Blue Jays beat Royals on walk-off home run in the ninth

The Royals rallied. With the game on the line in the ninth, they did exactly what was needed to push across a run to extend the game.

Then the home run sunk the Royals yet again in Toronto.

Royals relief pitcher Scott Barlow allowed a walk-off two-run home run to Danny Jansen in the bottom of the ninth as the Royals fell 7-5 in front of an announced 24,906 at the Rogers Centre on Saturday.

The Royals have two games remaining in Toronto to try to salvage a series split.

“I just tried to get ahead and put away with off-speed,” Barlow said. “I got to 3-2, fastball down the middle, he hit it out.”

Barlow (2-3) wanted to throw that fastball on the outside corner, but it stayed middle until it found the barrel of Jansen’s bat for the first walk-off homer of his career.

“You flush it and come tomorrow and keep working,” Barlow said.

Royals catcher Martin Maldonado hit his second home run of the series, while Hunter Dozier and Lucas Duda also drove in runs in the loss. Alex Gordon’s sacrifice fly drove in the tying run in the ninth inning after the Royals had gone three innings without a run.

After they hit four home runs on Friday night, the Blue Jays followed with three home runs on Saturday.

The Royals scored three of their five runs against Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman.

Stroman came out with a 2-0 count and no outs in the fifth inning with the Royals ahead 3-1. Stroman’s second pitch to Whit Merrifield sailed high, and Stroman signaled immediately to the dugout for the trainer.

After a brief visit to the mound by the trainer, Stroman left the game in the middle of the at-bat with what was called a left shoulder/pectoral cramp. Former Royals pitcher Sam Gaviglio came out of the bullpen in relief of Stroman.

“I thought we were swinging the bat okay off of Stroman,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We did a good job getting two runs, set the tone. Whit with a double, Nicky with a nice bunt that ended up scoring a run on the throwing error and Duda picking up another run. Maldy missed a two-home-run day by about a foot.”

Royals starting pitcher Homer Bailey, a 33-year-old right-hander, got drafted out of high school and has spent 13 seasons in the majors. He’s been around the block a time or two, but on Saturday, he got taken advantage of by a pair of whippersnappers.

Earlier in his career, Bailey pitched against both Vladimir Guerrero and Craig Biggio. That duo combined for just one hit against Bailey.

Well, their sons each took Bailey deep on Saturday.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. hit a third-inning home run to get the Blue Jays their first run of the day, while Cavan Biggio’s first career grand slam completely swung the game in the fifth inning.

Bailey backed himself into a corner with a leadoff walk of No. 8 hitter Brandon Drury, a single and a two-out walk to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to load the bases. Gurriel came into the day having hit four home runs in his past two games, so it’s not shocking that Bailey approached that at-bat with caution. The earlier walk really stung, especially in hindsight.

“We were just talking about that,” Bailey said of the walk to Drury. “That was probably the one that started things off in the wrong direction, and it just kind of unfolded from there.”

Biggio, who struck out and grounded out in his first two at-bats, hit a 2-1 fastball out to straight-away center field.

“I was trying to go in,” Bailey said. “I just caught a lot of plate with it.”

With one swing he turned a three-run deficit into a one-run lead. It also knocked in as many runs (four) in one outing as Bailey had allowed in his past four starts combined.

Bailey finished the fifth inning, and relievers Jorge Lopez (two innings) and Jake Diekman (one inning) shut down the Blue Jays for three no-hit innings.

Trailing 5-4 in the ninth, Billy Hamilton hit a leadoff single for the Royals, advanced to second on Merrifield’s walk and third on a Nicky Lopez sacrifice bunt. With one out, Gordon lifted the first pitch he saw to center field for a sacrifice fly to tie the score 5-5.

Barlow walked the first batter, Randal Grichuk, then struck out pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez before giving up the homer to Jansen.

This story was originally published June 29, 2019 at 6:50 PM.

Lynn Worthy

The Kansas City Star

816-234-4951

Lynn Worthy covers the Kansas City Royals and Major League Baseball for The Star. A native of the Northeast, he’s covered high school, collegiate and professional sports for The Lowell Sun, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Allentown Morning Call and The Salt Lake Tribune. He’s won awards for sports features and sports columns.