Brazoban eighth-inning collapse allows Royals to rally past Marlins
Meanwhile, Valente Bellozo was stellar in his big league debut for Miami, pitching five innings of two-hit ball.
By DAVE SKRETTA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez highlighted a five-run, two-out rally in the eighth inning with a go-ahead double down the left-field line, and the Kansas City Royals went on to beat the Miami Marlins 5-1 on Wednesday for the series win.
Angel Zerpa (1-0) got the final two outs of the eighth in relief of Brady Singer, who allowed an RBI single to Vidal Bruján in the second inning but little else. James McArthur handled the ninth to finish it off.
Kansas City had been shut down by Valente Bellozo and the bullpen until the eighth, when Bobby Witt Jr. started the rally with a triple off Huascar Brazoban (0-1). Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a tying single, and after pinch runner Dairon Blanco swiped second, Perez delivered the double that gave Kansas City the lead.
Nick Loftin added an RBI single and Freddy Fermin drove in two more runs to provide McArthur some breathing room.
Singer allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five. But he again was victimized by poor run support: The Royals have scored two runs or fewer in 12 of his 16 starts, and he has not won since May 19 against Oakland.
Meanwhile, Bellozo was dominant in his big league debut for Miami, pitching five innings of two-hit ball.
The only bit of trouble the 24-year-old from Mexico ran into came in the second inning, and it wasn’t entirely his fault: Hunter Renfroe hit a two-out single, then Bruján lost Fermin’s popup in the sun and it landed for a double. But Bellozo promptly struck out Garrett Hampson to leave the runners on second and third.
He then retired his final 10 hitters before getting a swarm of high-fives in the Marlins dugout.
Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi pitched a scoreless inning apiece for Miami before Brazoban coughed up the lead.
ROSTER MOVES
Marlins: LHP Kent Emanuel was designated for assignment to clear space for Bellozo on the roster. Emanuel had allowed eight runs, seven earned, while appearing in five games this season.
UP NEXT
Marlins: Head to Philadelphia for the opener of a four-game series Thursday night with Trevor Rogers (1-8, 4.90 ERA) on the mound.
Royals: Welcome Cleveland to town Thursday night with RHP Michael Wacha (4-6, 4.07) getting the start.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB