Casey Kotchman sparks as Tampa Bay Rays defeat Kansas City Royals 2-1 – MLB Update
The blistering hits of Casey Kotchman helped the Tampa Bay Rays to come from behind and beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 in the first game of the four-game series at Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg on Monday, August 8.
The Rays were struggling against the Royals’ starter Luke Hochevar and trailing 1-0 right from the start of the first inning, but Casey Kotchman shattered the spell and drove in game tying RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kotchman landed at
the plate and drove beautifully to centre, allowing Ben Zobrist to score the game tier.
This single produced some hope in the Rays’ camp and their relief pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and closer Kyle Farnsworth each did not allow any run in the eighth and the ninth inning respectively. When the game entered into the bottom of the ninth inning,
all the eyes were set again on the Kotchman. He acted as per the expectations of the fans and the camp and launched a 419-feet long dazzling homer on the very first pitch of the Royals’ closer Blake Wood.
"I don't get either one very often," Kotchman said.
Manager Joe Maddon praised Kotchman saying. "How about Casey? Those balls were properly struck. Kotch has been hitting like that all year. It's fun to watch."
It was his seven multi-hit game of the last ten games and is now hitting .341 this season.
It was the real blow for the Blake, who was appointed with the hope to force the game into the extra innings. However, manager Ned Yost was pleased the way his team played in the game.
"It was a great game," Kansas City’s manager Ned Yost said. "There was outstanding pitching from both starters."
Royals’ Eric Hosmer touched an RBI single to get the early lead for his club in the top of the first inning, but it proved the only run for the Royals.
Rays’ starter Jeremy Hellickson made a perfect rebound and managed to expand his spell to just over seven innings. He made seven strike-outs and allowed only three walks but could not generate a win.
Luke Hochevar remained excellent throughout the game except the run in the seventh and struck-out seven batters over his first six shut-out innings.
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