Rays 5, Royals 3: Luke Scott, Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce each homered as host Tampa Bay snapped its three-game losing streak after starting pitcher Alex Cobb was hit in the head by a line drive in the fifth inning.
Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher after being hit on the right ear by a liner off the bat of Eric Hosmer. He remained conscious and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he will remain overnight for further evaluation after being diagnosed with a mild concussion.
Tampa Bay trailed 2-1 before Scott launched a two-run homer in the third off Jeremy Guthrie (7-4), who was charged with five runs (four earned) over seven innings. Joyce belted a solo shot in the fifth and Longoria added another a frame later to give the Rays a 5-2 lead.
Alex Torres (2-0) earned the win after striking out four over 1 2/3 innings in relief of Cobb, who gave up two runs and threw 78 pitches over 4 1/3 frames. Fernando Rodney retired Salvador Perez with runners on the corners in the ninth for his 14th save in 19 opportunities.
After Guthrie worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, Kansas City edged closer on Perez’s solo homer off Joel Peralta in the eighth. Perez and David Lough had two hits apiece for the Royals, who lost for the second time in their last 11 games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Guthrie failed to strike out a batter for the second straight start. … Joyce and Longoria homered in the same game for the second time this week. … Tampa Bay snapped a four-game losing streak against Kansas City and beat the Royals for the third time in the last 11 meetings.
Kansas City | Tampa Bay | |
Jeremy Guthrie | Player | Alex Cobb |
Loss | W/L | No Decision |
7.0 | IP | 4.1 |
0 | Strikeouts | 3 |
8 | Hits | 4 |
5.14 | ERA | 4.15 |
Kansas City | Tampa Bay | |
David Lough | Player | Luke Scott |
2 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 2 |
0 | HR | 1 |
2 | TB | 5 |
.500 | Avg | .667 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Kansas City | 8 | 1 | 13 | .235 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
Tampa Bay | 8 | 3 | 17 | .267 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |