Major League Baseball
Kansas City 9, Tampa Bay 8
When: 8:10 PM ET, Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Temperature: 46°
Umpires: Home - Mark Wegner, 1B - Chris Guccione, 2B - Roberto Ortiz, 3B - Ramon De Jesus
Attendance: 5053

Salvador Perez had his third game-winning hit of the homestand as the Kansas City Royals avoided a three-game sweep with a 9-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

Perez drove in Nicky Lopez with a two-out, walk-off single in the ninth.

Scott Barlow (1-0) earned the win despite blowing a lead in the eighth and allowing a go-ahead run in the top of the ninth. Diego Castillo (0-1) got the loss after yielding two runs on two hits in the bottom of the ninth.

With the Royals up 7-6 in the eighth, Tampa Bay's Kevin Kiermaier reached on a one-out single. Barlow replaced Jake Brentz on the mound for Kansas City and served up pinch hitter Randy Arozarena's RBI double.

In the top of the ninth, Austin Meadows singled and pinch runner Manuel Margot gave the Rays an 8-7 lead when he scored on Joey Wendle's double.

Michael A. Taylor led off the bottom of the ninth with a single. Jarrod Dyson pinch-ran and stole second. He was bunted to third by Hanser Alberto and scored on a safety squeeze bunt by Lopez.

Whit Merrifield's groundout moved Lopez to second. After the Rays intentionally walked Carlos Santana, Perez's single to left ended the game.

Jorge Soler led the Royals with three hits, including a solo homer, while Hunter Dozier and Santana hit two-run homers.

Wendle, Meadows and Brett Phillips each had two hits for the Rays. Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer, and Wendle knocked in three runs.

Royals starter Jakob Junis allowed five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Rays starter Michael Wacha lasted 5 2/3 innings, and he yielded three runs on five hits and one walk. He fanned one.

The Rays, who saw their five-game winning streak end, head home for a 10-game homestand that starts Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Royals, who finished 6-4 on their homestand, open a nine-game road trip at Detroit on Friday.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Tampa Bay   Kansas City
Michael Wacha Player Jakob Junis
No Decision W/L No Decision
5.2 IP 5.0
1 Strikeouts 3
5 Hits 6
4.76 ERA 9.00
Hitting
Tampa Bay   Kansas City
Austin Meadows Player Jorge Soler
2 Hits 3
1 RBI 1
0 HR 1
3 TB 7
.667 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Tampa Bay 11 1 19 .314 16 7 8 5 1 1
Kansas City 9 3 21 .265 7 2 9 3 1 2