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Kansas City Royals’ MJ Melendez (1) runs home to score the winning run after New York Mets relief pitcher Josh Walker balked with the bases loaded during the tenth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. The Royals won 7-6 in 10 innings. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Josh Walker balked home the winning run in the 10th inning and the Kansas City Royals rallied past the New York Mets 7-6 on Tuesday night for their season-best fourth straight victory.
Hours after the retooling Mets traded star pitcher Justin Verlander and two other players to cap a stunning deadline selloff, they blew a 6-4 lead provided by rookie Francisco Álvarez’s two-run homer in the top of the 10th.
Bobby Witt Jr. hit an RBI double in the bottom half and MJ Melendez tied it with a run-scoring single off Brooks Raley (0-2).
“The whole last inning, really good at-bats,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Bobby, MJ, and then taking walks. Raley’s tough. We’ve seen a lot of him and he can really get you to expand the zone. Our guys didn’t do that.”
“Bobby getting us started right there is huge,” Melendez said. “Getting that tying run on second base takes a lot of pressure off the guys to come. We had some really good at-bats and some walks after that.”
Following a two-out throwing error by rookie third baseman Brett Baty, Melendez scored when Walker balked with the bases loaded to give last-place Kansas City (33-75) its sixth walk-off victory.
“I didn’t have a PitchCom in my ear,” Walker explained. “Álvy didn’t have communication. Basically I was trying to relay that to him. When I went to step off, my foot was kind of in the footprint of where guys had been throwing and my knee buckled a little bit before I stepped off.”
Walker was recalled from the minors earlier in the…
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