This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Alec Marsh threw 5 1/3 quality innings, helping lead the visiting Kansas City Royals to an 8-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
Marsh (8-8) allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out 11 and walking two. Salvador Perez and Kyle Isbel each homered and tallied two hits, both driving in two runs. Tommy Pham also drove in two, guiding the Royals (81-67) to their sixth win in eight tries.
For Pittsburgh (70-77), Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz each tallied two hits and an RBI, as the Pirates had their four-game winning streak snapped. Joey Bart went 1-for-3 with a run driven in.
After a scoreless first, Robbie Grossman led off the top of the second with a walk against Pittsburgh starter Luis Ortiz. Adam Frazier then reached on Ortiz’s throwing error before Yuli Gurriel’s RBI single scored the game’s first run.
Isbel followed with a run-scoring double to right, scoring Frazier. Pham then doubled the Royals lead with a two-run single, becoming the fifth straight Kansas City baserunner off Ortiz.
After Bobby Witt Jr. lined out, Perez launched his 27th homer of the year, a two-run shot that ballooned Kansas City’s lead to 6-0.
In the top of the fourth, Isbel belted his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot to give the Royals a 7-0 lead.
Joey Wentz replaced Ortiz after he allowed seven run (four earned) in four innings on five hits. Ortiz struck out five and walked a pair.
Pittsburgh’s first offensive threat came in the bottom of the fifth, when De La Cruz and Jared Triolo singled to put runners on the corners. But Marsh struck out Reynolds to escape the jam, picking up his 11th strikeout through five innings.
Cruz led off the bottom of the sixth with a double for Pittsburgh and two batters later, Bart’s RBI single cracked the scoreboard for the Pirates, chasing Marsh after 96 pitches.
Frazier added a solo homer in the top of the eighth, his fourth of the season, while Reynolds’ sacrifice fly and Cruz’s RBI single tallied a pair of Pittsburgh runs in the bottom of the ninth.
–Field Level Media
