Former Razorback gets big hit in ninth for Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Arkansas Razorback Brett Eibner, playing his second big league game, singled to cap the biggest ninth-inning comeback in Kansas City Royals history, a seven-run rally off David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle that lifted the Royals over the Chicago White Sox 8-7 Saturday.

Kansas City’s Salvador Perez was injured in the ninth when third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert slid with a forearm and elbow into the left thigh of the All-Star catcher, who called off Chien-Ming Wang (3-0), settled under Adam Eaton’s foul popup about 30 feet from the plate near the thirdbase line and snagged the ball just before he was hit.

Perez immediately raised his right arm, signaling for assistance. Two minutes later, Perez hobbled off the field with his arms draped over the shoulders of manager Ned Yost and an athletic trainer.

Held to six hits through eight innings, the Royals doubled their total in the 32-minute bottom of the ninth and overcame a six-run deficit for the first time since beating San Francisco on June 22, 2008. The inning included 4 walks, 2 of them intentional, and 4 runs scored with 2 outs.

Chicago lost for the 13th time in 17 games.

Eibner, 27, who made his big league debut Friday, had two hits in the inning — the second and third of his big league career. The designated hitter drove in the game-ending run with a full-count single on the 10th pitch of his at-bat against Kahnle (0-1). Eibner grounded a 98 mph fastball on the low, outside corner to the right of a diving Jose Abreu at first, and Drew Butera, who had replaced Perez, raised an arm in triumph as he crossed the plate.

BLUE JAYS 10, RED SOX 9 Devon Travis drove home Russell Martin with two out in the bottom of the ninth as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox.

ATHLETICS 12, TIGERS 3 Billy Butler and Khris Davis each homered and drove in three runs and the Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, ending a three-game losing streak.

INDIANS 11, ORIOLES 4 Yan Gomes drove in three runs, Danny Salazar allowed two runs in six innings and the Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles.

RAYS 9, YANKEES 5 Evan Longoria homered and drove in four runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees to send Michael Pineda to his sixth loss in his last seven decisions.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CARDINALS 9, NATIONALS 4 Adam Wainwright pitched seven innings and made an ample contribution at the plate, hitting a two-run double to help the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Washington Nationals.

CUBS 4, PHILLIES 1 Kyle Hendricks pitched a five-hitter for his second career complete game, Dexter Fowler hit a leadoff home run and the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

REDS 7, BREWERS 6 Joey Votto scored the go-ahead run in the ninth after an inning-ending double play was overturned, and the Cincinnati Reds snapped their 11-game losing streak with a tense victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

BRAVES 7, MARLINS 2 Gordon Beckham hit a three-run home run, Nick Markakis drove in two runs and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins to secure their first home series victory of the season.

GIANTS 10, ROCKIES 5 Buster Posey hit two three-run home runs, including a tiebreaking drive as part of a six-run eighth inning, and the San Francisco Giants rallied for a victory over the Colorado Rockies after their bullpen blew a lead. DODGERS 9, METS 1 Chase Utley hit a grand slam and a solo home run after Noah Syndergaard threw a 99 mph fastball behind his back, and the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep a season-high five times in routing the New York Mets.

INTERLEAGUE

RANGERS 5, PIRATES 2 Yu Darvish struck out seven in five strong innings in his first start in the majors in almost 22 months, and the Texas Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Japanese right-hander allowed three singles with a walk in his return from last year’s Tommy John surgery.

Sports on 05/29/2016

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