Kansas City Royals defeat Chicago Cubs 6-3 – MLB Update
Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 to win the three-game series 2-1 at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday, June 26.
Luke Hochevar pitched six innings to contain the Cubs’ offence, having now got his hitting streak extended to 13. Not only that, he had an RBI double in the eventful four-run first inning that proved a good start for the team as a whole.
After Hochevar threw the first inning, scoreless, Randy Wells could not reciprocate in kind. The Cubs’ starter found himself at the receiving end largely because the Royals’ offence was reanimated after yesterday’s performance that resulted in their 3-2
victory.
Billy Butler got an RBI single to lay a solid foundation for his team followed by another single that Alex Gordon scored. The 5-hit first inning then saw Jeff Francoeur score the third consecutive single to triple the lead.
Matt Treanor took the lead to 4-0 with sacrifice fly following whom Hochevar threw another scoreless inning to maintain the lead. Randy Wells remained hitless in the second inning, as Hochevar gave up a hit to Geovany Soto who scored the first run for the
Cubs.
"When you get a lead like that, you can't let them inch back in," Hochevar said. "That's what I was trying to do, keep them back in that corner and not let them try to wiggle their way out."
The Cubs saw their team resurge in the fourth inning with Blake DeWitt and Soto a single each. Soto drove in his second of the game and the team’s third to bring the Royals’ lead down to 4-3.
It was the bottom of fourth inning that proved a game-changer which was later alluded to by Cubs’ manager as well. The 2-hit two-run fourth inning took the Royals lead to an irreversible 6-3, that the Cubs fruitlessly fought to neutralise.
"The tack-on runs to get us back to a three-run lead was big," Royals’ manager Ned Yost said. "The two runs in the fourth were huge.”
Hochevar then remained unyielding in a spell that left the Cubs in constant lookout to do something different. However, Hochevar successfully pitched a scoreless inning followed by the relief pitchers that were equally effective.
The relief pitchers did not allow any hits, apart from Soria, whose last inning had a hit. However, a wonderful pitching spell enabled the Royals to win back the series with a 2-1 victory.
The Royals put in a tremendous effort to contain the Cubs’ offence and pull out a much needed victory. The Cubs fought hard, but it was not enough for a win. It will be interesting to see how long the Royals carry their winning momentum in their next match-up.
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