KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Royals were one strike away Thursday from beating Seattle and taking three of four games in the series. It turned out they had to wait a bit longer than that, but it was worth it. Mike Moustakas led off the 13th inning with his first career walk-off home run and the Royals outlasted the Mariners 7-6 on Thursday afternoon.
The Royals trailed 5-0 after four innings. Things started turning around after they scored three runs in the fifth and then they scored three more in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead. Closer Greg Holland, who had converted 31 straight save opportunities, blew his first since May 6 when Raul Ibanez smoked a two-out, two-strike solo home run over the right field wall, tying the game at 6-6 and sending it to extra innings.
Moose led off the 13th frame with what he said is the first walk-off base hit of any kind, ever. The Royals pounded out 19 hits. Billy Butler was a perfect 5-5 at the plate. Alex Gordon hit a two-run home run. Emilio Bonifacio was 4-6 with two runs scored. Sal Perez was 3-3 before leaving the game in the fifth because of dizziness. He was shaken up after absorbing a foul ball off the facemask earlier in the game.
Louis Coleman, the Royals’ eighth pitcher, retired the only batter he faced in the 13th to get the win.
With the victory, the Royals improve to 73-67. They pull within five games of the second wildcard spot. They play their next 15 games against teams they are chasing in the standings… Detroit, Cleveland and Texas. The Tigers are in KC for a weekend series beginning Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
