Royals win 5-2 but are still eliminated from playoff contention

Quick hits

• Jason Vargas threw five innings and struck out six
• Two two-run home runs scored two runs each for the two teams
• The Royals scored three more runs without hitting a two-run home run
• Joakim Soria allowed zero runs

The Royals won, but the playoffs don’t care. The Royals’ best record possible is 85-77, but the Baltimore Orioles won tonight. They now have 86 wins, and the Blue Jays have 87 wins. The Royals are mathematically eliminated.

At this point, they are playing for a winning record. Tonight, they at least assured that they can’t have a losing record by achieving their 81st win.

In the bottom of the third, the first two-run homer happened. Jarrod Dyson singled and remained on base for Eric Hosmer’s 25th home run of the season. The Twins responded with their own single/two-run dinger combination in the sixth inning off the bats of Miguel Sano (single) and Kennys Vargas (homer).

Kevin McCarthy was the pitcher for that inning and gave up two walks before he was removed in favor of Peter Moylan. Moylan got John Ryan Murphy to ground out to end the inning.

The Royals broke it open in the eighth inning. Dyson doubled with one out and stole third base. Whit Merrifield walked to put two men on for Kendrys Morales to hit a ground-rule double, which made the score 3-2 Royals. After the Royals pinch-ran Billy Burns for Morales, the Twins intentionally walked Salvador Perez to load the bases and get a lefty-lefty matchup with two outs against Alex Gordon.

Gordon singled in two more runs to make it 5-2 Royals. Wade Davis locked down the ninth for the win. The Royals are officially eliminated, so it is guaranteed that the last game of the season will be on Sunday. Let’s enjoy our last few days of baseball.