Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after his two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers on Friday, July 29, 2016, in Arlington, Texas. Perez allowed consecutive singles to start the game, and leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar eventually scored on Eric Hosmer’s groundout for a 1-0 lead.
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Mitch Moreland lined a homer to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Texas Rangers past the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Saturday night.The win moved the Rangers five games ahead of the Houston Astros in the American League West, their largest lead since the All-Star break. That 443-foot drive into the second deck in right field came a night after Odor’s 465-footer that is the longest in his career.
At 49-54, the two-time defending AL champion Royals are five games under.500 for the first time since the end of the 2012 season. The Royals are 2-5 in their last seven games in Texas and are now 0-4 in their last four games overall versus the Rangers.
Matt Bush (4-2) pitched two scoreless innings with one strikeout.
Both starters, Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy and Rangers lefty Martin Perez, allowed one run over seven innings.
Griffin had missed two seasons after Tommy John surgery, but was 3-1 in six starts through the first week of May before going on the DL.
“I was trying to go down and away, and got way too much of the plate”, said Pounders, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday after Luke Hochevar was put on the disabled list. Bobby Wilson plated him two outs later with a blooper to left.Cheslor Cuthbert had two of the five Kansas City hits. He was the 2005 AL batting champion and part of the Rangers’ only two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
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Harrell, who is expected to start Sunday for the Rangers, and lefthanded reliever Dario Alvarez were acquired Wednesday in a trade from Atlanta for a minor league infielder. That got the Royals within 5-2 and chased Griffin. Veteran RHP Kyle Lohse, who allowed 13 runs in 9 1-3 innings while losing both of his Texas starts, declined an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock and became a free agent. LHP Derek Holland, on the 60-day DL with left shoulder inflammation and not eligible to come back before August 20, said he wasn’t exhausted after throwing a 42-pitch bullpen session. Tolleson started the season as the closer but has a 7.68 ERA in 37 outings.
