MLB

Kansas City Royals at Washington Nationals

· Major League Baseball
Kansas City Royals
85-74, 40-38 Away
Final
7 - 4
Washington Nationals
69-90, 36-42 Home

Frazier's pinch-hit, 2-run single lifts the Royals to a series sweep of the Nationals

Pinch hitter Adam Frazier’s one-out, line drive hit to left field in the top of the ninth drove in two runs, breaking a 4-all tie and guiding the Royals to their third straight win following a seven-game losing streak.

“It doesn’t surprise me, to be honest," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "I like to brag on these guys because they’re so professional. They are so matter of fact, turn the page from good or bad. They don’t feel sorry for themselves when they’re getting beat and they don’t get too high when you’re winning. Hopefully they have more to celebrate, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

Salvador Perez’s second single of the game scored Frazier, chasing Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan (3-8).

“Get a ball to the outfield somehow," Frazier said of his approach. "When I hit it, I thought it might be foul and I heard everybody cheer so I figured it was good. That works for sure.”

Hunter Renfroe hit his 14th homer of the season to open the scoring, a 424-feet shot that left the park at 108.4 mph. The Royals (85-74) remained even with the Tigers for the second AL wild-card spot. Kansas City closes the season with a three-game series in Atlanta, while the Tigers host the Chicago White Sox for a three-game set.

Kris Bubic (1-1) earned the win with a scoreless eighth inning. Royals closer Lucas Erceg recorded his third consecutive save in the series — and 14th of the season.

“It’s my first time doing that," Erceg said. “Felt good when I was out there. A little tired now, but it’s just cool to have that experience.”

Erceg and teammate Angel Zerpa each tossed scoreless innings of relief in all three wins as the bullpen took center stage. Royals hurlers held the Nationals without a run in 26 of the 28 innings.

Starter Michael Wacha pitched five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) and five hits, striking out two and walking one on 83 pitches, 58 for strikes.

Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin made his final start for the team and the Royals went ahead with five consecutive singles in the third. Tommy Pham, Bobby Witt Jr. and Yuli Gurriel had RBI singles, giving the Royals a 4-1 lead.

Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. hit a three-run homer to tie the game at 4, his 17th of the season.

The Nationals ended the second-longest scoring drought in franchise history at 31 consecutive innings with an unearned run in the first. Dylan Crews scored the first run since Sept. 21 at Wrigley Field after a dropped infield pop fly by second baseman Maikel Garcia.

Corbin departed to a standing ovation and tipped his cap to the crowd before stepping into the home dugout and receiving high fives from the coaching staff. The 35-year-old pitcher worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts on 73 pitches, 49 for strikes.

Corbin becomes a free agent this winter. The two-time All-Star’ has struggled the last four seasons, compiling 63 losses — the worst in the National League.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Michael Lorenzen left his start Wednesday night after 2 1/3 innings with left leg fatigue, but appears on target to pitch out of the bullpen this weekend against the Braves.

Quatraro said LHP Will Smith (15-day IL, back spasms) is scheduled to throw a live bullpen session Saturday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Brady Singer (9-12, 3.73 ERA) takes on Braves LHP Max Fried (10-10, 3.42) Friday night at Truist Park.

Nationals: RHP Trevor Williams (5-1, 2.19) faces the Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez (12-7, 3.15) Friday night at Nationals Park.

How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Washington Nationals?
  • TV Channel: Royals at Nationals 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Nationals: 36.3%
Royals: 63.7%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Young grounded out to first.
9th Inning Gallo struck out swinging.
9th Inning Ruiz grounded out to second.
9th Inning Erceg relieved Bubic
9th Inning Frazier at third base.
9th Inning Isbel in center field.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/kc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originKC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
11 Ground Balls 16
4 Strikeouts 6
7 Runs Batted In 4
1 Sacrifice Hit 1
8 Hits 7
2 Stolen Bases 0
4 Walks 1
0 Catcher Interference 0
7 Runs 4
0 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
35 At Bats 33
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
13 Runners Left On Base 12
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
0 Doubles 0
21 Fly Balls 12
0 Caught Stealing 0
137 Pitches 132
0 Games Started 0
2 Pinch At Bats 0
1 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
11 Total Bases 10
40 Plate Appearances 35
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
1 Extra Base Hits 1
4.1 Runs Created 1.9
.229 Batting Average .212
.500 Pinch Hit Average .000
.314 Slugging Percentage .303
.257 Secondary Average .121
.308 On Base Percentage .235
.622 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .538
0.5 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 1.3
4.0 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 1.8
41.0 Batter Rating 26.0
35.0 At Bats Per Home Run 33.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.43 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.77
.086 Isolated Power .091
1.00 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.17
.100 Walks Per Plate Appearance .029
.029 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.091
14.0 Runs Produced 8.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.2
86.0 MLB Rating 76.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Nationals Park

Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Attendance: 14,357 | Capacity:

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2

2024 National League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Philadelphia 95 67 .586 - W1
Atlanta 89 73 .549 6 W1
New York 89 73 .549 6 L1
Washington 71 91 .438 24 L1
Miami 62 100 .383 33 W4
Full Standings