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Alex Gordon makes like Superman and rescues Royals with walk-off homer
The Kansas City Royals seemed bound to be shut out by the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night until the bat boy spoke up with Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon coming to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Manager Ned Yost explains, via the Associated Press:
''The bat boy who never says anything turns around and says, 'Esky is going to get a hit and Gordo's taking him in the fountain,''' Yost said. ''I said, 'OK. Sounds like a pretty good plan.'''
One that worked out perfectly, too.
As if by request, Escobar blooped a single and Gordon connected for a rare Royals home run, a two-run shot against Twins closer Glen Perkins that gave Kansas City an exhilarating 2-1 victory. It was reason enough for Salvador Perez to drench Gordon in golden splendor:
Gordon's timely homer — just Kansas City's 83rd on the season, good for dead-last in the majors — kept the Royals 1 1/2 games in front of the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central race. The Tigers beat the Yankees 5-2.
Also, Gordon following through on the bat boy's premonition also makes you wonder if K.C. is (finally) some kind of team of destiny. The Royals remain in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 1985, when they won the World Series.
A big reason for their season has been Gordon, who finds himself fourth in wins above replacement in the American League. That's an MVP candidate, folks. Much of his value has been on defense, but his on-base plus slugging ranks 16th in the league too. And check out his arms:
Good lordy. Gordy. Flex it! Kind of reminds you of this guy:
It was Gordon's second career game-ending homer. The previous one came July 30, 2010 against the Orioles. If it seems like a long time since the Royals have done anything, that's because it's been a long time since the Royals have done anything.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!
