CINCINNATI — Just when it looked like Ryan McBroom came off the bench and re-ignited the fire the Kansas City Royals showed during their four-game winning streak and assured they’d find a way to keep the good times rolling, the Cincinnati Reds dished out a dose of heartbreak.
McBroom blasted a pinch-hit, two-run home run that tied the score in the eighth inning and propelled the game into extra innings after the Royals trailed by four early, but the Royals couldn’t get a run in the 10th despite the new rule that starts each team with a runner on second base.
The Reds got a walk-off double from Joey Votto on a ball that Royals center fielder Brett Phillips likely should have caught, but Phillips apparently didn’t realize how much room he had before reaching the wall and Votto’s high drive fell for a game-winning RBI double as the Royals dropped the opener of the two-game set 6-5 at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday night.
The Royals (7-11) left 10 men on base. They’d loaded the bases in the second, third and seventh innings, but they went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
“That’s just a game that should have been ours,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “ … Second and third, having so many guys on the bases and not being able to get anybody in. We’ve talked since we’ve started talking this season about how we need to be able to make a mark there somehow someway and a high percentage of the time.”
The Royals appeared poised to load the bases with two outs in the 10th when Phillips didn’t swing at what appeared to be ball four, but home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor called it a strike. With a full count, Phillips then grounded out to end the inning. Second baseman Nicky Lopez, who doubled earlier in the game, waited on deck.
“I’m actually afraid to watch that one on replay,” Matheny said after a pregnant pause. “It did look like we were going to be bases loaded there, and I love how Nicky is taking his at-bats right now. That would have been a fun spot for us to be in.”
Ryan O’Hearn (2 for 5) and Whit Merrifield (2 for 5) had two hits apiece, while Salvador Perez extended his hitting streak to nine games.
McBroom, who pinch-hit for Alex Gordon, hadn’t appeared in a game since Saturday when he walked in his lone plate appearance. His last official at-bat prior to Tuesday was in the sixth inning of Friday’s win over the Minnesota Twins when he homered and provided the margin of victory in a 3-2 game.
Tuesday night, he crushed an 0-1 slider from Reds left-handed reliever Amir Garrett into the left field stands.
“I wouldn’t say I was sitting on it,” McBroom said. “I wasn’t selling out to it, but you know he has that in his arsenal. You also know he has 97. I was ready for the heater, and I kind of just reacted. That’s why you’ve got to go up with a plan. You’ve got to know what the guy throws, not necessarily bank on one type of pitch — which I wasn’t.”
Rookie left-hander Kris Bubic finished strong after having allowed two runs in the second inning and three in the third. He retired the last seventh consecutive batters he faced, including four strikeouts.
He threw a season-high 100 pitches (60 strikes) and gave up five runs on seven hits and one walk through five innings. He struck out six and gave up a pair of home runs.
“Not that I was nibbling earlier, but with traffic on base I’m less likely to be aggressive in the zone,” Bubic said. “But those last two innings, I knew my pitch count was up and wanted to squeeze in those last two to save our bullpen a little bit. (I was) just getting ahead and attacking and putting away guys. I wasn’t going 2-2 or 3-2 as often.
“It’s not that I had issues throwing strikes tonight, but I just felt when I needed that one pitch, especially in that second and that third inning, I just couldn’t get it. Those last two innings, I was able to get the pitches I needed.”
