Alex Gordon’s two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Kansas City Royals a stunning 7-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday.
Orioles closer Alfredo Simon (2-2) retired the first two batters of the inning before Rick Ankiel walked and Wilson Betemit singled, atoning for his fielding error in the eighth that briefly allowed Baltimore to take the lead.
Gordon followed with a blast to right for his second homer of the season, ending the Royals’ losing streak at five.
Blake Wood (1-2) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.
Ty Wigginton’s run-scoring double in the eighth inning for Baltimore tied the game at 4. He came around to score the go-ahead run on Betemit’s fielding error at third base. But Gordon, who recently switched from third base to the outfield, erased that with one swing of the bat.
Betemit drove in a pair of runs and Ankiel had an RBI to help Kansas City even up the four-game set.
Baltimore | Kansas City | |
Jacob Arrieta | Player | Sean O'Sullivan |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
4.1 | IP | 6.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 0 |
6 | Hits | 4 |
6.23 | ERA | 4.50 |
Baltimore | Kansas City | |
Ty Wigginton | Player | Wilson Betemit |
3 | Hits | 3 |
2 | RBI | 2 |
0 | HR | 0 |
5 | TB | 3 |
.750 | Avg | .750 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Baltimore | 9 | 0 | 11 | .273 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Kansas City | 11 | 1 | 17 | .324 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 |