Pinch hitter Freddy Fermin hit a walk-off, two-run double in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon.
Fermin’s heroics overshadowed a straight steal of home by Jose Ramirez in the top of the 10th that gave the Guardians a brief 3-2 lead.
With Royals left-hander Aroldis Chapman (4-2) on the mound, Ramirez broke for the plate and was originally called out before replay review showed that he evaded the tag of catcher Salvador Perez.
Following an infield single from the Royals’ Nicky Lopez in the bottom of the 10th, Emmanuel Clase (1-5) struck out Drew Waters before allowing Fermin’s game-winning hit.
Kansas City was able to force extra innings thanks to a two-run rally in the eighth that included Edward Olivares’ sacrifice fly and Nick Pratto’s RBI single.
Waters went 2-for-4 with a run for the Royals, who won for just the second time in their last six games.
Josh Naylor and Will Brennan each doubled and were among six players to finish with two hits for the Guardians, who played their third straight game without manager Terry Francona as he continues to recover from an illness.
Despite taking a no-decision, Cleveland starter Shane Bieber put together one of his best outings of the season, allowing just two hits across six shutout innings. He walked one and struck out eight.
Ramirez broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with a sacrifice fly that plated Steven Kwan, who hit a leadoff single. Naylor followed with a double before scoring on Josh Bell’s bloop single to give the Guardians a 2-0 lead.
That rally spoiled an otherwise clean outing from Kansas City starter Zack Greinke, who surrendered the two runs despite giving up 11 hits. Greinke issued a pair of walks and did not record a strikeout.
MJ Melendez hit a leadoff double in the second and Drew Waters did the same thing an inning later, but the Royals failed to capitalize on either opportunity. Kansas City didn’t have another hit until its uprising in the eighth.
–Field Level Media