Royals come up clutch with two outs, Marsh sharp in 9-4 win over Orioles

The Royals have won nine straight at home.

Alec Marsh tossed 5 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless baseball and the offense erupted for eight runs in the sixth and seventh innings as the Royals defeated the Orioles 9-4 on Friday evening. The Royals scored all nine runs with two outs in the inning.

Marsh hit Gunnar Henderson to begin the game, then gave up a single to Adley Rutschman. But he settled down after that retiring the next eight hitters. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, and exited after a two-out Anthony Santander double in the sixth. Marsh lowered his ERA to 3.22 and he left with six strikeouts and just two walks. In two starts against the Orioles this year, he has pitched 12 ²⁄₃ innings and allowed just five hits and one run with 11 strikeouts.

The Royals got on the board in the fourth with a two-out Vinnie Pasquantino home run, his fourth of the year. Orioles starter Dean Kremer otherwise held the Royals in check over the first five innings. In the sixth, he walked Bobby Witt Jr. and Pasquantino, then got away with a mistake when Salvador Perez just got under a fastball down the middle for a long fly ball out. The Orioles turned to Keegan Akin to get the final out of the inning, but MJ Melendez broke an 0-for-23 slump with a single to right to score a run. After a Nelson Velázquez single, Michael Massey singled off the lefty to drive home two more runs. Hunter Renfroe doubled home two more to make it a five-run inning and a 6-0 Royals lead.

That lead seemed safe enough to bring in the struggling Will Smith, but he made things interesting. The lefty gave up three consecutive singles to open the inning, but seemed like he might get out of it after a foul out and a big strikeout by Henderson. But switch-hitting catcher Adley Rutschman blasted his first career grand slam to cut the lead to 6-4. Smith would get the final out, but his ERA balloons to 14.14.

Luckily, the Royals offense continued to roll. Maikel Garcia broke an 0-for-26 streak with a single to right. He advanced to second on a fly out and stole third, but was thrown out at home on the “contact play” on a ground ball by Vinnie Pasquantino. Salvy followed with a single, making the out at home hurt, but MJ Melendez picked everyone up with a massive 424-foot three-run blast to make it 9-4 Royals.

Nick Anderson and Matt Sauer each worked a scoreless inning to preserve the win. The Royals won their ninth consecutive game at home for the first time since June of 2016.

The Royals improve to 13-7 and will take on the Orioles again tomorrow evening at 6:10 when Cole Ragans takes on Corbin Burnes.