MLB

Kansas City Royals at Atlanta Braves

· Major League Baseball
Kansas City Royals
85-76, 40-40 Away
Final
1 - 2
Atlanta Braves
88-71, 45-33 Home

D'Arnaud hits a walk-off homer as Braves keep up their playoff push with a 2-1 win over Royals

Reynaldo López came off the injured list to throw six strong innings for the Braves, who moved one game ahead of the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks in the race for the final two NL wild-card spots.

The Mets lost 6-0 at Milwaukee, while the Diamondbacks were blanked 5-0 by San Diego.

D'Arnaud ended it with one swing in the ninth, launching a 2-0 pitch from Sam Long (3-3) over the center-field wall for his 15th homer this season.

After an injury-plagued season, the Braves' magic number is one. They can clinch their seventh straight playoff appearance on Sunday by completing a sweep of the Royals or another loss by the Diamondbacks.

Atlanta also has a makeup doubleheader set for Monday against the Mets after two games were washed out by Hurricane Helene in the final week of the regular season, but it may not matter much for the Braves.

“This is big here. This is playoff baseball, literally,” manager Brian Snitker said. “A lot of emotions. That’s why you play this thing, to get in these positions.”

Raisel Iglesias (6-2) earned the win with a perfect top half of the ninth, but the story on the mound was López.

The All-Star right-hander pitched for the first time since Sept. 10, when he lasted only one inning at Washington before coming out with shoulder discomfort. An MRI showed no structural damage, but the Braves placed him on the 15-day disabled list in the heat of the playoff race to make sure things didn't get worse.

López looked as good as ever in his return, allowing only two singles while striking out nine. After fanning Adam Frazier with the last of his 73 pitches, he pounded his glove in satisfaction while walking off the mound, having lowered his season ERA to an even 2.00.

This is more than López ever could've imagined after he signed with the Braves as a free agent last November. Coming off three seasons spent mostly as a reliever, Atlanta moved him to the starting rotation — and he's been downright dazzling.

“It’s been a surprising season for me,” López said through an interpreter. “Not knowing what to really expect and then being able to take full advantage of the opportunity I was given, I just couldn’t have expected this type of season. It's been tremendous.”

D'Arnaud provided the perfect capper to the night for the Braves.

“It’s great, especially when the wins are so big right now,” he said. “I think what our pitchers did is better than what I did at the end because I wouldn’t have had that chance unless our pitchers kept us in the game like they did.”

Kansas City went ahead in the third after starting the frame with its only two hits off Lopez — back-to-back singles by Freddy Fermin and Garrett Hampson. Fermin came home from third when Dairon Blanco hit into a double play.

The Braves tied it up in the fourth with an unearned run.

With two outs, Jorge Soler hit one off the yellow line at the top of the wall in right-center for a double. D'Arnaud followed with a dribbler that was fielded by pitcher Michael Lorenzen, who had plenty of time to get the slow-running catcher but threw it in the Braves' dugout. Soler came home on the error.

The Royals went with a makeshift lineup one day after clinching their first postseason appearance since 2015.

Bobby Witt Jr. was among six starters from Friday's 3-0 loss who got the night off, while three others were slotted into different positions. For Witt, it was the first game he's missed all season after making 160 consecutive starts — 159 at shortstop and one game as the designated hitter.

Sitting out had an added benefit for the Royals star, who likely locked up the AL batting title with a .332 average and just one game left in the regular season.

Sixteen-game winner Seth Lugo pitched two scoreless innings for Kansas City, limited to 36 pitches in what was essentially a tuneup for the Wild Card Series that begins Tuesday.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Royals: Vinnie Pasquantino (broken right thumb) holds out hope he may be able to return to the lineup during the playoffs. He took another step in his recovery by facing live pitching for the first time since his injury. Before the game, he took swings against LHP Will Smith, who is recovering from low back spasms, and RHP Steven Cruz, who has been optioned to the minors.

Braves: With López coming off the injured list, RHP John Brebbia was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett — merely a procedural move since the minor league team's season is over.

UP NEXT

Neither team announced pitching plans for the series finale Sunday. The Braves will go with Chris Sale, Charlie Morton or rookie Spencer Schwellenbach. The Royals, meanwhile, scuttled plans to start LHP Cole Ragans, preferring to hold him back for the Wild Card Series.

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

Matchup Prediction

Braves: 62.4%
Royals: 37.6%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning d'Arnaud homered to center (421 feet).
9th Inning Laureano struck out swinging.
9th Inning Melendez struck out swinging.
9th Inning Perez struck out swinging.
9th Inning Garcia lined out to right.
9th Inning Iglesias relieved Jiménez

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/atl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originATL
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
0 Ground Balls 0
13 Strikeouts 12
0 Runs Batted In 1
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
3 Hits 5
0 Stolen Bases 0
3 Walks 4
0 Catcher Interference 0
1 Runs 2
1 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
28 At Bats 30
0 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
5 Runners Left On Base 12
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 2
0 Fly Balls 0
0 Caught Stealing 0
130 Pitches 145
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
4 Total Bases 10
31 Plate Appearances 34
0.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
1 Extra Base Hits 3
-0.2 Runs Created 2.4
.107 Batting Average .167
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.143 Slugging Percentage .333
.143 Secondary Average .300
.194 On Base Percentage .265
.336 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .598
0.0 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.0
-0.2 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 2.5
7.0 Batter Rating 18.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 30.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
4.19 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.26
.036 Isolated Power .167
0.23 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.33
.097 Walks Per Plate Appearance .118
.036 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .133
1.0 Runs Produced 3.0
0.0 Runs Ratio 0.5
0.2 Patience Ratio 0.4
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.2
58.3 MLB Rating 68.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Truist Park

Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 38,775 | 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