Paulo Orlando’s walk-off grand slam lifts Royals to 9-5 win over the Rays

A crowd of powder blue aligned along the dugout railing obscured the vision of Royals closer Greg Holland. He sat on the Kansas City bench minutes after blowing his second save opportunity of the season, wondering whether he would pitch in the next inning, waiting to learn whether extra innings would be necessary. He could not see Paulo Orlando at the plate, but he knew the bases were loaded, and he could hear the crack of the bat.

“I was pretty sure we had won, just on the way the bat sounded off the ball,” Holland said. “I got up to the top step as it was going over the top of the fence.”

A raucous scene greeted Holland. The baseball crashed into the Kansas City bullpen, the landing spot for a walk-off grand slam in a 9-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, just as Orlando touched first base. He slapped hands with coach Rusty Kuntz and pointed to the sky. He would call it the sweetest, finest moment of his career.

Orlando, a 29-year-old rookie, spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues and never hit a grand slam. Now a crowd of his teammates waited for him at home plate. Orlando may not remain with Kansas City for long, as the club waits for Lorenzo Cain’s legs to heal, but he looked as if he belonged at that moment, as the star in the team’s third walk-off victory in their last four games.

The group swallowed Orlando up. He hugged Salvador Perez. He bumped chests with fellow reserve outfielder Jarrod Dyson. Perez and catcher Drew Butera doused him with a Gatorade bucket. Bullpen coach Doug Henry brought him the baseball.

“First grand slam in my life,” Orlando said afterward.

The grand slam allowed the Royals (47-33) to capture the first game of a day-night doubleheader with Tampa Bay. The Royals overcame a slipshod afternoon in the field (two errors), at the plate (nine runners left on base) and on the bases (Alex Rios twice ran into outs).

In the ninth, clinging to a one-run lead, Holland surrendered a leadoff triple to outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. Kiermaier appeared to slide off third base while rookie infielder Cheslor Cuthbert held the tag. After a lengthy review, the umpires ruled Kiermaier was safe. He scored soon after when Holland lost a slider in the dirt.

With the game tied, the Royals staged a rally against Tampa Bay reliever Brad Boxberger. A day earlier, Royals manager Ned Yost, who will manage the American League, chose him as an All-Star. Now, his teammates-to-be tormented him: Eric Hosmer and Rios provided singles, and Omar Infante loaded the bases with a walk. It was up to Orlando, who was called up on Monday afternoon with Cain nursing a sore hamstring.

Before Orlando went to the plate, hitting coach Dale Sveum told him to watch for Boxberger’s changeup. The pitcher felt confident in the pitch, willing to throw it against right-handed hitters such as Orlando. Two pitches into the at-bat, Boxberger threw a fat one.

“As soon as I saw the air trajectory going that way, I knew we were in good shape,” Yost said. “Your first thought is, ‘Boom, he’s got in it in the air.’ Your second thought is, ‘That ball’s getting out of here.’”

It was the second Kansas City homer of the day. Alex Gordon paced the offense with a solo shot in the fourth, and three hits in all. The lineup pelted Tampa Bay starter Matt Moore with singles and chased him in the fifth with four runs on his ledger.

Chris Young gave up four runs in six innings. A pair of home runs stained his line. James Loney launched a solo shot in the second and Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer in the fourth. A tweak to his slider in between starts helped him record five strikeouts.

“It’s a funny game,” Young said. “I felt like I made more good pitches today than maybe in a couple starts where the results were a little better but just ultimately happy we won.”

In the first inning, Kansas City wasted an opportunity that looked precious. Moore yielded singles to the first three batters he faced. With the bases loaded, Eric Hosmer hit a harmless flare to second base. He snapped his bat on the infield grass as he left the diamond. A moment later, Rios grounded into a double play.

The Royals did not waste a similar chance in the second. Moore drilled backup catcher Drew Butera with two outs and a runner on second. Alcides Escobar accepted a walk to load the bases again.

This time, Moore’s own ineptitude aided Kansas City. Moore also placed Gordon at risk. Moore hit Gordon with a 92-mph fastball that connected with Gordon’s hand. A run scored, but Gordon crouched near the on-deck circle before he reached first base.

Both Yost and trainer Nick Kenney visited Gordon. He flexed his hand to regain some feeling. He stood at first base when Kendrys Morales dunked a two-run single into the outfield.

Gordon did not address reporters after game one, but he was in the lineup for the nightcap.

Young coughed up the lead in the fourth. Tampa Bay created a three-run flurry. The rally started with a single by outfielder Joey Butler. That set the table for Longoria, one of the holdovers from the talented Rays teams from the recent past. Young left a slider over the middle and Longoria tattooed it. His homer landed in the Kansas City bullpen.

“He just put a good swing on it,” Young said. “Barrelled it up.”

With the game tied, the Rays kept surging. Young surrendered an additional run thanks to a walk by second baseman Logan Forsythe, a double by former Royal David DeJesus and a sacrifice fly from shortstop Jake Elmore.

Gordon provided an answer about his wrist’s health soon after. He pulled a fastball over the right-field fence and onto the Pepsi Porch to tie the game. In the seventh, Infante punched an RBI single up the middle to give Kansas City the lead.

The advantage appeared safe. Both Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis maneuvered through their innings. Holland could not do the same. Kiermaier ambushed him on a first-pitch fastball that kissed the right-field line. His momentum may have carried him off third base, so Yost requested a challenge from the umpires.

The wait felt interminable. Cuthbert watched a replay on the center-field screen and shrugged his shoulders. Kiermaier idled near the bag and scratched his nose. After four minutes and 12 second, crew chief Tim Welke removed his headphones. He spread his arms wide: Safe.

“I still really don’t know what happened there,” Yost said. “Because the replay I saw looked like he was off the bag when Cheslor had the tag on him.”

Added Holland, “Honestly, I thought he was out.”

The crowd howled. Holland tried to bear down, but his wayward slider cost him the save. He needed to rely on Orlando and his teammates to collect the victory.

“Pretty special for him,” Holland said. “Pretty special for us. We got that first walk-off out of the way, now we’re just rolling with it.”

Royals 9, Rays 5

Game One

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One out when winning run scored.

a-singled for Rivera in the 7th. b-struck out for Elmore in the 8th.

E: Longoria (5), A.Escobar (9), Hosmer (2). LOB: Tampa Bay 8, Kansas City 9. 2B: Loney (6), DeJesus (8), A.Escobar (14). 3B: Kiermaier (9). HR: Loney (3), off C.Young; Longoria (9), off C.Young; A.Gordon (11), off M.Moore; Orlando (2), off Boxberger. RBIs: Longoria 2 (37), Loney (15), Elmore (16), A.Gordon 2 (35), K.Morales 2 (54), Infante (24), Orlando 4 (11). SB: Rios (5). SF: Elmore.

Runners left in scoring position: Tampa Bay 5 (Kiermaier, DeJesus, J.Butler, A.Cabrera, Loney); Kansas City 5 (Rios, Hosmer, Butera, Orlando, A.Gordon). RISP: Tampa Bay 1 for 10; Kansas City 4 for 14. GIDP: Rios. DP: Tampa Bay 3 (Longoria, Loney), (Loney, Elmore), (Kiermaier, Kiermaier, Forsythe, Longoria).

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C.Young pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.

Hold: W.Davis (11). Blown save: Holland (2). Inherited runners-scored: Geltz 1-0, Jepsen 2-1, K.Herrera 1-0. HBP: by M.Moore (Butera, A.Gordon). WP: G.Holland.

Umpires: Home, Tim Welke; First, Marcus Pattillo; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Chris Segal. Time: 3:10. Att: 22,386.

AP-WF-07-07-15 2125GMT

This story was originally published July 7, 2015 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Paulo Orlando’s walk-off grand slam lifts Royals to 9-5 win over the Rays."