KANSAS CITY – There was plenty of blame to pass around after the Cincinnati Reds coughed up a five-run lead in their 7-6, walk-off loss to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.
The bullpen, which hadn't allowed an earned run in its last 16 innings, wasn't sharp. Cionel Pérez surrendered a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Brad Brach issued a walk and hit a batter to open the ninth.
Eugenio Suárez had a hard-hit ball shoot between his legs and under his glove for an error in the ninth inning, which led to a run. If Suárez fielded it cleanly at third base, it had a high likelihood of turning into a double play.
Heath Hembree failed to back up home when Nicky Lopez hit a game-tying, two-run bloop single to left field. Aristides Aquino, the left fielder, had a chance of throwing out a runner at the plate, but his throw was too high for 6-foot-4 catcher Tyler Stephenson. Lopez advanced to third on the play.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez was the walk-off hero with a hit to the left-field wall off Amir Garrett, completing the stunning comeback. The Reds held a 6-1 lead after seven innings, but it was an abrupt end to their five-game winning streak.
"It's disappointing going into the ninth with a three-run lead and to give that up, it's tough," Stephenson said. "It's a tough one to swallow."
Everything just kept snowballing for the Reds in the final two innings. Cionel Pérez struck out the first batter he faced, Hanser Alberto, but Alberto reached base on a passed ball. It became costly when Andrew Benintendi homered with two outs in the eighth.
There were two errors in the ninth. The ground ball that shot past Suárez changed the entire inning.
