Marsh guts through 5 frames as Royals' comeback falls short

KANSAS CITY -- Despite not having much control of his slider all outing, Alec Marsh knew it was the one pitch that could get him out of the jam and end his night.

Against Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernández in the sixth inning, catcher Salvador Perez called for a fastball, Marsh’s most reliable pitch on Wednesday. But the 25-year-old rookie shook him off and went with his gut.

Hernández struck out swinging, ending Marsh’s bumpy night with five innings of one-run ball, but the Royals’ comeback came up just short in a 6-5 loss to the Mariners at Kauffman Stadium.

But that pitch? That’s what the Royals are looking for out of their young pitchers to end the regular season.

“Huge. We called a fastball, but I had my sight on [slider],” Marsh said. “It hadn’t been good all game, but it was a moment that, if I could execute this pitch, I think we could get out of it. So I ended up shaking Sal and going slider, and it paid off.

“It was a really big moment for me … even though [the slider] wasn’t great all night … to shake him off and have the confidence to throw it where I needed to.”

Marsh’s outing was one of three big moments from another back-and-forth game against the Mariners. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Kansas City’s loss:

Marsh powers through lack of control
Kansas City's right-hander has made six starts this season, but his past two outings have begun in the second inning after an opener. On Wednesday, James McArthur gave up three runs in the first before Marsh took the ball, and when he did, his lack of control was noticeable.

He ended the night with five walks and threw 51 pitches in his first two innings, but a five-pitch fifth inning got him back on track. The righty has gone at least five innings in five of his starts or bulk appearances this year and generated 15 whiffs on 41 swings against Seattle with six strikeouts.

“It was a gritty night for me,” Marsh said. “You’re not going to have your best stuff all the time, but you’re going to have to find a way to get it done. … I thought I kept us in the game. Kept us in the hunt. I thought at the end of the day that was the biggest positive. … Giving us a chance to come back.”

Melendez continues to hit
Kansas City scored four or more runs for the fifth consecutive game, but the comeback fell one short in the ninth. However, MJ Melendez notched his second straight three-hit game for the first time in his career and is now batting .304 in the second half with the same amount of homers (six) as he had in the first half in 54 fewer games.

Melendez’s bat in the middle of the lineup has sparked a young group that has only gotten better as the season has progressed.

“Our offense is really, really rolling,” Melendez said. “It’s been a thing for us to hit with runners in scoring position, and I think we have been doing that a lot lately. Really just putting the pressure on. We had bases loaded early a couple times and even early in the game, scoring those runs against Luis Castillo, who is one of the better pitchers in the big leagues and has some nasty stuff. For us to get on him early and get those runs was definitely important for us.”

Close call remains crucial
Tied in the eighth with a runner on third, recently acquired Nelson Velázquez came inches away from making the play of the night. With the go-ahead runner 90 feet from home, Hernández skied a foul ball into shallow right, and Velázquez threw a dart to Perez, who tagged Dylan Moore as his hand touched the plate.

“I thought I got him, but he’s a fast guy and I was pretty close to the wall,” Velázquez said. “I tried my best, and it was pretty close. But it was safe, he got me.”

The play was the deciding run after Velázquez crushed a solo homer in the ninth, his third in six games with Kansas City.

But that late-inning play was another learning moment for a team trying to find ways to win at the end of games.

“I think if he calls him out, it’s a 'call stands,'” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I don't think they overturn it either way. Unfortunately for us, he called him safe.

“... There are razor thin margins every night. That’s on us to find a way to win these games. Hopefully that builds some kind of character and momentum.”