The Royals’ Brandon Moss (37) crosses the plate past Mariners catcher Mike Zunino after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a game Aug. 3, 2017, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The Royals’ Brandon Moss (37) crosses the plate past Mariners catcher Mike Zunino after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a game Aug. 3, 2017, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Mariners fall 6-4 in opener of big series with Royals

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brandon Moss did not want to see the numbers next to his name, so he refused to peek.

Moss hit two home runs and Lorenzo Cain drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Thursday night.

The Royals rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 for their 32nd comeback victory. They snapped a three-game losing streak.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Moss homered in the fifth off Yovani Gallardo after Mike Moustakas had walked. That snapped a four-game homer-less skid for the Royals, which matched their longest drought of the season.

Moss also homered in eighth off Emilo Pagan for his 11th career multi-homer game. He is hitting .210 with 14 home runs and 28 RBI.

“A few weeks ago, I stopped looking up at the scoreboard every single time I went up there and worrying about what the numbers looked like,” Moss said. “They are what they are. It’s not the end of the season, so you can turn them around, but you’re not going to turn them around stressing about them.”

Moss is hitting .356 with four doubles, five home runs and 12 RBI in his past 12 home games.

“I love hitting at this ballpark and the numbers back that up,” Moss said.

Pagan (0-2) took the loss, giving up two runs, one unearned, in the seventh. Alcides Escobar led off the inning with a single and Alex Gordon moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt.

Whit Merrifield reached on a fielding error by first baseman Danny Valencia. Cain punched a single to right to score Escobar and Cabrera singled home Merrifield.

Ryan Buchter (1-0), the fourth of six Kansas City pitchers, threw one pitch to retire Kyle Seager to end the seventh and picked up the victory.

Kelvin Herrera worked the ninth to log his 24th save in 27 chances. He yielded a run on Robinson Cano’s two-out single.

Seager and Valencia hit solo home runs for the Mariners. Guillermo Heredia’s sixth-inning single scored Valencia, who led off the inning with a double.

“We really needed that big two-out hit earlier in the game to get you over the hump and stretch out the lead a little bit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We didn’t get that. We felt the momentum was still on our side, but look up at the scoreboard and it was still 2-0 and they could tie it with one swing of the bat.”

Trevor Cahill, who the Royals picked up in a July 24 deal with the San Diego Padres, allowed two runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision.

“I actually felt a lot more comfortable than I thought,” Cahill said of his first Kauffman Stadium start as a Royal. “I’ve been pitching for a long time. I felt pretty normal. It seemed like a pretty exciting atmosphere, so it was all fun.”

Mariners starter Yovani Gallardo was removed after five-plus innings.

“I was getting early contact the first five innings except for that pitch to Moss,” Gallardo said. “Just a curveball was up in the zone and he just took advantage of it. I made a mistake up in the zone.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

Everett AquaSox infielder Colt Emerson cracks his bat as he gets a hit during the game against the Tri-City Dust Devils on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
AquaSox weekend update: Frogs throw combined no-hitter

Three AquaSox pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter in… Continue reading

The awards table with different athletic honors and trophies at the Everett Community College Athletics 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Everett, Washington on June 5, 2025. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Everett CC Athletics enshrine 2025 Hall of Fame class

The late Chet Hovde, longtime women’s hoops coach, headlines the seven-member class.

Stanwood's mixed unified 400-meter relay team -- (from left to right) senior Ciara Beam, sophomore Camrie Ingram, junior Xander Krause and junior Levi Stiers -- poses with their medals and state championship trophy at the WIAA Track & Field Championships in Tacoma, Washington on May 31, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Michael Randall / Stanwood track & field)
Stanwood’s Inclusive Track Field state champions blaze trail

The program takes huge step forward for intellectually disabled athletes and their peers.

AquaSox pounded by Emeralds

The Eugene Emeralds hit the AquaSox early and often… Continue reading

Tyrese Haliburton hit a last-second shot to take down favored Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. (Yong Kim / Tribune News Services)
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton stuns Thunder to open NBA Finals

Tyrese Haliburton raced up the court, paused for a… Continue reading

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) participates in a workout during day six of OTAs at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton on Thursday, June 5, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Edwin Hooper / Seattle Seahawks)
Revisiting Washington’s 2000 upset over mighty Miami

It’s impossible to find two power-conference college football programs farther apart geographically… Continue reading

Seahawks offensive tackle Abraham Lucas, an Archbishop Murphy High School graduate, participates in OTAs at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Rod Mar / Seattle Seahawks)
Seahawks offensive tackle Abraham Lucas talks about new season

The healthy Archbishop Murphy graduate talks about a number of topics at OTAs.

Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) participates in a workout on day five of OTAs at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Edwin Hooper / Seattle Seahawks)
As Milroe learns, there’s no QB competition for Seahawks

There are obvious similarities between the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback situation… Continue reading

Everett AquaSox infielder Colt Emerson gets a high-five from teammate Lazaro Montes after scoring during the game against the Tri-City Dust Devils on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lazaro Montes hits 13th homer, Frogs win

Suisbel and Montes go deep for second straight night.

Everett Community College head coach Chet Hovde watches as the women's team practices on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 in Everett. Hovde, who died in 2024, will be inducted into the EvCC Hall of Fame along with others on Thursday. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
EvCC to induct 5 athletes, 1 team into HOF Thursday

A record-setting rebounder, a dual-threat pitcher, a cross country… Continue reading

Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners hits a single during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at T-Mobile Park on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Seattle. (Stephen Brashear / Getty Images / Tribune News Services)
Cal Raleigh is blasting his way toward a historic season

When the owners of the Seattle Mariners gathered last week for a… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.