Brady Singer made his best start of 2023 ... then KC Royals had to survive a rally
The Royals haven’t had a lot of games like the one they played Tuesday night.
Instead of collapsing when pressure mounted, the Royals survived for a 5-4 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Trailing by one in the ninth, Arizona had the tying run on third with the winning run at second. But Royals closer Scott Barlow got Christian Walker to ground out to end the game.
Barlow’s poise under pressure impressed Royals second baseman Michael Massey.
“That’s why Scott is so good,” said Massey. “In any situation, he comes out and shuts (out) the noise.”
Earlier, KC was in position to take the lead because of a dominant outing by starting pitcher Brady Singer. Entering the day with a 1-2 record and 8.14 ERA, Singer delivered one of his best outings of 2023.
He earned his second win in the process. The righty exited after six innings, having surrendered just one earned run with five strikeouts. He didn’t walk any batters, something that plagued the Royals in Game 1 of the series.
Singer said his strong start was the difference Tuesday.
“It was kind of what I wanted to do is go out there and set the tone early,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve got through a first inning this year cleanly.”
Facing D’backs hurler Ryne Nelson, the Royals scored four of their five runs in the first five innings. KC totalled 14 hits.
“There were a lot good at-bats,” said Royals manager Matt Quatraro. “They came in different ways. Some of them were early-counts, being ready to hit the first pitch. Some of them were good at-bats, going deeper into the count (and) using the whole field. ...
“There were a lot of positives, a lot of bright spots,”
Like Monday night, Edward Olivares got the Royals on the board early. This time, he singled in the first inning to drive in Bobby Witt Jr. Olivares homered in Game 1 to put KC up 1-0.
Salvador Perez, Massey and Franmil Reyes each drove in a run for KC in the first five innings. Kyle Isbel tripled in the eighth and scored KC’s final run on a wild pitch.
The Royals improved to 6-18 with Tuesday’s win.
Missed the start of the series?
Game 1: KC Royals leave 10 on base in 1-run loss to Arizona
Royals survive late rally
The Royals had a three-run lead (4-1) heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Diamondbacks quickly loaded the bases with only one out against reliever Taylor Clarke.
In a pivotal moment, Clarke got the job done. He limited the Diamondbacks to one run — a sacrifice fly by Josh Rojas — for the second out. He then struck out Ketel Marte to end the inning, stranding Alek Thomas on third.
Aroldis Chapman struggles ... again
After giving up the game-winning run on Monday, Chapman struggled with the D-backs on Tuesday.
Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled against Chapman, then pulled off a double-steal to move into scoring position.
Then Emmanuel Rivera hit a ball at Witt, who dove and stopped the ball but committed a throwing error to first. Carroll and Gurriel both scored and Chapman was charged with one earned run.
He exited the game and was replaced by Barlow.
Vinnie Pasquantino makes a leaping snag
The Royals found themselves in a precarious situation in the fourth. After Singer gave up his first run, Gurriel hit a one-out double to move into scoring position.
Singer then dispatched Arizona’s Pavin Smith by forcing a popup, and the Royals needed just one more out.
Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno hit a hard line drive toward Pasquantino, who jumped up to snag the ball and end the inning.
Pasquantino likely saved a run in the process.
Up next
The finale between the two teams will be at 2:40 p.m. Central on Wednesday. Ryan Yarbrough will face Arizona’s Zac Gallen, as the Royals attempt to win their second series of the young 2023 season.
This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 11:48 PM.
