Kansas City Royals clinch series victory despite losing Perez and Lynch to injuries
Hunter Dozier continued his late-season resurgence with a pivotal hit in the seventh inning to swing the game in the Kansas City Royals’ favor as they clinched a series win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.
Dozier ripped a two-out, two-run triple into right-center field to break a tie score, and then Dozier scored from third on a wild pitch to give his club a three-run advantage on their way to a 10-5 win over the Indians in front of an announced 10,373 in attendance for the second game of their three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.
The win gave the Royals (73-85) the series victory and back-to-back wins since they swept a doubleheader against the Indians in Cleveland on Sept. 20. It also marked the 4,000th win in the 53-year history of the franchise in the major leagues.
Royals star catcher Salvador Perez hit his major-league leading 48th home run of the season and tied the franchise’s single-season record before leaving the game with an injury.
Royals starting pitcher Daniel Lynch also left the game with a member of the training staff after getting hit on the arm with a line drive back to the mound by Austin Hedges in the fourth inning.
On top of Perez and Lynch leaving the game early, the Royals saw a 5-1 lead disappear and still managed to take control of the game late.
“It was great to hold onto that game,” Royals All-Star second baseman Whit Merrifield said. “We were very fortunate that what happened to Salvy and Lynch wasn’t worse. It could have been worse than it was. We’re fortunate for that. Just a great job top to bottom. I think everybody contributed in some sort of way tonight, and it has been a fun stretch for us. We’re playing the baseball that I know we’re capable of.”
The Royals are now 37-32 since the All-Star break. They also will avoid losing 90 games in a 162-game season for the first time since 2017.
Merrifield went 2 for 5 with two doubles and registered his second season of at least 40 doubles and 40 stolen bases. The only other Royals player to accomplish that feat was Johnny Damon in 2000.
Merrifield became just the seventh player in MLB history with two seasons of 40 or more doubles and 40 or more steals.
Cam Gallagher also had two hits and an RBI after coming off the bench as a substitute for Perez.
The Royals scored five runs in the first two innings with a big assist from Perez’s three-run homer in the first inning. The record-tying blast gave the Royals a 3-1 lead at the time. They added to that with two runs in the second on a Kyle Isbel RBI single and a Merrifield RBI double.
The Indians rallied with a run in the third on Amed Rosario’s RBI double. Rosario entered the night having batted .308 with two doubles, a triple, three homers and 11 RBIs in 12 games this season against the Royals.
The Indians pulled within a run after scoring two in the fourth and knocking Lynch from the game on Austin Hedges’ RBI single back up the middle.
Lynch threw 81 pitches in three innings plus another three batters in the fourth inning.
“I’m feeling good,” Lynch said after getting hit. “It just got me on the pad of my right hand. It felt fine. It kind of just grazed me a little bit. It didn’t get me too square.”
The Indians added a second run in the inning on a ground ball where the Royals attempted and failed to turn a double play.
With Royals reliever Joel Payamps on the mound in the fifth, the Royals gave up the lead on a Yu Chang RBI double to left field. That made the score 5-5 at the game’s midpoint.
Dozier’s triple in the seventh gave the Royals the lead for good.
“The bullpen did just a fantastic job again of keeping us in the game and just kind of waiting for somebody to step up,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Doz came through big for us with that triple.”
Hanser Alberto’s RBI double and Gallagher’s RBI single added to the cushion in the eighth inning.
The teams will conclude their series on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Royals left-hander Angel Zerpa is scheduled to make his major-league debut, while the Indians will start right-hander Shane Bieber (7-4, 3.17).
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 10:35 PM.
