On Friday, the Colorado Rockies had to wait until the eighth inning for a six-run outburst to beat the Kansas City Royals. Saturday was a different story.
The Rockies drove in five runs in the first and another in the sixth to defeat the Royals, 6-4, on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
Colorado had six different players record a hit, including red-hot third baseman Ryan McMahon, who went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Catcher Elias Diaz continued to build his All-Star resume, totaling two hits and a pair of RBIs while also picking off Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. on a throw to third base in the third inning.
“When you put the ball in play, a lot of good things can happen,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters.
All the work Colorado put into generating a sizable lead almost went away in the eighth. Reliever Brad Hand gave up an RBI single before being taken out with runners on the corners and two out. Right-hander Justin Lawrence entered the game to retire Michael Massey, who represented the game-tying run.
Lawrence returned to the mound in the ninth. He got two quick outs, but Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit a fly ball to center field, and second baseman Alan Trejo failed to make the game-ending catch as a runner came home to cut the deficit to two runs.
Lawrence was unfazed, getting Kansas City’s MJ Melendez to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
The Rockies were aggressive early. They had runners reach first and second after Witt fumbled a ground ball. McMahon made the shortstop pay for the error, driving home Charlie Blackmon on a single to take a 1-0 advantage.
The Rockies’ scoring spree continued. Randal Grichuk singled home a run before Elehuris Montero hit a three-run triple. Montero’s fly ball to right field soared over Melendez before landing near the wall to extend Colorado’s lead to 5-0.
“We got a couple of breaks,” Black said. “We just kept going and made contact.”
Kansas City responded in the bottom half of the first when left fielder Nick Pratto smashed a leadoff homer off starter Austin Gomber to cut the deficit to four. Pratto had an opportunity to trim the Rockies’ lead even more in the second. However, Gomber struck him out on a 3-2 knuckle curve, leaving two runners on base to get out of the jam.
Gomber’s afternoon, however, was cut short in the third. He gave up a leadoff single to Witt before walking two batters and throwing a wild pitch. When Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-2, manager Bud Black turned to right-handed reliever Matt Carasiti, who earned the win after allowing no runs on one hit in 2 1/3 innings. The victory was Carasiti’s first since August of 2016.
“When you go to the bullpen in the third inning, you need your relievers to step up,” Black said. “They all did a nice job.”
Gomber’s start ended in 2 2/3 innings after giving up six hits and three walks on 74 pitches.
“(The Royals) wore (Gomber) out in particular at bats,” Black said. “The inconsistency from pitch to pitch ended up getting Austin.”
While the Rockies had to use their bullpen early, Royals starter Daniel Lynch settled in after a rough first inning. Lynch threw four scoreless innings and struck out a combined four hitters in the third and the fourth.
Lynch pitched five innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits, a walk and seven strikeouts.
When Kansas City turned to reliever Josh Staumont in the sixth, Colorado took advantage. Staumont walked back-to-back hitters before Blackmon’s RBI single extended the lead to 6-2.
