ARLINGTON, Texas _ The bullpen door opened in the bottom of the ninth, and out came Brooks Pounders, a rookie pitcher thrown into the fire.
Three hitters later, the ballgame was over. Texas' Mitch Moreland crushed a walk-off homer in the ninth inning on Saturday, lifting the Rangers to a 2-1 walk-off victory over the Royals inside Globe Life Park.
The homer dropped the Royals to 49-54 on the season and continued a dreadful July. The bullpen stumble also wasted a solid performance from Royals starter Ian Kennedy.
In five starts in July, Kennedy had allowed 17 earned runs in 252/3 innings, his ERA reaching a season-high 4.41 after a 6-2 loss against the Los Angeles Angels. He had not worked more than six innings since June 26 against Houston.
The tepid stretch had coincided with the Royals' July collapse, another thing gone wrong during a miserable month. But on Saturday night in Texas, Kennedy channeled his performance from the season's opening weeks.
He allowed just one run in seven innings while striking out six. He navigated a tricky lineup in a ballpark that can act as a bandbox. He exited the game after throwing his 108th pitch in the bottom of the seventh.
The Royals had manufactured a run in the top of the first on two singles and two fielder's choice groundballs. Shortstop Alcides Escobar opened the game with an infield single to third base against Texas starter Martin Perez. He advanced to second on a single from Cheslor Cuthbert and scored after consecutive grounders from Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer.
For the Royals, that was all the offense they could muster.
The Rangers would even the score in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from catcher Bobby Wilson. The inning had begun with a triple to right from shortstop Elvis Andrus, who cruised easily into third after depositing a line drive down the right field line. Kennedy responded by striking out designated hitter Joey Gallo. But Wilson would beat Kennedy with a soft single to left field.
Kennedy would settle in and put up scoreless frames through the seventh. Reliever Joakim Soria came on in the eighth, working his second straight scoreless inning after struggling for much of July.
With Luke Hochevar and Wade Davis out with injury, Royals manager Ned Yost turned to Pounders in the ninth. Moments later, Moreland ended the game on one swing.
