Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals Match Player Stats On Jul 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 15, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Shin-Soo Choo's opposite-field single with one out in the ninth inning scored pinch runner Joey Gallo and gave the Texas Rangers a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

Jonathan Lucroy led off the ninth with a single and Gallo ran for him. Delino DeShields' sacrifice bunt advanced Gallo to second. Choo, who was mired in a 4-for-33 skid, singled to left on Danny Duffy's next pitch.

Duffy (5-6) permitted one run on five hits over 8 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked none.

The only batter to reach base off Duffy after Mike Napoli's leadoff triple in the second was Carlos Gomez twice until the run in the ninth.

Gomez singled in the fifth, but Duffy picked him off. Gomez had a one-out fly ball single to right in the eighth, but was soon erased when Rougned Odor grounded into a double play.

Texas' Cole Hamels was just as good, however. He worked out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth. The next hit off Hamels was Lorenzo Cain two-out single in the sixth.

Hamels, who received 9.29 run support per nine innings in his first eight starts, was removed after Whit Merrifield's two-out double in the eighth on his 99th pitch.

Jose Leclerc replaced Hamels and struck out Jorge Bonifacio to end the inning. Hamels extended his scoreless inning streak to 21 innings, the longest active streak in the American League.

Hamels allowed four hits, one walk and five strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings. Leclerc (2-2) picked up the victory.

After Leclerc walked Lorenzo Cain on four pitches to lead off the ninth, Alex Claudio replaced him. Claudio fell behind in the count 3-0 to Eric Hosmer before striking him out and got Salvador Perez to ground into a game-ending double play.

The Royals (44-45) have lost five straight while the Rangers (45-45) have won five of their last six games.

NOTES: Royals RHP Nathan Karns will undergo thoracic outlet syndrome season-ending surgery Wednesday. Manager Ned Yost is optimistic Karns will be ready to go in spring training. ... Rangers RHP Keone Kela threw off the mound Saturday for the first time since going on the disabled list. He went on the disabled list July 3 with shoulder stiffness. ... Royals 3B Cheslor Cuthbert will begin a minor league rehab assignment Monday with Triple A-Omaha. He is on the disabled list with a left wrist sprain. ... The Rangers sent minor league infielder Yeyson Yrizarri to the White Sox in exchange for international slot compensation. Yrizarri, 20, hit .258 with seven home runs in 82 games with two Class A clubs this season. ... RHPs Yu Darvish of the Rangers and Ian Kennedy of the Royals are the Sunday probables for the series finale.