in 1 and 2/3 innings, while right-handed reliever Scott Barlow pitched 1 and 2/3 scoreless.
Dozier’s seventh-inning homer to center field tied the score 5-5 and pushed his season total to 24 home runs. The score remained tied until the bunt barrage in the eighth.
The teams conclude their series on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Left-hander Danny Duffy (5-6, 4.93) will make his first start for the Royals since Aug. 3. Duffy has been on the injured list with a left hamstring strain since Aug. 6. The Orioles list right-hander Aaron Brooks (4-7, 5.79) as the scheduled starter.
This story was originally published August 31, 2019 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Royals manufacture a win late against Orioles."