NewsRoyals watch lead fall by wayside
Cruz allows deciding homer; Teahen, Jacobs drive in three
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
07/18/09 1:42 AM ET
KANSAS CITY -- Now this is not the way the Royals wanted to start out the second half -- with a loss to the defending American League champions.But that's what happened, 8-7, as Evan Longoria launched a game-winning two-run homer for the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night in front of 33,568 fans at Kauffman Stadium. It put a damper on a festive day that began with the opening of the Royals Hall of Fame and an old-timers' game featuring George Brett, Frank White and Willie Wilson.
After Carl Crawford rapped a two-out single in the eighth inning against Juan Cruz, who was trying to protect a 7-6 lead, Longoria bashed his 18th homer into the left-field seats -- just in front of the newly opened Hall of Fame.
"We knew [Cruz] threw hard, and he's got good stuff," Longoria said. "I was just trying to hit a line drive up the middle and hoping that he would leave a fastball over the middle of the plate. And I got to 3-2 and I was looking fastball there, and he just so happened to leave a changeup in the middle of the plate."
Royals manager Trey Hillman was asked if he considered bringing in closer Joakim Soria to face Longoria in that situation.
"No, I felt comfortable with the combination of Cruz and [John] Bale, rather than asking Jack for four outs the first day back," Hillman said.
Bale promptly relieved Cruz and struck out Carlos Pena, but the damage was done.
The Royals sure could have used a victory after ending the first half with three straight losses at Boston.
"We kind of put ourselves in a position to do that but, I don't know, I guess that's why they're good -- they came back," the Royals' Mark Teahen said. "But, yeah, those are games you've got to win especially when you get a lead early."
That's what the Royals did against James Shields, who has a 5-0 career record against them. They scored five times in the third inning to surge ahead, 6-2.
The inning began with singles by David DeJesus, Willie Bloomquist and Billy Butler loading the bases. Teahen's single up the middle brought in two runs. Mike Jacobs' soaring home run just inside the right-field pole accounted for three more. It was Jacobs' 13th homer.
This wasn't the same Shields that beat the Royals, 3-2, on June 4 in Florida.
"He just wasn't as fine as he usually is," Teahen said. "He was getting behind some guys, and we strung together a few hits in a row. They didn't get hit overly hard, but that Jacobs home run was huge with guys on."
Royals starter Brian Bannister ran up a lot of pitches (111) and was pulled after five innings. He gave up four runs on seven hits. However, two runs in the fourth were unearned after Alex Gordon, back in the lineup for the first time since April 15, dropped a popup at third base.
"One of those things. You look back, and it's kind of embarrassing and a tough play," Gordon said. "But it happens and you gotta move on. Learn from it and probably next time use two hands -- definitely going to do that next time."
Other than that, Gordon played his first game back from hip surgery feeling good and pain-free. In four times to the plate, he was 1-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt.
Newly acquired shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt went 2-for-4 and won fans' hearts in the sixth inning when he belted a triple into the right-center-field gap. He scored on DeJesus' third hit, a single, which put the Royals up, 7-4.
"I saw good pitches in that at-bat," Betancourt said. "And he left a pitch up and I saw it pretty good, and I was able to connect the ball in right-center, and it felt pretty good."
His run put the Royals ahead, 7-4, but Pat Burrell's two-run homer off reliever Jamey Wright in the seventh tightened the score to 7-6.
"We made it easier on them with two unearned runs and then leaving balls right down Broadway with dangerous hitters up," Hillman said.
Bannister, who had allowed just four earned runs in his previous three starts, was not that effective this time.
"I threw a lot of pitches. They're a team built around on-base percentage and speed and they're always a challenge for pitchers, especially when you're not as sharp as you want to be," Bannister said.
When DeJesus scored in the first inning, it snapped a string of 12 straight games in which the opponent had scored first. According to STATS LLC, that matched the longest such streak in Royals history (the other dozen games came in 2002).
And then came that nice 6-2 lead.
"When your offense puts together some runs, it was kind of tough to see it slip away," the long-absent Gordon said. "There were a lot of plays that happened that caused the outcome of that game. But I think being back in the lineup and seeing some of the guys play was nice, and a lot of guys played well."
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
