Rich Hill threw eight complete innings Tuesday, but got outdueled by Brad Keller, and Salvador Perez‘s RBI single in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie as the Kansas City Royals ended the Tampa Bay Rays 11-game winning streak with a 2-1 decision at Tropicana Field.
Keller’s lone mistake in his seven innings of work came in the bottom of the third, when Brett Phillips reached on an infield single, then stole second base, took third on a groundout by Austin Meadows and scored on a base hit by Yandy Diaz, which broke an 0 for 14 stretch for the first baseman.
Keller (4-4) would end up going the first seven innings, allowing four hits and walking four while striking out seven
The Royals got the game back even in the next half-inning, when Carlos Santana got a Hill fastball up in the zone and sent it out to center field for his tenth home run of the season.
Kansas City broke the tie in the top of the sixth, as Cam Gallagher and Whit Merrifield started the inning with singles, and after Santana struck out, Hill had Perez behind 0-2 before the Royals designated hitter singled to left, scoring Gallagher to make it 2-1.
Hill (3-2) would give up six hits and not walk a batter, while striking out a career-best 13, though he ended up taking the loss.
Tampa Bay got the tying runner aboard in the bottom of the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings, but could not advance any beyond first base, and in the ninth Francisco Mejia grounded into a double play to end the game, allowing Kyle Zimmer to earn his second save of the year.
The Rays remain alone in first place in the American League East, as both Boston and the New York yankees also lost Tuesday evening.
Tampa Bay will look to start a new winning streak Wednesday, as Tyler Glasnow (4-2, 2.90 ERA) takes on Mike Minor (3-2, 5.14 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
