Kansas City Royals cough up lead but rally behind big blasts from Taylor and Witt

After building an early lead and watching starting pitcher Brady Singer put together one of the best performances of his career, the Kansas City Royals found themselves teetering in the eighth inning.

The three-run lead they’d built Saturday night had evaporated, and against a playoff-caliber Tampa Bay Rays team that had perhaps begun to smell blood in the water.

With the score tied, the game could’ve pivoted either way in the blink of an eye.

Then Royals center fielder Michael A. Taylor, who came off the bench two innings earlier, delivered a game-changing home run to break the tie and put his club in front. His 407-foot blast to left field re-ignited the home club and tipped the balance back in the Royals’ favor.

Rookie shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. followed with a two-run homer later in the inning to help the Royals secure a 6-3 win over the Rays in front of an announced 20,668 in the second game of the three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

“Michael is a pro,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He knows how to stay ready, and he knows that we’re going to use our bench. … It is hard to come in late in the game like that when you’re used to being a guy who is starting the game, but he has kind of figured out the rhythm on those days when he’s not starting, how to be ready.

“Because it could end up being the biggest at-bat, and it was.”

The win for the Royals (37-57) evened the series at one game apiece and set the stage for a deciding game on Sunday afternoon.

“I was sitting on the bench, me and (Andrew Benintendi),” Witt said. “We were talking and Benny kind of called it. He goes, ‘I think Michael A. is going to go in the fountains right here.’ And right when he hit it, we started going crazy. It was awesome to see him do that.”

Witt, who hit his team-leading 14th home run of the season three batters later, went 2 for 5 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield went 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Rookie catcher MJ Melendez (2 for 5, double) and third baseman Nicky Lopez (2 for 4, run scored) also had two hits apiece.

The Royals scored three runs in the third inning. Back-to-back doubles to left-center field by Melendez and Witt started the offense. Witt’s line drive scored Melendez from second for the game’s first run.

After the All-Star Benintendi walked and executed a double-steal with Witt to put runners on second and third, Merrifield smoked a two-out, two-run double to give the Royals a three-run advantage.

Singer appeared to be in a mode where three runs could just as easily seem like 10. He surpassed his previous career-high of nine strikeouts before the end of the fifth inning.

He went on to record a new career high with 12. Matheny described the performance as “one of the best we’ve ever seen from Brady.”

Singer didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning, when former Royals minor-league outfielder Roman Quinn narrowly reached on a bunt single that withstood a replay review.

The Rays (52-42) tallied an unearned run in the inning thanks to a throwing error by Witt that allowed Yandy Diaz to move into scoring position. He scored on the second hit allowed by Singer, a single by Luke Raley.

Singer gave up a single to start the seventh, and Matheny went to the bullpen. Singer finished with two runs allowed (one earned) on three hits and two walks in six innings.

“The first few innings, I didn’t really think I had much command of anything,” Singer said. “I know the slider was working early, but throughout the game I felt a lot better. I felt like I could get to the fastball glove-side, and the changeup worked out really well tonight as well. I think the slider was the key.”

Eight of Singer’s strikeouts came on swinging third strikes, and seven came courtesy of his slider. He also got two called third strikes with the slider.

Right-hander Taylor Clarke gave up a bloop single and a two-run triple, by Quinn, as the Rays tied the score. The Royals released Quinn last week (he had an out in his contract that he exercised), and he signed with the Rays as a free agent on Thursday.

The score remained tied when Taylor came to the plate with one out in the eighth to face left-hander Ryan Yarbrough. Taylor faced Yarbrough in the sixth as a pinch-hitter and drew a one-out walk.

Taylor smashed a 2-2 curveball left over the middle half of the plate to break the tie.

“Any time there’s momentum swings, you want them on your side,” Witt said. “I think right when he hit that, that kind of quieted their dugout. It was just awesome to be a part of that and just see what he did.”

Following Lopez’s second hit of the night, Witt crushed a no-doubt-about-it two-run homer as Yarbrough tried to sneak a cutter past him on the inner half of the plate.

Royals closer Scott Barlow pitched the final two innings and got the win.