Hosmer's big blast seals Royals' split in Texas
ARLINGTON -- The Rangers' pitching staff cooled off and Eric Hosmer stayed hot as the Royals beat Texas, 6-3, Thursday at Globe Life Park to split the four-game series.
The Royals got off to a quick start against Rangers starter Ross Detwiler, scoring a run on two hits and a walk in the first inning. Detwiler struggled with command all game, but managed to keep the Royals in check. He finished with three earned runs on nine hits allowed and threw 108 pitches in five innings.
"I've just been leaving a lot of fastballs up," Detwiler said. "Especially in bad counts, you can't do that, especially against a team like this that's hitting almost .300 as a team."
Video: KC@TEX: Detwiler fans Orlando to escape the jam
The Royals broke the game open against Texas' bullpen in the sixth, scoring three runs -- including Alcides Escobar's third RBI of the game and a two-run homer from Hosmer -- to expand their lead to 6-2. The Rangers never recovered, and Kansas City's Jeremy Guthrie improved to 3-2 while Detwiler fell to 0-5.
Video: KC@TEX: Escobar singles in Butera to extend the lead
"This was a big win for us, to come in here and split with these guys," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "They swung the bats against us well. They've got some guys that are getting hot."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Bottom of order comes through: The Rangers' 7-8-9 hitters started the bottom of the fifth inning with three straight singles to make it a game. Thomas Field and Carlos Corporan each singled before Delino DeShields hit a line drive to right-center on a 2-2 count to score Field. That turned over the order and set up Prince Fielder's RBI bloop-single that cut the Royals' lead to 3-2. Adrian Beltre just missed his 400th home run when his line shot went foul down the left-field line before he grounded out to short to end the inning.
Video: KC@TEX: DeShields singles to put Rangers on the board
Hosmer stays hot: Hosmer continues to be a one-man May wrecking crew for the Royals. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the first, then provided the big blow of the game in the sixth with a two-run home run to center field, his team-leading seventh of the season. Hosmer recorded three hits and is batting .370 with four homers and 14 RBIs this month. More >
Video: KC@TEX: Hosmer extends his hitting streak to 11 games
Bullpen can't hang on: After the strong fifth, the Texas bullpen couldn't keep the Rangers in the game. Anthony Bass was pulled after allowing two hits and a run to his three batters faced. Recent callup Sam Freeman, making his Rangers debut, struck out Mike Moustakas but surrendered Hosmer's two-run home run.
Video: KC@TEX: Freeman fans Moustakas in Rangers debut
Guthrie trending up: Guthrie didn't pitch deep into the game, going only five innings, but he had a solid outing -- allowing two runs and getting key outs with Beltre batting in the first and fifth innings. In the first, Guthrie got Beltre to fly out to right field with two on and two out. The Rangers had then cut the lead to 3-2 in the fifth, and when Beltre batted with two outs and the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first, Guthrie got him to ground out to end the inning.
Video: KC@TEX: Guthrie retires Beltre, strands two
"He did a nice job of mixing up his pitches," Yost said. "He did the things we say you need to do to be successful. He was working the ball in really well, good changeups, good sliders. Just great command."
QUOTABLE
"He's swinging the bat really well for us right now and playing great baseball. He's been superb at shortstop and really been a good offensive producer for us." -- Yost, on Escobar, who had a season-high three hits and three RBIs and reached safely in all four games of this series
Video: KC@TEX: Escobar singles in a pair to extend the lead
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Shin-Soo Choo's 14-game hitting streak is the longest in the American League this season. Choo had three hits Thursday to boost his May batting average to .373.
Video: KC@TEX: Choo singles to extend hit streak to 14 games
WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Chris Young gets the start Friday as the Royals open up an eight-game homestand with a three-game series against the Yankees at 7:10 p.m. CT. Young, who began the season in the bullpen, is 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA over his last 23 innings. The 6-foot-10 right-hander has held opponents to a .224 career batting average.
Rangers: Wandy Rodriguez takes the mound as the Rangers begin a three-game series against the Indians at 7:05 p.m. CT on Friday at Globe Life Park. Rodriguez has a 2.70 ERA this season, but battled lower back pain in his latest start against the Rays.
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