KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Blake Snell had nine strikeouts in six strong innings and the San Francisco Giants completed a three-game series with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Kansas City (82-72) moved into the second AL wild card over Detroit (82-74) by holding the tiebreaker and winning the season series against the Tigers 7-6. Minnesota is a half-game behind Kansas City and the Tigers depending on the outcome of its second game in the doubleheader against Boston.
The Royals kept a clean sheet for the second straight game and lost their seventh straight game, losing all six games in their home series.
“It couldn’t have been a worse home game,” said Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro. “It’s really disappointing.”
Snell (5-3) allowed two singles and a walk and did not advance a runner past first base. In his last 14 starts, he is 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 114 strikeouts.
With an effective curveball, Snell held Royals batters to 1 for 13 when he threw a strike on the first pitch. Opponents’ batting averages are .121 this season when the 31-year-old left-hander takes the lead.
“I wanted to throw change-ups, but they were so present,” Snell said. “So I adjusted. (The curveball) was just there more often today.”
With one out in the second inning, Grant McCray hit an RBI triple to right-center field and scored on Brett Wisely’s hit with two outs. McCray ended an 0-for-13 losing streak with his first extra-base hit since Sept. 7.
“It was a huge win for us because (Seth) Lugo seemed to be in top form,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said.
Lugo (16-9) struck out the next 16 batters and finished the game with five strikeouts and two runs allowed in seven innings.
“His composure was impeccable today,” said Quatraro. “His performance was really good.”
With two outs and runners on second and third base, the Giants intentionally walked Bobby Witt Jr. to load the bases. Tyler Rogers induced a pop fly from Salvador Perez and ended the danger.
“Witt’s numbers against right-handers are unbeatable,” Melvin said. “But it’s still not easy because Salvy is really good.”
Ryan Walker got a strikeout in the ninth inning and made his ninth save.
San Francisco completed its first series win over Kansas City and its first series win against an American League opponent since April 15-17, 2022 in Cleveland.
“It’s nice to win against a good team,” Melvin said. “We’re playing pretty well right now.”
The Royals have scored four runs in their last five games and have led in just one of their last 50 innings.
“We need to create more chances,” said Quatraro. “There are many ways to score points.”
Kansas City lost two consecutive games without conceding a goal for the second time this season and the first since June 22-23 in Texas.
“Every time we lose, it’s tough,” Perez said. “We have one more week. We’ll forget what happened at home and try to win the next two series.”
Next
Giants: RHP Hayden Birdsong (4-5, 4.74 ERA) faces Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-3, 5.09) on Monday in Arizona.
Royals: LHP Cole Ragans (11-9, 3.24) faces Nationals LHP Mitchell Parker (7-10, 4.44) on Tuesday in Washington.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
