KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Every move Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch made seemed to work in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. Every move he tried in Game 2 seemed to go awry. ADVERTISING KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Every
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Every move Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch made seemed to work in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. Every move he tried in Game 2 seemed to go awry.
The Kansas City Royals took advantage, rallying from a three-run hole for a 5-4 victory Friday that evened their series at a game apiece as it shifts to Houston.
“We didn’t execute,” Hinch said. “That’s baseball.”
It didn’t work when Hinch pulled starter Scott Kazmir in the sixth inning, as Oliver Perez and the rest of the Astros bullpen melted down, allowing Kansas City to score twice and knot the game 4-all.
Nor when Hinch pulled his outfielders in to start the seventh, and Alcides Escobar lofted a triple off Will Harris (0-1) over their heads. Ben Zobrist followed with a go-ahead single.
And certainly not when Hinch pinch ran with Carlos Gomez in the ninth, and the speedster wandered too far off first base. Royals closer Wade Davis snapped a throw to Eric Hosmer, and he neatly snagged it on one hop as Gomez dived back to the bag. Gomez was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned upon review for the second out of the inning.
Jose Altuve then grounded out to end it, giving Davis the save.
It was a crucial victory considering what awaits Kansas City in Game 3 on Sunday: Astros ace Dallas Keuchel, who was 15-0 at home this season. Edinson Volquez will start for the Royals.
“We needed the win. We didn’t want to go on the road down 2-0,” said Lorenzo Cain, who doubled during the Royals’ sixth-inning rally. “We’ve been playing good ball all year. We had to come in and focus on these guys. They have a really good pitching staff.”
Two starters acquired with October in mind, Scott Kazmir and Royals counterpart Johnny Cueto, pitched mostly to a stalemate. That meant the outcome hinged on the bullpens, and Kelvin Herrera (1-0) and Ryan Madson each tossed a scoreless inning for Kansas City.
When Davis finished it up, the home team had won for the first time this postseason.
“They compete,” said catcher Salvador Perez, who homered for the Royals. “Pretty good stuff.”
Colby Rasmus homered, doubled and drove in two runs for Houston, becoming the first player in major league history with an extra-base hit in his first six postseason games. George Springer had a pair of RBIs after hitting a solo shot in the series opener.
“It’s a tough loss, but they’re a good team. You’ve got to give them credit,” Rasmus said. “The fans got behind them pretty good, and they pushed it through.”
The Astros jumped on Cueto right from the start, just as they did Yordano Ventura in Game 1 on Thursday night. Rasmus doubled in a run in the first, and Springer added a two-run knock in the second as restless Royals fans began to shower their ace with boos.
Perez got one back for Kansas City with his homer to left in the bottom half, but Rasmus matched him with his third home run in three games this postseason.
Cueto finally settled in, but it looked as if it would be too late. Kazmir allowed a run in the third, but otherwise had Kansas City off balance until the sixth inning.
Still trailing 4-2, Cain got the Royals’ tying rally started with a double, and Hinch called for Perez. He allowed back-to-back singles and a walk to leave the bases loaded for Josh Fields, who walked Salvador Perez on four pitches to tie the game.
When the Royals took the lead the following inning, their shutdown bullpen made it stick.
“I’m happy we’re going home,” Hinch said. “We’ve got home-field advantage for the rest of this series. We have to take care of business in our own yard.”
