Cubs rewind in 11th for walk-off win over Royals
CHICAGO -- David Ross drove in Kris Bryant on a blooper to left field with one out in the 11th inning to give the Cubs a 2-1 walk-off win over the Royals on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
"You gotta love the fight," manager Joe Maddon said. "If you're standing or sitting in the captain's chair and you got a bunch of guys that fight like that, what else could you possibly want? We're not going to be perfect every night, of course we're going to make mistakes, but if you have that kind of fight every night, I'll take it."
Earlier in the inning, Dexter Fowler was ruled out by home-plate umpire Bruce Dreckman on a throw by left fielder Alex Gordon to catcher Salvador Perez after a single by Anthony Rizzo. After a crew chief review, the call was ruled to stand.
Video: KC@CHC: Fowler out at the plate after review in 11th
The winning hit by Ross came off Royals reliever Jason Frasor.
"I thought I made a good pitch," Frasor said. "When he hit it, I thought it was the second out."
The ball fell between Gordon and shortstop Alcides Escobar, who reached out at the last second, but he couldn't snare it.
"It was a good-placed ball," Gordon said. "We were all reaching for it. Limbs were all over the place. The ball was dying -- [Escobar] looked at me and he knew he had to try for it."
Each starter was fabulous in the chilly conditions -- just 47 degrees at the game's start. Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura went seven innings and gave up just four hits and one run while striking out six.
Cubs lefty Tsuyoshi Wada logged 5 2/3 innings and gave up just two hits. He walked two and gave up one run.
Gordon got the Royals on the board with an RBI single in the sixth.
Chris Coghlan had three hits for the Cubs, including a game-tying single in the seventh.
Video: KC@CHC: Coghlan ties the game at 1 with an RBI single
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Two-out walks: Through five innings, Wada had prevented putting multiple runners on base, but with two outs in the sixth, his walk enabled the Royals to grab the lead. With a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth inning, reliever Travis Wood entered for Wada and allowed another walk. The baserunners came back to bite the Cubs, as Gordon knocked a single to left.
"He just did a really good job of mixing up his pitches," Gordon said of Wada.
Video: KC@CHC: Gordon drives in Cain to give Royals the lead
Colon's defense: Christian Colon started in place of Mike Moustakas at third base for the Royals and made a nice lunging catch of Wada's flare in the fifth. With one out and one on, Wada tried unsuccessfully to bunt. Then with two strikes, Wada swung away and flipped a spinner that could have gotten the inning really jump-started. But Colon made the grab to his left. Ventura then got Addison Russell to ground out.
Video: KC@CHC: Colon lays out, makes great diving stop
Ventura's wild pitch: After walking Cubs catcher Miguel Montero with a 1-0 lead, Ventura let a pitch get away from him. The wild pitch allowed Montero to reach second, and he was pulled for pinch-runner Jonathan Herrera. The extra base proved costly as Coghlan's single to center was deep enough to tie the game at 1. More >
Video: KC@CHC: Ventura fans six over seven innings
Royals manager Ned Yost said he did not consider having someone else face Coghlan, who already had two hits off Ventura.
"[Ventura] was throwing the ball well," Yost said.
Video: KC@CHC: Davis gets out of tight spot with strikeout
Davis recovers: After Rizzo tripled with one out in the ninth, reliever Wade Davis went into monster mode. The Royals intentionally walked Starlin Castro, and then Davis threw out Ross on a safety squeeze with Rizzo holding at third. Then with the game on the line again, Davis struck out Jorge Soler on a 3-2 slider.
SPECIAL UNIFORMS
The Royals and Cubs honored their 1915 Federal League counterparts -- the Kansas City Packers and Chicago Whales -- by wearing replica uniforms representing those franchises.
REPLAY REVIEW
With runners on first and third in the bottom of the ninth, Ross laid down a bunt hoping to score a run, but it was fielded cleanly by Davis. As he checked off Rizzo, Davis' throw arrived just before Ross touched the first-base bag. Maddon challenged the call, but the out was confirmed.
Video: KC@CHC: Ross out on bunt attempt after review in 9th
WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: After an off-day on Monday, the Royals open a six-game homestand, starting with the Indians on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. CT. Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie (4-3, 6.70 ERA) will try to rebound from his worst start in the big leagues (11 runs in one-plus innings) against the Yankees.
Cubs: The Cubs begin a nine-game road stretch when Jason Hammel (3-2, 2.98 ERA) starts the series opener against the Marlins on Monday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Hammel will look for a stronger start after he was tagged for four earned runs in his last outing against Arizona.
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