Royals, Jorge Soler bounce back to win after 5-run inning in Toronto
The guilt Royals outfielder Jorge Soler felt after losing a fly ball in the sun in the second inning subsided to the point that he chuckled during his postgame interview with reporters. A game-tying hit, a diving catch and a game-winning homer certainly should change a player’s outlook.
Soler snapped out of a 0-for-15 slump (1-for-19 on the road trip entering the day) and went 2-for-4 with a walk two RBIs and his 22nd home run of the season, which provided the margin of victory in a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in front of an announced 21,727 at the Rogers Centre on Sunday.
The win assured the Royals (29-55) won’t get swept in the series. They can earn a split with a win against the Blue Jays (31-53) in the series finale on Monday afternoon.
Nicky Lopez went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while Whit Merrifield, Hunter Dozier (double, RBI) and Soler collected two hits apiece.
In the fifth inning, Soler blasted a 3-0 pitch from Blue Jays Nick Kingham to right-center field for a solo homer. At the time, it put the Royals up 7-5. The Blue Jays pulled within a run in the bottom half of the inning, but that’s as close as they got.
“I don’t look to third base for a sign 3-0,” Soler said with Royals quality control coach/catching coach Pedro Grifol translating from Spanish to English. “So I don’t know if I got the take or not.”
Grifol made sure to point out that Soler has been instructed to look for the sign. However, Soler would rather ask forgiveness than permission. Soler could chuckle about it after the game because the end result was his second career homer on a 3-0 count (his first came against the Royals when he was with the Cubs).
The moment involving Soler that appeared as though it might turn the game and bury the Royals came in the second inning.
Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller tried to protect a one-run lead. After a one-out single and a walk in the bottom of the second, Keller got Brandon Drury to ground out to first base for the second out of the inning. The Blue Jays catcher Luke Maile, who was hitting .168, popped up a 3-2 pitch down the right-field line but in play.
Soler came over, sunglasses on, and appeared to have settled under the ball. However, at the last second his body language showed he’d lost the ball in the sun. He flailed and stumbled as the ball bounced in fair territory for a two-run triple.
The triple started a domino effect. Eric Sogard then hit an RBI single and Just Smoak followed with a two-run home run. What could’ve been a scoreless inning, if Soler caught the ball, turned into a five-run inning.
Keller’s pitch count also ballooned to 46 pitches through two innings, and Soler apologized to his teammate after the inning.
The Royals reclaimed a one-run lead in the top of the third inning thanks to five runs on four hits and two walks.
Humberto Arteaga and Merrifield set the table with back-to-back walks. Lopez’s single loaded the bases, and Alex Gordon hit a two-run single through the hole between third base and shortstop. Dozier followed with an RBI single, and Soler’s RBI single tied the score 5-5 without an out recorded.
“I felt really bad when that happened, for obvious reasons,” Soler said. “When I came up to bat the next time with runners on base, I thought to myself this is a good time to help this team win.”
The go-ahead run scored from third when Cheslor Cuthbert grounded into a double play.
Keller (4-9) entered the day having received the sixth-lowest run support (3.78 runs per start) of any qualified starter in the American League, and he’d received two runs or fewer in 10 of his previous 17 starts this season.
“Big home run, eventually the game-winning homer, and a diving catch in the (seventh) inning was huge,” Keller said of Soler. “He definitely made up for it.”
On Sunday, Keller got a couple games’ worth of run support in order to record his first win since May 22.
After the five-run second inning, Keller gave up a solo homer to Smoak, his second of the game, in the bottom of the fifth. Keller gave up two home runs to the same hitter after having given up just six in 17 starts.
Keller threw 101 to get through five innings. He walked two and struck out three.
“I didn’t really think too much about the inning,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of the five-run second inning. “What I thought about was after the inning. How are you going to handle it. How are you going to go out and compose yourself and keep us in this ballgame.
“The offense came right back and did a great job of giving us the lead again. Kel, it was a grind for him all day long. He was never sharp, but he continued to compete his heart out. That’s exactly what I was looking for.”
Kevin McCarthy (two innings), Jake Diekman (one inning) and Ian Kennedy (one inning, 11th save in 13 chances) provided stellar relief. The didn’t allow a hit in the final four innings.
Notes: Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi went 1-for-5 with a single and a stolen base in the first game of his rehab assignment (groin strain) on Saturday night with Northwest Arkansas in Springfield, Mo., against the Springfield Cardinals. He served as designated hitter in that game. He was scheduled to play the field on Sunday in the second game of his rehab assignment. … Royals top draft pick and No. 2 overall pick Bobby Witt Jr. was scheduled to make his professional debut on Sunday in the Arizona League as a designated hitter. Witt Jr. was the national high school player of the year for Colleyville High in Texas.
This story was originally published June 30, 2019 at 3:59 PM.
