KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a nail-biting encounter, the Kansas City Royals clinched victory over the Colorado Rockies with Freddy Fermin’s decisive single in the 11th inning, resulting in a 4-3 triumph on Tuesday night. Despite letting a two-run lead slip away in the ninth inning, the Royals managed to pull through, marking the Rockies’ 18th loss in 22 games this season.
Pitcher Daniel Lynch IV contributed to the victory by delivering a hitless inning as part of a five-hit game, further deepening Colorado’s woes as they registered their ninth loss in ten games. Colorado’s struggles on the road were underscored by their 1-12 record.
The Rockies momentarily seized the lead in the ninth when Jacob Stallings delivered a three-run double after Carlos Estévez loaded the bases with two outs. However, the Royals quickly fought back. Salvador Perez singled off Seth Halvorsen, moved forward on Maikel Garcia’s double, and scored the tying run courtesy of Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly.
With automatic runner Mark Canha placed on second base in the 11th inning, Tyler Kinley, with a 0-1 record, opted to intentionally walk Bobby Witt Jr., who extended his hitting streak to an admirable 14 games that night. Kinley threw a wild pitch and also gave an intentional walk to Vinnie Pasquantino, paving the way for Fermin’s game-winning liner to center.
Earlier, Drew Waters had homered off Ryan Feltner in the sixth inning, with Kyle Isbel later contributing an RBI single in the eighth that enabled Waters to score, sliding in ahead of first baseman Michael Toglia’s glove flip.
An important moment in the game occurred in the 10th inning when Kansas City catcher Freddy Fermin’s quick reflex play resulted in Mickey Moniak being picked off third base, squashing Colorado’s scoring opportunity.
Notably, the Royals have endured a streak of 17 consecutive games without scoring more than four runs, the longest such run by an American League team since their own 19-game streak in 2018. They’ve recorded four or fewer runs in 22 of their 24 games this season.
As the series concludes, Rockies’ Chase Dollander, holding a 1-2 record with a 7.36 ERA, will face off against Royals’ Michael Lorenzen, who has a 1-3 record and a 4.57 ERA on Wednesday night.