A night of missed chances as the Royals lose 6-5 to the Tigers in 11 innings

The grim, solemn slog by the Royals toward their first division title since 1985 continued Saturday evening, even after a 6-5 loss to the Tigers in 11 innings.

The Twins were swept in a doubleheader against the Angels, an outcome that reduced Kansas City’s magic number to four. Any combination of Royals wins and Twins losses in the next two weeks will grant Kansas City the crown. At this point, Minnesota appears to be Kansas City’s best ally, as the Royals themselves remain in a profound funk.

“Everybody else is helping us out,” manager Ned Yost said. “We’re just not helping ourselves.”

Ian Kinsler ended the contest with a walk-off homer off rookie Miguel Almonte. Kinsler pounced on a curveball and did not miss. With their second extra-inning, walkoff loss in as many nights, the Royals (86-62) experienced a game marked by missed opportunities, even after a reprieve from the replay booth in the ninth.

The game appeared over when backup infielder Andrew Romine hit a bullet off Luke Hochevar into center field with the bases loaded. The throw from Jarrod Dyson drew catcher Salvador Perez to the right of the plate, and umpire Gary Cederstrom signaled Kinsler safe on his slide.

Inside the Royals dugout, bench coach Don Wakamatsu phoned replay coordinator Bill Duplissea. The Royals requested a challenge. The review showed that Perez nicked Kinsler’s toe with his glove.

“As soon as I looked over, I saw Wak,” Perez said. “So I didn’t have to say anything.”

Granted extra innings, the Royals could not punish the fetid Tigers bullpen any further. Kansas City missed a chance to expand their lead over Toronto in the standings for home-field advantage. Toronto lost in the afternoon, but Kansas City did not capitalize, even after the replay review.

Kansas City has lost six of their nine games on this road trip. The defeat on Saturday guaranteed another series defeat. The Royals have not won a series since they hosted the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium at the beginning of this month.

Yost admitted he disliked the team’s results in recent days, but remained optimistic about their chances in October.

“If we’re going to go through a quiet period with our bats,” Yost said, “I would rather do it now, thantwo weeks from now.”

In the eighth, trailing by a run, Eric Hosmer homered for the first time since Aug. 14, snapping a streak of 118 at-bats without one. He swatted a fastball from reliever Bruce Rondon, a member of Detroit’s flammable bullpen, for a solo shot.

Hosmer helped the team recover from a rocky outing in relief from former starter Chris Young. He lost the handle on his fastball and walked slugger Miguel Cabrera. Two batters later, Victor Martinez crushed a belt-high, 87-mph fastball for a two-run homer.

“Just trying to go with a fastball away, where I could either get a foul ball, pop-up or a flyball,” Young said. “And I just pulled it down a little bit.”

Edinson Volquez labored through six innings with heavy traffic on the bases. He gave up seven hits and issued four walks. Still, he held Detroit to three runs. He qualified for a quality start.

“My fastball command wasn’t very good today, so I had to use my secondary pitches,” Volquez said. “I was behind in the count, deep in counts. Too many walks today.”

The Royals sought an extended outing from him. After a 12-inning game on Friday, Yost decided he would not use Greg Holland, Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera or Ryan Madson. The exhaustion allowed Yost to delay a bullpen shakeup that looks inevitable.

Holland blew his fifth save of the season on Friday. His ERA rose to 3.83 with a 1.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Both numbers pale compared to his statistics from 2011 to 2014, when he posted a 1.86 ERA and a 3.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His fastball lacks its usual velocity and his entire arsenal suffers from imprecise command.

Yost could demote Holland from the closer’s role. But he indicated on Saturday afternoon he did not need to choose.

“I don’t have to make that decision today, is what I’m telling you,” Yost said. “And I don’t make those types of decisions rashly. I try to think through it. So I’ve got more time. I’ll continue to think through it.”

More clarity should arrive by, at the latest, Tuesday, when the team begins its final stand of the regular season at Kauffman Stadium. Once there, the Royals will attempt to clinch a champagne celebration that eluded them on this road trip.

Volquez took a one-run advantage to the mound in the third. An inning earlier, Kendrys Morales swung at a 90-mph fastball from Tigers southpaw Matt Boyd and lifted it over the right-field fence.

The lead was short-lived. To start the third, Volquez allowed a double to catcher Alex Avila, who came to the plate with a .186 batting average. Outfielder Anthony Gose flared a single into left and later stole second base.

With two on, two out and first base unoccupied, Volquez made the mistake of throwing a strike to Cabrera. A curveball by Volquez fluttered over the plate. Cabrera stroked it to right for a two-run single.

“He’s unbelievable,” Volquez said. “There’s nothing you can do.”

Kansas City tied the game in the top of the fifth. Mike Moustakas bashed an 88-mph fastball about a dozen rows deep into stands in right. In the process, Moustakas tied a career-high with 20 home runs and 73 RBI in one season. He set both marks in 2012. He can surpass both marks in these next two weeks.

Volquez let Detroit pull back in front in the bottom of the inning. Cabrera singled and outfielder J.D. Martinez doubled. A sacrifice fly by Victor Martinez plated Cabrera. Lorenzo Cain sprinted for an over-the-shoulder catch to prevent an extra-base hit, but a run still scored.

The Royals scrambled to score two runs in the seventh. Hosmer ignited the rally with a double. Into the game stepped reliever Al Alburquerque, who tried his best to hand a victory to his opponents.

First, Alburquerque lost a wild pitch with Hosmer on third. That tied the game. Then he walked Jonny Gomes. Jarrod Dyson replaced Gomes on the bases. With Dyson preparing to run, Alburquerque balked.

Dyson moved into scoring position. Two batters later, after an intentional walk of Salvador Perez, Dyson jetted home on a single by backup infielder Christian Colon.

Then the game retreated to extra innings, where the replay kept Kansas City’s hopes alive until Kinsler snuffed them out. The loss dropped the team to 6-12 in September. Yost maintained his sense of calm.

“You don’t like it,” Yost said. “But we’re the same team as we’ve been all year long. we’ve got some guys that have cooled off with the bats. But when they heat up again, that’s when we go on big runs. Right now, we’ve just got guys that are a little bit cool. You just ride it out.”

Tigers 6, Royals 5, 11 inn.

No outs when winning run scored.

a-was hit by a pitch for Ty.Collins in the 8th.

1-ran for J.Gomes in the 7th.

LOB: Kansas City 6, Detroit 11. 2B: Hosmer (30), J.Martinez (29), V.Martinez (19), Avila (4). HR: K.Morales (18), off Boyd; Moustakas (20), off Boyd; Hosmer (15), off B.Rondon; V.Martinez (10), off C.Young; Kinsler (11), off M.Almonte. RBIs: Hosmer (84), K.Morales (102), Moustakas (73), C.Colon (5), Kinsler (70), Mi.Cabrera 2 (72), V.Martinez 3 (59). SB: L.Cain (28), C.Colon (3), Gose (21), Kinsler (10). CS: Zobrist (4), Hosmer (3). SF: V.Martinez.

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 4 (K.Morales, Zobrist 3); Detroit 4 (Ty.Collins 2, Gose 2). RISP: Kansas City 1 for 6; Detroit 2 for 11. Runners moved up: K.Morales. GIDP: Mi.Cabrera, Avila. DP: Kansas City 3 (C.Colon, Zobrist, Hosmer), (F.Morales, C.Colon, Hosmer), (J.Dyson, J.Dyson, S.Perez); Detroit 1 (Avila, Avila, Kinsler, Mi.Cabrera).

Alburquerque pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

M.Almonte pitched to 1 batter in the 11th.

Blown Saves: Young (1), Albuquerque (1), Rondon (4). Holds: Hardy (13). Inherited runners-scored: Alburquerque 1-1, Krol 2-0. IBB: off Alburquerque (S.Perez). HBP: by F.Morales (R.Davis), by Hochevar (Mi.Cabrera). WP: Boyd, Alburquerque. Balk: Alburquerque.

Umpires: Home, Gary Cederstrom; First, Quinn Wolcott; Second, Lance Barksdale; Third, Ryan Blakney. Time: 4:06. Attendance: 36,007 (41,574).

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 10:35 PM with the headline "A night of missed chances as the Royals lose 6-5 to the Tigers in 11 innings."