KANSAS CITY — The Royals’ velocity has formally put the league on discover.
After taking two of three from the Dodgers in July with sensible baserunning and small ball, Kansas City has established an identification that groups have bother containing, particularly when that features slowing down Dairon Blanco.
The speedy outfielder, who bunted in two runs throughout the Phillies’ sequence on Kansas City’s newest highway journey, prompted havoc once more within the Royals’ 7-6 victory over the Mariners on Monday night time at Kauffman Stadium.
With the game-winning run on third and one out, Blanco laid down a textbook bunt up the first-base line. Pinch-runner Samad Taylor bought an awesome break and sprinted dwelling, gliding over the plate with out a throw to safe the walk-off win.
“Just how [Blanco] drew it up,” Royals supervisor Matt Quatraro stated. “[Mariners reliever Matt Brash] is throwing 100 miles per hour. It’s not easy to [bunt].”
Blanco had deliberate to bunt if he got here to the plate with fewer than two outs, and after Salvador Perez’s sac fly tied the sport and superior Taylor to 3rd, the chance arose.
“The scenario got here up, and I bought it achieved, and we received the ballgame,” Blanco stated.
Kansas City’s velocity was no secret to the Mariners. Before the sport, Mariners supervisor Scott Servais acknowledged that the Royals’ velocity and speak to led Kansas City to a 10-6 document in its previous 16 video games. The Royals have the second-most stolen bases (116) within the American League behind Tampa Bay (130) after including one other on Monday.
“Kansas City has been playing much better of late. … They’re able to put a lot of pressure on you,” Servais stated. “They’re very young and athletic. They bunt, they put the ball in play and are super aggressive on the bases, super aggressive in the batter’s box.”
The Royals nearly did not want Blanco’s at-bat because of Brady Singer’s stellar outing. The 27-year-old took a no-hitter into the seventh earlier than Dominic Canzone ended the no-hit bid with a single to proper on a slider low and contained in the zone.
Singer is not any stranger to flirting with historical past. In simply his eighth large league begin in opposition to Cleveland on Sept. 10, 2020, he was 4 outs from Kansas City’s first no-hitter since 1991. On Monday in opposition to the red-hot Mariners, Singer grew to become the primary Royal starter to take a no-no a minimum of 7 2/3 innings since that outing in opposition to Cleveland.
“You think I’d have learned something [from the first time], trying to get it done,” Singer joked. “But the pitches were just working. I was able to throw them where I wanted to, and everything had the right movement to it.”
Singer drew 5 whiffs on 12 swings on his slider and struck out eight or extra batters for the fourth time this 12 months. It was the second time in his previous three outings that Singer went a minimum of seven innings and allowed three or fewer hits.
“Everything felt good,” Singer stated. “I was able to stay in the strike zone with my pitches. Sinker was good. I was able to keep it up in the zone, which has been working for me. Just staying on the attack.”
Despite permitting his first hit with two outs within the seventh, Singer closed the body after the subsequent batter. The righty sat down the primary 14 Mariners earlier than issuing a stroll to Cade Marlowe within the fifth to finish his excellent bid.
“I knew [about the no-hitter], but you never think it’s going to happen, so I was just trying to go out there and make pitches,” Singer stated. “Obviously, if it happened, it happened, but [I was] just trying to stay in the zone as much as I could and not worry about that. Just try and get quick outs.”
The Royals got here dangerously near shedding a sport that Singer left with a 5-0 lead after the bullpen allowed Seattle to take the lead within the ninth.
“Unbelievable. The whole team was fighting the whole time,” Singer stated. “It’s something we’ve done all year. It’s really good to see tonight, and that’s what we’ve been doing — fighting until the last out.”
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