Eric Hosmer went deep twice tonight. Let's be perfectly correct in this: he pulled majestic dongs twice to keep the Royals even with the Baltimore Orioles on a night when Santana and Chen were locked in death match for the ages.
Yes, that first paragraph is a weak tribute to Duggan, but dammit this night was made for him.
The Royals offered little in offensive support to a fine, not dominant outing by Ervin Santana, between Hosmer's first inning solo home run and his eighth inning two run homer, but it was enough to have the game tied at three entering the ninth.
Luke Hochevar entered the game and pitched around a single to hold the Orioles scoreless. Listen, if Boston has interest in Hochevar, Mr. Moore, now would be a good time to get something....anything...whatever from them.
The Royals came through in the bottom of the ninth when David Lough singled and then Alcides Escobar nearly homered to end the game. As it was, Escobar's drive was six to maybe even seven inches above Nate McClouth's reach in left and bounced off the wall for a walk-off double.
Perhaps the Royals had their share of luck this evening. After all, Santana allowed just three runs - only one earned - over eight innings to a good Baltimore lineup despite striking out just three and walking two. Behind him, the Royals committed two errors, but also turned three double plays.
Meanwhile, Ned Yost was steadfast in his Getz-belief as he had Getz destroy the only scoring opportunity the Royals had between the first and eighth innings by taking two fastballs for strikes and grounding into a double play on the third pitch of the at-bat in the seventh. It's not Getz I hate, mind you, it is the culture of disinformative crap that the organization and certain members of the media surround him with.
Anyway, the Royals win. The Royals....WIN!
Now, it is only 11-3 to get to 15-5: a statement so ludicrous only those on One Royal Way really think it makes sense.
Still a good night in Kansas City. Solid starting pitching and two home runs by the organization's real hope for success in the future.