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So, listen, the Royals won. Awesome. Hits happened in sequences such that the Royals scored more runs than the Rays. But let's talk about the real stuff.
Alex Gordon was carted off the field with an injury.
On a hard-hit line drive by Logan Forsythe to left-center field, Alex Gordon gave chase. He took kind of an awkward route and stumbled on his way to the wall. He took some very awkward steps before softly hitting the wall. He crumpled and immediately threw his glove off his hand.
Andy McCullough reports the following:
Alex Gordon left the game with a left groin strain.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 9, 2015
The Royals did not announce the severity of the strain.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 9, 2015
Alex Gordon will undergo an MRI tonight to determine the severity of the strain, the team says.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 9, 2015
No broken bones apparently. That's a good sign.
UPDATE: RUN FOR THE HILLS AND FIND THE BIGGEST ROCK TO LIVE UNDER!!! ALL IS LOST!! Ned Yost says that Gordon might be out for months (h/t slayor).
In other notes on the game, there were two inside-the-park home runs. Given the Royals defense, naturally the only way an inside-the-park home run could happen is if someone went down with an injury. That happened, and Forsythe scored. Jarrod Dyson had payback on his mind.
In the bottom of the sixth, Dyson let fly a looper-liner type of thing down the left field line. David DeJesus dove for it and missed. Dyson's speed took over from there; the Rays didn't even attempt to throw him out at home. Dyson paused for great justice after he slid across home plate. Lorenzo Cain launched a home run over the center field wall earlier in the game that scored the first two runs for the Royals, so the team had two homers total.
Those are the main things that happened. A James Loney single in the top of the third brought in the first run of the game, then the aforementioned Cain homer and Forsythe inside-the-park homer happened. Rene Rivera singled in David DeJesus in the top of the fourth.
The Royals scored five runs in the fifth. Here's the sequence (outs omitted): Cheslor Cuthbert walk, Alcides Escobar single, Cain single, Eric Hosmer single, Kendrys Morales double, and Salvador Perez single.
Then Dyson's inside-the-parker in the sixth.
Evan Longoria singled in a run in the seventh, and things got interesting in the ninth. With the score 9-4 Royals, Joe Blanton came in and gave up a home run to Rene Rivera. John Jaso singled, and Asdrubal Cabrera doubled. Ned Yost went to Greg Holland to finish out the game. Holland gave up singles to Longo and James Loney, which scored Jaso and Cabrera. Forsythe lined out, and there were two outs. Grady Sizemore came in to pinch hit. Holland let loose a wild pitch, which put runners on second and third with the score 9-7. Luckily, Holland struck out Sizemore to end the game.
Surprisingly, Jeremy Guthrie outpitched Chris Archer. And I made kind of a big deal out of Archer in the preview. Baseball.
Victory, but bittersweet. Get well soon, Alex.