By David Smale / Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Teoscar Hernandez hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Wednesday night.
Julio Rodriguez had four hits for Seattle, including a ninth-inning single that provided an insurance run the Mariners ended up needing. Cal Raleigh added a home run and a double.
Dylan Moore opened the eighth by reaching on an error and came around to score on Hernandez’s fly to make it 5-4.
Luis Castillo (9-7) allowed four runs on nine hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out three.
Matt Brash picked up his third save despite allowing Nelson Velazquez’s homer in the ninth.
Dylan Coleman (0-1) took the loss for Kansas City. James McArthur, who made his first major league start as the opener for the Royals, allowed three runs on three hits in one inning.
The Mariners wasted no time in foiling the Royals’ opener plan. Rodriguez led off with a double to the gap in right-center. He scored on Ty France’s single, and France scored on Raleigh’s two-run homer. Castillo had a three-run lead before he threw his first pitch.
Maikel Garcia extended his Royals rookie-record hitting streak to 18 games with a double on the first pitch from Castillo. It’s the longest active streak in the majors. Garcia went to third on a groundout by Bobby Witt Jr. and scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Massey.
The Mariners answered the Royals’ run with another in the second. Rodriguez drove home Jose Caballero with a single.
The Royals got another run in the second on a sacrifice fly, this one by Kyle Isbel, scoring Drew Waters, who led off the inning with a triple. They drew within one in the third on a two-out double by MJ Melendez, scoring Salvador Perez from first.
The Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but they only got the tying run. Velazquez grounded into a double play to squash the rally.
TRANSACTIONS
Mariners: C Tom Murphy was placed on the 10-day Injured List with a left thumb sprain, retroactive to Aug. 14. In a corresponding move, the Mariners selected C Brian O’Keefe from Triple-A Tacoma.
Royals: RHP Nick Wittgren was optioned to Triple-A Omaha following last night’s game. RHP John McMillon was selected from Double-A Northwest Arkansas. The Royals also transferred RHP Brad Keller to 60-day Injured List.
UP NEXT
The Mariners and Royals will compete their four-game series with a Thursday matinee. Seattle will send RHP George Kirby (10-8, 3.32 ERA) to the mound. Kansas City has not named a starter.
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