NewsCatchers come through for KC in extras
After Pena homers in 10th, Olivo's tater in 11th beats Astros
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
06/25/09 1:35 AM ET
HOUSTON -- Miguel Olivo didn't enter the game until late, but he was there when it counted. |
Olivo belted a home run on the first pitch of the 11th inning to give the Royals a 4-3 Interleague victory over the Astros on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park. Olivo connected against reliever Jeff Fulchino, an ex-Royals hurler.
It was a great night for the Kansas City catchers.
Brayan Pena's solo home run off Astros left-hander Tim Byrdak, another former Royals player, accounted for a 3-2 KC lead in the 10th inning. After that blow, Olivo replaced Pena behind the plate.
Olivo had an inkling about Fulchino, whom he'd caught last season.
"I know what he's got," Olivo said. "I expect in that situation he's going to throw me a fastball. I'm a free swinger and I'm swinging all the time. I saw my pitch and made good contact with it."
Did he think his drive to left-center field was gone?
"Not really," Olivo said. "I was running like crazy. I just wanted to make a triple or something, and it took off."
Left-hander John Bale took over the pitching chores for Joakim Soria, who blew the save in the 10th, and closed out the Astros 1-2-3 in the 11th to the disappointment of most of the 28,602 in attendance.
"You definitely get a little more adrenaline coming into a situation like that," Bale said. "It was a huge win, all the way around."
Pena, who started the game behind the plate, connected with one out in the 10th to snap a 2-2 tie. He wasn't sure his drive to right field was going to be out.
"I hit a down-low fastball," Pena said. "When the ball left, at the beginning, I didn't think I had a shot. But it was carrying a little bit and it was a great feeling."
Soria followed that shot by arriving from the bullpen, looking for his second save in as many nights.
"We thought when Soria was coming in, that was going to be the game," the Royals' David DeJesus said. "But he has his days, and it just shows that we're able to battle back."
The Astros came back in their half of the 10th against Soria, as Ivan Rodriguez singled, advanced on a bunt and scored on pinch-hitter Matt Kata's single.
One of the most confusing moments came in the Royals' ninth, when, with Mitch Maier on first base after an error, pinch-hitter Mike Jacobs hit a drive to left field. Jason Michaels went back by the side wall of the short porch and came out with the ball.
But Maier just kept going to third.
"I probably had the best view, me and the first-base ump [Delfin Colon] -- I think he's the one that ended up calling it -- saying that it hit the wall," Maier said.
"I saw [Michaels] jump and it hit [the wall] and went into his glove. That's why I kept going. I was already going to second; if he caught it, I could easily get back. But as soon as I saw it ricochet, I kept going."
Michaels tried to convince the umpires it was a catch, even throwing toward first base for "a double play."
"He sold it good. He had everyone else believing that he caught it," Maier said. "I can't believe it ricocheted into his glove like that. It was a weird little play, but I'm just glad they got it right."
After a conference, the umpires ruled no catch. Jacobs had a single, with Maier advancing to third. From there, Maier scored on DeJesus' single to bring the Royals even at 2-2.
Royals starter Luke Hochevar was perfect through the first four innings -- 12 Astros up, 12 down. Carlos Lee led off the fifth with a looping single into left field, but he was thrown out trying for second by DeJesus.
The Royals broke a scoreless a tie in the sixth. Mark Teahen and Pena each singled after two outs, and Tug Hulett was sent to pinch-hit for Luis Hernandez. Hulett came through, dropping an RBI single into left field for a 1-0 lead.
It vanished in the bottom half as Darin Erstad, pinch-hitting for Astros starter Roy Oswalt, lashed a two-run homer to right field.
"It was the pitch I wanted to throw, and he put a good swing on it," Hochevar said. "Would I take the pitch back? No. Would I take the result back? Yeah."
Hochevar pitched well, giving up just three hits in his seven innings.
Reliever Kyle Farnsworth was injured in the eighth inning, as the first batter he faced, Kazuo Matsui, reached base on an infield single. Farnsworth pulled his right groin as he delivered the pitch and had to be taken out of the game.
"It was one of those freak things," Farnsworth said afterward. "I'll have an MRI [exam] tomorrow."
It was kind of a freaky night all around.
"It was a wild ride," Royals manager Trey Hillman said.
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
