Kansas City Royals beat Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 to complete series sweep – MLB Update
Kansas City Royals continued to impress the critics as they beat Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Wednesday, June 27 during the finale of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Kansas City made a very aggressive start to the contest, taking complete advantage of their opponents’ unforced errors on the field. Mike Moustakas looked in outstanding form as he homered to right-centre in the first inning to put the Royals 1-0 ahead.
Alcides Escobar also made the most of available opportunities, hitting his second home-run of the season in the third inning to double Royals’ advantage to 2-0. Yuniesky Betancourt had an RBI double to left in the fifth inning to help the Royals consolidate
their position.
"It's been hot the last few days," said Rays’ manager Joe Maddon. "But I tell you what, you didn't hear one guy complain. They played right down to the last out. They were great."
"It's a tough way to end the road trip," said Zobrist. "They (Royals) were playing great over there. They did everything. They hit the ball really well, they pitched well, and played good defense. We couldn't get anything going."
Jeff Keppinger brought the Rays back into the contest with an RBI single to right in the sixth inning. Ben Zobrist drove in crucial runs in the sixth and the eighth to add spice to the proceedings. However, Billy Butler ensured the Royals reach home as he
hit a tie breaking home-run in the eighth.
Starting pitcher Aaron Crow won for the first time this season. He had two strike-outs and the Royals recorded their first series sweep against the Rays in almost a decade.
Credit must be given to the Royals for bringing significant improvement in their game play over the last few days. With their win against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, they also secured a rare series sweep against the Rays.
Right now, Ned Yost and company at fourth place on the American League Central Division standings and it will be interesting to see if they can continue their winning streak to replace the League leaders Chicago White Sox.http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6370/jonathan-broxton
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