Watch Alex Gordon and Humberto Arteaga pitch for Royals in Monday’s game

If someone had told Royals fans that left fielder Alex Gordon would pull a Babe Ruth on Monday night, it would be reasonable to assume that Gordon put on a hitting display.

Instead, Gordon became the first cleanup hitter since Ted Williams in 1940 to pitch more than one inning in a game. Before that it was Babe Ruth in 1919, according to author Ryan Spaeder.

The Royals lost 19-4 to the Oakland A’s at Kauffman Stadium on Monday, and things got weird in the late innings.

Gordon came on in the seventh inning with Oakland holding a 15-3 lead. That made him the first Royals position player to pitch in the seventh inning or earlier, according to Fox Sports Kansas City associate producer David Holtzman.

Gordon allowed three runs on five hits with one walk in 1 1/3 innings, and he was relieved by ... shortstop Humberto Arteaga.

Oddly, Arteaga tied Josh Staumont for the best outing of the game by a Royals pitcher. They both allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings.

Oh, and Arteaga singled in the bottom of the eighth inning. He was the first Royals pitcher to get a hit in a home game since catcher Drew Butera in 2016. That’s according to Twitter user Doug Kern.

Here are highlights of Gordon on the mound:

When he left the game, Gordon acknowledged the crowd:

Here is one pitch from Arteaga and a nice catch from outfielder Brett Phillips:

On the one hand, it was a forgettable night for the Royals, but it was also one to remember.

This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 8:52 AM.