Royals Drop Home Series With Clevleand

You wouldn’t know if from the score, but a lot happened in the Cubs’ 1-0 win against the Royals on Monday, which ended when Chris Denorfia hit a pinch-hit, walkoff home run in the 11th inning.

Theo Epstein’s rebuilding plan also has come to fruition, with the Cubs set to make their first playoff appearance since 2008 led by a host of rookies under first-year manager Joe Maddon. “He comes off the bench, he’s done a great job pinch-hitting”.

That carries risks for the Cubs, too; if there were a tie, the Pirates might go with Gerrit Cole in a tiebreaker game and then Francisco Liriano would likely face the Cubs in the wild-card game. “I’ve had the opportunity to do that one other time in my career and it’s just the best feeling”. “You feel like a little kid again“. The Royals were able to avoid the sweep Sunday, with a 3-0 win.

The victory was the second straight for the Cubs (91-65) while the Royals (90-66) fell for the third time in four games.

Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura carried a flawless game into the sixth before Jorge Soler singled to centre field.

Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks allowed just two hits in six scoreless innings. He drove in his 99th run Sunday, and Starlin Castro added a two-run double as the Cubs snapped a three-game skid.

Hundreds of eager Royals fans attended the games at Wrigley Field in late May that Mother Nature didn’t rain out.

Kris Bryant has continued making his case for the league’s Rookie of the Year by hitting.452 with two homers and seven doubles over his last 11. Ventura pitched six innings of Kansas City’s 4-3, 10-inning win over Seattle on Wednesday. “He was fantastic”.

Max Scherzer took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Reds, but lost it when Tucker Barnhart singled with one out. Reliever Trevor Cahill rattled off a knuckle-curve followed by two straight change-ups to get Ben Zobrist on swinging on three pitches, and Ventura found himself in the dugout a non-factor in the decision, despite a sterling performance in which he struck out six, walked just one, and allowed just two singles in seven scoreless innings.

BLUE JAYS 4, ORIOLES 3 Visiting Toronto edged closer to clinching the American League East title, getting a home run from Edwin Encarnacion and scoring a ninth-inning run to secure a comeback victory over Baltimore.