Alcides Escobar sparks Royals to three-game winning streak, 3-1 victory over Twins

Alcides Escobar bounced at first base as fading Twins reliever Glen Perkins toed the rubber. At the crack of Ben Zobrist’s bat, Escobar gauged the trajectory and velocity of the corresponding hit. Then Escobar put his head down and sprinted, from first to third and homeward, scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of a 3-1 Royals victory.

Escobar disappeared into the congratulatory haven of the visitor’s dugout at Target Field. Zobrist scored soon after, when Mike Moustakas roped a single and right fielder Torii Hunter kicked around the baseball.

Granted the lead, Kansas City completed a three-game winning streak for the first time in five weeks. All three correlated with Escobar’s return to the top of the batting order.

“You know, I don’t know,” Escobar said. “That’s crazy.”

In the afternoon, hours before the game, manager Ned Yost sounded like an oracle. The annoyances of the regular season’s final weekend would not harm his club, he explained.

“We should be fine,” Yost said. “We’ve got Esky back in the leadoff spot.”

Escobar made four outs in his first four other at-bats on Friday. Then, in a result that confounds both the Royals and the analytically-minded in equal fits, he flicked a bloop hit to start the eighth. The single chased former Royal Ervin Santana from the game. Kansas City feasted on Perkins, a former All-Star who has lost his closing role this summer.

The deadlock resulted from 6 1/3 innings of four-hit, one-run baseball for Chris Young, who is making a late push for a starter in the American League Division Series and beyond. Wade Davis returned from a minor back ailment to record the save.

The victory kept Kansas City (93-67) apace with Toronto heading into the last two games of the season. The two share an identical record, but the Blue Jays own the tiebreaker. In order to garner home-field advantage, the Royals must finish with at least one more victory than Toronto.

[ What days will the Royals play in the postseason? 2015 MLB playoff schedule ]

The Royals sat three of their starters on Friday. Yost rested outfielder Lorenzo Cain, who bruised his knee on a foul ball on Wednesday, and designated hitter Kendrys Morales, who felt tightness in his quadriceps muscle while running the bases on Thursday. A day after jamming his thumb, catcher Salvador Perez idled because he is slated to catch Yordano Ventura in Saturday’s 12:05 p.m.game.

“We’ve just got to get these nicks and dings out,” Yost said before the game. “Hopefully there’s no major issues anywhere.”

Cain’s backup, Jarrod Dyson, sparked the Kansas City offense in the third. The Royals trailed by a run after Chris Young had given up an RBI single to outfielder Aaron Hicks in the second. Dyson opened the top of the third with a double.

Escobar sacrificed himself to advance Dyson to third. After Ben Zobrist walked, Eric Hosmer grounded into a fielder’s choice to tie the game.

The performance from Young muddles the clarity of the team’s postseason rotation. The day before, Kris Medlen rebounded from a string of scattershot outings with a six-inning, two-run performance in Chicago. He and Young loom as the candidates to be the fourth starter.

[ Chris Young’s secret: He pitched ahead in the count ]

“I’ve already got it figured out,” Yost said. “And it’s all going to be good. We’re going to have balance. We’re going to have depth. We’re going to have everything we need to be successful.”

After a series of rough outings in June and July, the Royals sequestered Young in the bullpen for two months. The departure of Danny Duffy for a relief role and the sustained unreliability of Jeremy Guthrie brought Young back into the fold.

Young learned late last Saturday about the death of his father, Charles, who was battling cancer. Young chose to honor his father’s memory and pitch the next day against Cleveland. He turned in five no-hit innings before departing to be with his family in Highland, Park, Texas.

Young will return to Texas later this weekend and attend his father’s memorial service on Monday. But he welcomed the distraction of preparing for Friday’s start.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for me,” Young said. “When I get through Monday, I think then some excitement will kick in.”

Yost suggested before the game Young could throw 80 to 85 pitches. When the seventh inning began, Young had already thrown 89. His sixth inning was dynamic, enough to merit extended duty: Young fanned rookie Miguel Sano with a slider, fooled third baseman Trevor Plouffe with another slider and struck out the side when outfielder Eddie Rosario swung through yet another slider.

In the seventh, Young issued a one-out walk to Hicks. Yost came to fetch him. Young had not allowed a hit since the second inning, but he had thrown 100 pitches for the first time since May 27. Yost handed the ball to seldom-used reliever Louis Coleman, who promptly kick-started an inning-ending double play.

Escobar would spark the offense in the top of the eighth. Yost cannot explain the phenomenon. But he will not argue with it.

“It’s kind of a mystery,” Yost said. “We’re all trying to figure out why it works. But, you know what? It works. So we’ll quit trying to figure it out.”

Royals 3, Twins 1

a-flied out for Butera in the 8th. 1-ran for Rios in the 8th. 2-ran for Zobrist in the 9th.

E: Tor.Hunter (5), Jepsen (2), Edu.Escobar (6). LOB: Kansas City 10, Minnesota 5. 2B: Zobrist (36), A.Gordon (17), J.Dyson 2 (8). RBIs: Zobrist (55), Hosmer (92), A.Hicks (33). SB: Hosmer (7). S: A.Escobar.

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 7 (Butera, Moustakas 2, Zobrist, Rios, K.Morales 2); Minnesota 1 (Dozier). RISP: Kansas City 1 for 14; Minnesota 1 for 4. Runners moved up: A.Escobar. GIDP: Dozier, K.Suzuki. DP: Kansas City 2 (L.Coleman, A.Escobar, Hosmer), (Madson, C.Colon, Hosmer).

E.Santana pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

Hold: Madson (20). Inherited runners-scored: L.Coleman 1-0, Perkins 1-1, May 2-0. IBB: off Perkins (A.Gordon). WP: C.Young.

Umpires: Home, Ron Kulpa; First, Larry Vanover; Second, Brian Knight; Third, Vic Carapazza. Time: 2:55. Att: 31,534.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 10:07 PM with the headline "Alcides Escobar sparks Royals to three-game winning streak, 3-1 victory over Twins."