Rookie third baseman Hunter Dozier hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 win over the host Cincinnati Reds on a rainy Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.
Dozier hit the second pitch from Reds closer Raisel Iglesias (2-5) for his 11th of the season, and it came after the Reds loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth and failed to score.
The Royals (55-102) won for just the fifth time in 19 interleague games. The Reds (66-92) have lost five of six and are 10-9 against the American League.
Kevin McCarthy (5-4), the fifth Royals pitcher thanks in part to a 51-minute rain delay in the third inning, picked up the win after escaping the eighth-inning jam by getting two ground balls and a strikeout.
Right-hander Wily Peralta allowed the Reds to again load the bases in the ninth, but got Joey Votto to ground out for his 14th save.
The Reds had tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh when Scooter Gennett lined a triple into the right-field corner, and rookie Phillip Ervin singled to left.
The Reds trailed 3-0 until Dilson Herrera, pinch hitting for starter Matt Harvey, blasted a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth.
Rookie first baseman Ryan O'Hearn hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to extend the Royals' early lead to 3-0. Brian Goodwin had singled in the first run in the second inning.
O'Hearn's 12th homer of the season just went over the glove of right fielder Ervin and over the fence. It was the 27th homer of the season allowed by Harvey.
Harvey went five innings, allowing three runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
Royals starter Eric Skoglund went 2 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out one. He did not return after rain halted play one out into the bottom of the third.
--Field Level Media
Kansas City | Cincinnati | |
Eric Skoglund | Player | Matt Harvey |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
2.1 | IP | 5.0 |
1 | Strikeouts | 6 |
1 | Hits | 6 |
0.00 | ERA | 5.40 |
Kansas City | Cincinnati | |
Ryan O'Hearn | Player | Phillip Ervin |
2 | Hits | 2 |
2 | RBI | 1 |
1 | HR | 0 |
6 | TB | 2 |
.500 | Avg | .500 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Kansas City | 7 | 2 | 14 | .200 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Cincinnati | 9 | 1 | 14 | .250 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |