BOSTON -- The Royals had put together the makings of a comeback. Runs in the sixth and seventh to tie the game, 4 2/3 scoreless innings pitched by the bullpen to force extra frames, potentially three outs away from winning the series against the defending World Series champions.
And then the rain hit.
After a one-hour and 49-minute delay, Wednesday night¡¯s series finale was suspended in the top of the 10th inning in a 4-4 tie. The game is scheduled to resume on Aug. 22 at 12:05 p.m. CT at Fenway Park.
¡°We¡¯re glad we don¡¯t have to sit here all through the night and wonder when we¡¯re going to play,¡± Billy Hamilton said. ¡°I¡¯m kind of glad we got it over with.¡±
The Royals converged in the visitors¡¯ clubhouse as rain soaked the tarp-covered field and lightning cracked the sky. Some players sat at their lockers. Others went to the trainer¡¯s room. Some sprawled out on the couches, while others grabbed a bite to eat.
¡°We were just hanging out, wondering if we were going to play again,¡± Nicky Lopez said. ¡°If not, we were just checking the radar. Obviously, it didn¡¯t look good. We were wondering how late it was going to be or how late we were going to wait and what time we were going to get into Detroit.¡±
When the rain didn¡¯t let up -- the lightning continued after the game was called -- the Royals packed up to hit the road for their series beginning on Thursday night at Comerica Park against the Tigers.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t have lasted two hours long,¡± Royals manager Ned Yost said of the delay. ¡°Anybody could have looked at the radar, they¡¯d see it was probably going to be a showstopper. But, we just sit and wait for the game to be called.¡±
When the game resumes, the Royals will look to complete a win powered offensively by two of its young players. They got on the board in the third inning with a two-run RBI by Meibrys Viloria, who was a late addition to the starting lineup after Cam Gallagher (left side tightness) was scratched following batting practice.
After Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez loaded the bases, the 22-year-old Viloria patiently took the count to 3-1. He jumped on a 95.1-mph four-seam fastball to hit a grounder into center field, which drove in Jorge Soler and Cheslor Cuthbert giving Viloria his second multiple-RBI game in his last four. Viloria bookended the series with his first career home run on Monday.
¡°A big hit by Valoria,¡± Yost said. ¡°And, of course, Nicky¡¯s hit to tie it up was a big hit also.¡±
Lopez, who made his Major League debut in May, evened the score in the seventh with an RBI double off Nathan Eovaldi to plate Hunter Dozier. Lopez entered the game 3-for-17 on the road trip and hitless in his last five at-bats.
¡°Eovaldi cuts it and he brings it, too,¡± Lopez said. ¡°So I was just sitting on a fastball, and just reacting. If he threw a curveball, react. But he stayed with the fastball and I tried to be short with it and put the ball in play. Luckily, it found a hole.¡±
The Royals will play the Orioles in Baltimore on Aug. 19-21. From there, they will travel to Boston for the Aug. 22 restart. After that, they will fly to Cleveland for a three-game series against the Indians, Aug. 23-25.
¡°If MLB wants us to come back that day, it¡¯s really convenient for us,¡± Yost said.