Olivares’ homer lifts the Kansas City Royals to an extra-inning win over the Mariners
Edward Olivares’ two-run homer with two outs and two strikes in the 12th inning hit the thumb of Jake Fraley’s glove on its way over the left-field wall.
That’s how close things were for the Kansas City Royals duirng their 8-7 victory Friday night in Seattle.
When told that the homer hit Fraley’s glove on the way out, Royals manager Mike Matheny said, “I didn’t see that. I heard some moaning and groaning from fans that were watching some sort of replay, so I guessed that was probably what happened.”
The Royals gave the Mariners fans plenty to groan about.
For the second night in a row, a Salvador Perez grand slam completely changed the outlook of the game in the middle innings. Thursday, his blast put the Royals ahead in the sixth inning. Friday night, Perez smashed a game-tying grand slam in the fourth inning.
Then Olivares drove in all three of the Royals’ extra-inning runs as they beat the Mariners in front of an announced 22,953 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
The Royals (58-70) secured at least a split of the four-game series and assured themselves a winning road trip with their sixth victory with two games remaining on their 10-game swing.
Since Perez’s homer merely tied the score, the Royals still had their work cut out for them to earn their ninth win in 12 games.
Olivares, recalled from the minors for the sixth time this season prior to the game, came off the bench and his first plate appearance came in the 10th inning. He hit a sacrifice fly that gave the Royals their first lead of the night.
“You’ve got to get it to get out of this park,” Matheny said. “You just never know who is going to be the hero. The guy didn’t even make the start. [Ryan] O’Hearn had three hits in that same spot. It was a very productive spot for us today.”
After the Mariners tied the score 6-6 in the bottom of the 10th, it stayed that way until Olivares hit his fifth home run in his last 11 major-league games in the top of the 12th.
Olivares hit a 3-2 slider from Mariners reliever Yohan Ramirez just far enough to get out for a two-run home run.
“I really thought he caught it,” Olivares said with assistant strength and conditioning coach Luis Perez translating from Spanish to English in his postgame interview with Bally Sports Kansas City. “He made the gesture that he caught it. But as soon as he came down, I knew it was gone.”
Even after Olivares gave them a two-run lead going into the bottom of the 12th inning, the Royals had to sweat it out in the bottom half. Reliever Josh Staumont, fresh off a one-day IL stint, gave up one run and the Mariners (69-60) had the tying and winning runs on base when the game ended.
Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic, coming off an outing in which he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, gave up five runs in the first two innings (three in the first, two in the second).
He walked in a run in each of the first two innings, and the Mariners sent nine batters to the plate in the first and eight in the second. He didn’t give up a run after the second, but his pitch count ballooned out of control so fast that he lasted just one out into the fifth inning.
Bubic allowed five runs on nine hits and four walks to go with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.
“Just back against the wall out of the gate with the hit and the walk, kind of like I was two starts ago,” Bubic said. “I really didn’t have a good feel for anything in that first inning. The curveball especially tonight was pretty non-existent, but I found a way to kind of fight through it and at least give our team a chance to fight through a gritty win like that.”
Saturday’s scheduled starting pitcher Carlos Hernández took over out of the bullpen in the fifth inning.
The Royals used five relievers on Wednesday and four on Thursday with a pair of pitchers working back-to-back days and Ervin Santana having thrown two innings and more than 30 pitches on Thursday.
The Royals had been on a six-man starting rotation until Brad Keller went on the IL on Friday. However, they do still have an off day on Monday that will provide some rest.
Sunday’s scheduled starter Daniel Lynch will start on Saturday. He was sent back to the team hotel during the game in order to rest and prepare for the afternoon game. Brady Singer will start on Sunday.
Hernández pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed just one infield hit and one unearned run via the automatic base runner at second base in the 10th inning.
“At this point it doesn’t matter the situation,” Hernández said. “It’s about coming in and competing and helping the team get a win. If it’s starting, it’s starting. If it’s relieving, it’s just about being ready.”
Richard Lovelady and Staumont pitched in extra innings to help secure the win.
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 1:57 AM.
