The New York Yankees, despite blowing four late-game leads, scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning to beat the Kansas City Royals on Monday night by a score of 8-6.
Despite the loss, the Royals set a new MLB mark, becoming the first team since 1900 to erase a deficit in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th innings, according to STATS.
The biggest hit of the game, in the New York 11th, saw D.J. LeMahieu drive in the go-ahead run with an RBI double. Brett Gardner pushed the lead to 8-5 with a two-run single. The Yankees needed that advantage, as Edward Olivares cut the lead to 2 on an RBI single, but potential game-winning run Carlos Santana grounded out to end a game that lasted 4 hours and 52 minutes.
But the Royals, who tied the score in each of the previous four innings, refused to go down easily once again. They got a two-out RBI single from pinch-hitter Edward Olivares and brought the potential winning run to the plate before Carlos Santana grounded out to end a game that took 4 hours, 52 minutes.
Here is Royals manager Mike Matheny:
The game started with a pitchers duel between the Royals’ Carlos Hernandez and New York’s Jameson Taillon. Hernandez allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings, with Taillon giving up an unearned run in six-plus frames.
The late innings saw New York grab the lead in the top half of an inning, only to see the resilient Royals rally in the bottom half. Tying base hits from the Kansas City lineup came from Ryan O’Hearn (7th inning sacrifice fly), Andrew Benintendi (8th inning single), and Nicky Lopez (9th inning single). Both teams scored twice in the 10th inning, with the Royals locking the game at 5 with a sacrifice fly by Jarrod Dyson and an RBI single by Hanser Alberto.
Game 2 of the three-game series at Kauffman Stadium is slated for Tuesday night at 7:10, with pregame at 6:30 on KTTN AM 1600, and FM 98.3 and 92.3. New York will start lefty Nestor Cortes Jr. with the Royals offering rookie southpaw Daniel Lynch.
In Royals minor league news, the organization announced that hot-hitting prospect M.J. Melendez has been promoted from Class AA Northwest Arkansas to Class AAA Omaha. Melendez, the Royals second-round pick in the 2017 draft, is leading all of AA in homers (28), RBI’s (65), extra base hits (46) and total bases (187). His 28 home runs trail only the 29 of Miami Marlins prospect Griffin Conine for the lead in all of Minor League Baseball. In July, Melendez was the AA Central Player of the Month, hitting .333 (36-for-108) with 12 homers and 29 RBI’s.
Here is the MLB Scoreboard for Monday, August 9, 2021:
Cleveland 9, Cincinnati 3
Chicago (AL) 11, Minnesota 1
Milwaukee at Chicago (NL) – PP (Rain)
San Diego 8, Miami 3
