Kansas City Royals at Washington Nationals

· Major League Baseball

Kansas City Royals

85-74, 40-38 Away

Final
7 - 4

Washington Nationals

69-90, 36-42 Home

Frazier's pinch-hit, 2-run single lifts the Royals to a series sweep of the Nationals

Pinch hitter Adam Frazier’s one-out, line drive hit to left field in the top of the ninth drove in two runs, breaking a 4-all tie and guiding the Royals to their third straight win following a seven-game losing streak.

“It doesn’t surprise me, to be honest," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "I like to brag on these guys because they’re so professional. They are so matter of fact, turn the page from good or bad. They don’t feel sorry for themselves when they’re getting beat and they don’t get too high when you’re winning. Hopefully they have more to celebrate, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

Salvador Perez’s second single of the game scored Frazier, chasing Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan (3-8).

“Get a ball to the outfield somehow," Frazier said of his approach. "When I hit it, I thought it might be foul and I heard everybody cheer so I figured it was good. That works for sure.”

Hunter Renfroe hit his 14th homer of the season to open the scoring, a 424-feet shot that left the park at 108.4 mph. The Royals (85-74) remained even with the Tigers for the second AL wild-card spot. Kansas City closes the season with a three-game series in Atlanta, while the Tigers host the Chicago White Sox for a three-game set.

Kris Bubic (1-1) earned the win with a scoreless eighth inning. Royals closer Lucas Erceg recorded his third consecutive save in the series — and 14th of the season.

“It’s my first time doing that," Erceg said. “Felt good when I was out there. A little tired now, but it’s just cool to have that experience.”

Erceg and teammate Angel Zerpa each tossed scoreless innings of relief in all three wins as the bullpen took center stage. Royals hurlers held the Nationals without a run in 26 of the 28 innings.

Starter Michael Wacha pitched five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) and five hits, striking out two and walking one on 83 pitches, 58 for strikes.

Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin made his final start for the team and the Royals went ahead with five consecutive singles in the third. Tommy Pham, Bobby Witt Jr. and Yuli Gurriel had RBI singles, giving the Royals a 4-1 lead.

Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. hit a three-run homer to tie the game at 4, his 17th of the season.

The Nationals ended the second-longest scoring drought in franchise history at 31 consecutive innings with an unearned run in the first. Dylan Crews scored the first run since Sept. 21 at Wrigley Field after a dropped infield pop fly by second baseman Maikel Garcia.

Corbin departed to a standing ovation and tipped his cap to the crowd before stepping into the home dugout and receiving high fives from the coaching staff. The 35-year-old pitcher worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts on 73 pitches, 49 for strikes.

Corbin becomes a free agent this winter. The two-time All-Star’ has struggled the last four seasons, compiling 63 losses — the worst in the National League.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Michael Lorenzen left his start Wednesday night after 2 1/3 innings with left leg fatigue, but appears on target to pitch out of the bullpen this weekend against the Braves.

Quatraro said LHP Will Smith (15-day IL, back spasms) is scheduled to throw a live bullpen session Saturday.

Royals: RHP Brady Singer (9-12, 3.73 ERA) takes on Braves LHP Max Fried (10-10, 3.42) Friday night at Truist Park.

Nationals: RHP Trevor Williams (5-1, 2.19) faces the Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez (12-7, 3.15) Friday night at Nationals Park.

How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Washington Nationals?

TV Channel: Royals at Nationals 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Nationals: 36.3%

Royals: 63.7%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Young grounded out to first.
	9th Inning	Gallo struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Ruiz grounded out to second.
	9th Inning	Erceg relieved Bubic
	9th Inning	Frazier at third base.
	9th Inning	Isbel in center field.

Statistics

KC		WSH
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
11	Ground Balls	16
4	Strikeouts	6
7	Runs Batted In	4
1	Sacrifice Hit	1
8	Hits	7
2	Stolen Bases	0
4	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	0
7	Runs	4
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
35	At Bats	33
1	Home Runs	1
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
13	Runners Left On Base	12
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
0	Doubles	0
21	Fly Balls	12
0	Caught Stealing	0
137	Pitches	132
0	Games Started	0
2	Pinch At Bats	0
1	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	0
11	Total Bases	10
40	Plate Appearances	35
162.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
1	Extra Base Hits	1
4.1	Runs Created	1.9
.229	Batting Average	.212
.500	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.314	Slugging Percentage	.303
.257	Secondary Average	.121
.308	On Base Percentage	.235
.622	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.538
0.5	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.3
4.0	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	1.8
41.0	Batter Rating	26.0
35.0	At Bats Per Home Run	33.0
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.43	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.77
.086	Isolated Power	.091
1.00	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.17
.100	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.029
.029	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.091
14.0	Runs Produced	8.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.4	Patience Ratio	0.3
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.2
86.0	MLB Rating	76.5
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0