The scene was set for one of the more impressive Royals wins in quite some time. Instead, it turned into another disappointing, if not heartbreaking, loss for the team. Kansas City let a three-run lead slip past them in the eighth inning and fell to the Yankees 9-7.
The Royals overcame a 4-1 deficit and later took a 7-4 lead. Doug Mientkiewicz broke a 4-4 tie when he scored from third on an Angel Berroa grounder in the sixth inning. Shane Costa hit a solo home run and Reggie Sanders drove in a run with an infield single to make it 7-4.
Disaster struck in the eighth when the Yankees rallied for five runs. Robinson Cano drove in Jason Giambi with an infield single, Bernie Williams drove in Hideki Matsui with a single and Derek Jeter cleared the bases with a three-run homer off reliever Ambiorix Burgos. That home run gave the Yankees their game-winning 9-7 lead.Andy Sisco only gave up two runs on his watch, but was charged with four and got the loss.
Reggie Sanders also homered in the loss.
Mike Wood was a bright spot for Kansas City, pitching 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. His performance from the pen this year has earned him a promotion to the starting rotation. He’ll replace Runelvys Hernandez who allowed eight runs in three innings with Class AAA Omaha on Sunday. Hernandez was originally second in the rotation but weight problems pushed him back to fifth, before Wood’s promotion.