Royals have shot at something that may never have been done in major-league history
The Royals have a chance to do something that may never have been done in major-league history: get a walk-off win on an opposing team’s field.
Because the Royals-Indians game on Aug. 31 at Kauffman Stadium was stopped because of rain with Cleveland leading 4-2 in the 10th inning, the game will be competed Monday at Progressive Field. While there are instances of a visiting team batting last because of a makeup or completed game (last year, the Giants were the visitors when they beat the Reds 5-3 at AT&T Park), it’s difficult to know if a road team ever gotten a walk-off win.
Stats Inc., couldn’t research that phenomenon, telling The Star, “For a suspended game like the Royals-Indians’ upcoming contest, our data will only have a record of the game being played in Kansas City with no record of the game actually finishing in Cleveland. So for past suspended games, the same issue will arise and any potential walk-off wins on an opponents’ field will go unnoticed.”
While most Royals fans have written off the game, there is a chance the Royals could be pesky guests and kick off the final week of the season in fine style.
Cleveland is on the fringes of the playoff race, sitting 4 1/2 games behind the Royals heading into Saturday. The Indians didn’t help their cause Friday by blowing a late lead against the Twins and losing in 10 innings.
Afterward, manager Terry Francona said the team wouldn’t give up.
“I don’t think anybody is quitting,” Francona told reporters. “We have to show up and play every game like it’s our last and we do. Nobody’s going to quit.”
So, that’s the attitude the Indians will take into the series with the Royals. The good news for Kansas City is it will avoid Cleveland ace Corey Kluber.
The bad news? The rest of Cleveland’s rotation is solid and that could mean trouble for the offensively challenged Royals.
Monday’s scheduled starter is Carlos Carrasco, who is 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA in his last eight starts
Danny Salazar, who will start Tuesday, has a 3.06 ERA in the second half of the season.
Wednesday’s starter is Trevor Bauer, who has a 3.43 ERA at Progressive Field.
“Everything is magnified right now,” Bauer told reporters Friday. “All these losses, they sting.”
To reach Pete Grathoff, call 816-234-4330 or send email to pgrathoff@kcstar.com. Follow him at twitter.com/pgrathoff
You need to know
▪ Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter had gone zero for 28 before getting a single against the Rays on Wednesday. According to Nick Stamm of Stats Inc., Jeter’s O-fer was the second-longest by a major-leaguer with at least 3,000 hits, trailing Cal Ripken’s zero-for-33 in 2001 and just ahead of the zero-for-23 stretches endured by Carl Yastrzemski in 1983 and Robin Yount in 1993.
▪ The Pirates, in a game against the Cubs on Sept. 14, turned the first triple play recorded at their home field, PNC Park. The only active big-league venues in which no team has registered a triple play are Minute Maid Park in Houston, Marlins Park in Miami, Petco Park in San Diego and Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
▪ It appears that, for the first time in their history, the Blue Jays will not make the postseason after leading the A.L. East by at least five games (they led by six on June 6). The team made the playoffs in all three years (1985, 1991, 1992) in which they had that large a lead.
▪ Since beginning the year 17-7, the Braves have gone 59-69.
▪ The Mariners will fly 5,662 miles on their final road trip of the season with stops in Anaheim, Houston and Toronto.
▪ The Angels lead the majors with 45 comeback wins. They have come back to win 14 times after trailing by one run, 17 times after trailing by two, 11 times after trailing by three and three times after trailing by four or more.
▪ Four has not been a lucky number for the Rockies this year; the team is 0-11 when they score exactly four runs.
Compiled with the help of baseball writers across the country
This story was originally published September 20, 2014 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Royals have shot at something that may never have been done in major-league history."