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I was able to watch a replay of last night's game this morning thanks to the wonder that is MLB.TV. All of the blackout rules can be quite frustrating, but having access to the archives is great.
As most of you know by now, the Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-3 at Kauffman Stadium. Thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays losing to the Seattle Mariners, the Royals are only 3 1/2 games back of the AL Wild Card.
Danny Duffy didn't look particularly impressive, but managed to avoid a complete meltdown. The starter only went 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. Duffy walked five while fanning one, showing a complete lack of control. Detroit couldn't do much when they made contact, which kept the game close.
Wade Davis relieved Duffy, and helped the Royals escape the fifth inning surrendering one run despite the Tigers loading the bases with one out. The right-hander pitched a clean sixth, then Will Smith started the seventh. The southpaw only recorded one out while surrendering two singles and was replaced by Luke Hochevar.
Hochevar allowed one of Smith's runners to score, but recorded the last two outs in the seventh before tossing a perfect eighth. Greg Holland fanned two in the ninth for his 39th save of the year.
Salvador Perez was the hero on offense, blasting a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to give the Royals a 4-2 lead. Emilio Bonifacio collected a pair of hits and drove in a run with a safety squeeze, while Alcides Escobar added a RBI-single.
The offense didn't look dominate, but scrapped together just enough offense. The bullpen did a great job closing out the game, and the Royals came away with a victory.
Here are the updated Wild Card Standings, courtesy MLB:
AL Wild Card race gets even tighter as #Rays fall in Seattle. TEX +3.0 TB – BAL 1.0 CLE 1.0 NYY 2.5 KC 3.5 Nothing like September.
— MLB (@MLB) September 8, 2013
Continuing to gain ground is nice, but still seeing four teams for the second Wild Card ahead of the Royals is not.
The Royals finish their series against the Tigers Sunday afternoon. Bruce Chen will pitch for Kansas City, facing Doug Fister.