Walk-off home run sinks Royals
The sound echoed through the night, only to be swallowed up by the roars of Wrigley Field, as Cubs outfielder Chris Denorfia’s game-winning home run disappeared into the bleachers in the 11th inning of a 1-0 Royals loss. Unwilling to use closer Wade Davis in a tied game on the road, manager Ned Yost subjected rookie Miguel Almonte to an outcome that felt cruel.
Denorfia detonated the first pitch he saw. He rounded the bases as the Royals, 90-66, trudged off the field, effectively two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the race for home-field advantage in the American League.
Toronto on Monday topped the Baltimore Orioles 4-3, which gave them 91 victories on the season. Because the Blue Jays own a tiebreaker over Kansas City, the Royals must finish one game better to claim the advantage. At this point, the task looks tall.
Almonte wore the loss, but his teammates offered little resistance to Cubs pitchers. The Royals struck out 14 times and managed only four hits. The group wasted one of the best outings of the season from Yordano Ventura.
Ventura dazzled for seven scoreless innings. He opened with five perfect frames. He exited with two hits allowed and five strikeouts. He authored a compelling argument to headline this team’s rotation next week. The argument may already be settled.
Game one of the American League Division Series falls on Oct. 8, which is Ventura’s turn in the rotation. If Kansas City does not alter its alignment, Ventura would be set up to start that night at Kauffman Stadium, with high-profile, midseason acquisition Johnny Cueto ticketed for game two.
The game Monday made up for a postponed one from late May. The Royals start a three-game series with the White Sox on the South Side on Tuesday.
On Monday morning, Yost spotted droves of Royals fans flooding the streets of Chicago. A similar blue-clad horde filled the seats at Wrigley in the evening. A “let’s go Royals” chant followed the completion of the national anthem.
The ballpark appeared split. When Cubs rookie Kris Bryant boomed a drive in the bottom of the first, the Cubs partisans screamed. A louder cheer erupted when Lorenzo Cain secured the baseball on the warning track, with his back shrouded in the stadium’s fabled ivy.
That was the last out of the first inning. Ventura would not allow much hard contact for a lengthy stretch.
His counterpart on the mound was Kyle Hendricks, a lanky, 25-year-old right-hander. In his last outing, facing the lowly Brewers, Hendricks struck out eight in six innings. On Monday, he fanned nine Royals across six innings. He gave up only two hits, flummoxing the Royals with his upper-80s fastball and his changeup.
Kansas City experienced some relief in the bottom of the sixth, when Cubs manager Joe Maddon pulled Hendricks for a pinch-hitter. There was a runner at first for the first time all evening for Chicago. Outfielder Jorge Soler had spoiled Ventura’s bid for a perfect game with a leadoff single.
Now Hendricks shook hands in the dugout and rookie Kyle Schwarber, one of several young players aiding Chicago’s impending playoff berth, came to hit for him. Pitching coach Dave Eiland jogged to the dugout to confer with Ventura.
Soon after, Schwarber flied out to left. Ventura iced outfielder Dexter Fowler for the third strike and the third out of the frame. An inning later, after a leadoff walk and an infield single, Ventura induced a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of infielder Tommy La Stella. When infielder Starlin Castro swung over a vicious curveball, Ventura had completed his seventh inning of work.
This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Walk-off home run sinks Royals."