BALTIMORE (AP) — Kelvin Gutierrez hit a game-tying two-run single, two Kansas City outfielders collided on a ball hit by Cedric Mullins, allowing two more runs to score, and Ryan Mountcastle followed with a two-run homer as the Baltimore Orioles scored all their runs in the eighth inning in a 9-8 win over the Royals on Wednesday night.
“We haven't had too many of those types of innings in the last few years," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “It took us eight innings to put some at-bats together. We were pretty flat offensively. We caught a break. We don't get too many of those usually.”
Baltimore has taken two of three from the Royals, who haven't won a series at Camden Yards since April 2014.
Salvador Pérez hit his 42nd homer for Kansas City and trails Shohei Ohtani by one for most in MLB. He leads the majors with 104 RBIs, moving one ahead of José Abreu, of the Chicago White Sox, who plays later Wednesday at Oakland.
"I never see something like that in my career," Pérez said about the outcome. "Today was one of those games you just have to forget about it.”
Austin Hays extended his career-best 15-game hitting streak with an RBI double in the eighth for Baltimore's first run. Anthony Santander and pinch-hitter Ramón Urías had RBI singles off Josh Staumont (3-3), cutting the deficit to 5-3.
After Gutierrez's two-run single off Jake Brentz, Mullins hit a fly ball between right fielder Hunter Dozier and center fielder Edward Olivares, who bumped into one another, allowing two runs to score. Mountcastle capped the rally with his 26th homer.
“That was awesome,” Mountcastle said. “That was a great win. We didn't give up. It's very easy to do that this late in the year. For us to battle back and win today was huge.”
Dillon Tate allowed a two-out, three-run homer to Andrew Benintendi in the ninth that cut Baltimore's lead to 9-8. However, Tyler Wells got the last out and earned his second save.
Benintendi finished with three hits and five RBIs.
Manny Barreda (1-0) picked up his first career win.
“Baseball-wise, this is probably the pinnacle of my career right now,” Barreda said. “This is the moment I have been waiting for since I was a little kid.”
The Orioles matched their largest comeback of the season, joining an 8-7 win on July 28 against the Marlins when they overcame a 5-0 disadvantage after two innings.
“To have one inning that gets away from us like that, our worst inning of the year, that is hard to swallow,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “We had some things get away from us today.”
MOVING UP
Pérez moved into sole possession of third place on the Royals’ all-time list with his 194th career home run.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: 1B/DH Trey Mancini (oblique) is still sidelined with soreness. Hyde hopes he can get in the lineup over the next couple of days. … RHP Hunter Harvey is dealing with a right triceps strain and remains on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk. “I don’t know if it’s season-ending or not,” Hyde said.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Carlos Hernandez (5-1, 3.57 ERA) is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA and 31 strikeouts and just 10 walks over his last seven appearances (42 ⅓ innings).
Orioles: LHP John Means (5-6, 3.47 ERA) is looking for his first win since July 31. He has logged 119 1/3 total innings this year, compared to 43 2/3 over a shortened 2020 season. “It’s definitely felt like a grind to get through these last couple of months,” Means said.
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