HOUSTON — After a disappointing night both at the plate and on the mound, the Kansas City Royals staged a furious comeback rally in the ninth that just fell short, as they dropped a 9-7 decision to the Houston Astros on Monday night at Minute Maid Park.
Down 9-2 in the ninth inning, a comeback scenario at first seemed laughable, but Kansas City unleashed a five-run rally that put themselves in a position to tie or take the lead.
After a plethora of RBI singles, the Royals miraculously found themselves down 9-7 with two outs and the bases loaded.
Replacing Astros closer Brett Myers, lefty reliever Xavier Cedeno (3.12 ERA) was brought in to face left-handed slugger Mike Moustakas. Moustakas fouled out to first to end the game.
The Royals’ ninth inning super rally caused Myers’ ERA to balloon from 1.99 to 3.86.
Royals left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez (1-3, 5.70 ERA) had a rough start, but bounced back to limit the damage. In 6 innings, he gave up three runs on six hits, fanning three and walking four.
Houston (28-39, 19-14 home) led 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, but extended their lead after roughing up Royals reliever Louis Coleman. Coleman (4.91 ERA) got rocked for a pair of home runs, giving up four runs on five hits. The Astros took a commanding 9-2 lead heading into ninth.
That’s when Kansas City (29-36, 18-16 away) decided it wasn’t going down without a fight. The Royals answered with a furious five-run rally in the top of the ninth, but couldn’t quite complete what would’ve been a miraculous come from behind victory.
The Royals try to even the series on Tuesday night, as they take on the Astros for game two at Minute Maid Park. RHP Luke Hochevar (3-7, 6.27 ERA) takes the bump against Astros LHP Wandy Rodriguez (6-4, 3.55 ERA).