Franco’s clutch hit lifts Royals past Adam Wainwright and Cardinals in series opener
The Royals departed St. Louis shell-shocked last month after seemingly having a series with the Cardinals in hand, a chance to make their case as playoff contenders before baseball’s trade deadline in the bag. Instead, the Cardinals won on a bases-loaded walk.
The Royals’ bullpen answered the bell this time with 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, and third baseman Maikel Franco came through with a clutch two-out hit to secure a 4-1 win over the Cardinals in the series opener at Kauffman Stadium Monday night.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Royals (22-32) and evened their season series with the Cardinals (26-25) at two games apiece.
Franco went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored. His sixth-inning two-run single broke a tie score and put the Royals ahead for good. Franco entered the game having registered nine RBIs in close and late situations, tied for the fifth-most in Major League Baseball.
“I want to be in those moments,” said Franco, who has been playing through a leg injury for several weeks. “I always prepare for those moments. I always prepare for that situation because I want to be in those moments and have the mentality that it’s going to happen right now and don’t take anything for granted.”
Whit Merrifield went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Jorge Soler, in his first game back from a stint on the injured list, walked and hit an RBI double. Alex Gordon drove in Franco for the Royals’ first run on a groundout in the fifth.
The Royals’ lineup received a boost with the return of Soler, their designated hitter and last year’s AL home run champion. The club activated Soler from the injured list and optioned infielder Kelvin Gutierrez to their alternate site. Soler had been on the IL since Sept. 8 with a right oblique strain. He missed 11 games.
Soler’s power threat in the middle of the lineup came into play in the pivotal sixth inning.
With the score tied 1-1 in the sixth, Merrifield hit an one-out single up the middle off Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, and Salvador Perez’s two-out single to right put runners on the corners with Soler due up next.
Instead of challenging Soler, Wainwright walked him on four pitches and decided to go after Franco with two outs and the bases loaded in a one-run game.
“As soon as I see that, I get more focused,” Franco said. “As soon as I saw that they didn’t want to play around with Soler in that situation, I’m just like, ‘It’s going to be me.’ I had to go out there with patience, not trying to do too much, just trying to see the pitch and try to get a good pitch to hit.”
Franco got a 2-1 sinker from Wainwright that stayed up over the outer half of the plate and smacked it just past Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The ball bounded into right field for a two-run single to put the Royals in front for the first time in the game, 3-1.
Wainwright gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings while striking out seven.
The Royals tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Soler ripped a single into the left-field corner with Mondesi, who’d reached on a bunt single, on second. Mondesi, who snapped an 0-for-12 funk, recorded his 20th stolen base of the season to put himself in scoring position.
“He’s just a presence, there’s no doubt,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of having Soler back. “It was good to see him get the head out and drive the ball down the line. Then Mondi also putting pressure on, using his legs.”
Hernández made it through 3 2/3 innings and allowed just the one run on four hits and three walks. The lone run scored on Matt Carpenter’s solo homer in the second inning.
Hernández had trouble getting ahead of hitters at times. In the third inning, he walked two hitters with no outs. When he climbed toward 50 pitches, right-hander Jake Newberry started warming in the bullpen.
Hernandez responded by getting ahead of his next two batters with 0-2 counts. He No. 3 hitter Goldschmidt to ground into a double play and then struck out cleanup man Paul DeJong to end the inning. Matheny called it a turning point in the game.
“I definitely got motivated,” Hernández said with assistant strength and conditioning coach/Latin American coordinator Luis Perez interpreting his Spanish to English. “I noticed that (the bullpen) got up, and I got a little extra kick to get back on the mound and get after it.”
Newberry (1/3 innings), Josh Staumont (two innings), Jesse Hahn (one inning), Scott Barlow (one inning) and Greg Holland (one inning) combined to shut down the Cardinals’ offense in relief. Holland earned his sixth save.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 10:10 PM.
