MILWAUKEE: Jacob Nottingham hit a grand slam and Orlando Arcia added a three-run shot as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied from an early four-run deficit and beat the Kansas City Royals 9-5 on Friday night.
Nottinghams two-out blast to left off Danny Duffy (3-4) capped a six-run rally in the fourth inning that put the Brewers ahead for good. The comeback had begun when Christian Yelich led off the fourth with his 150th career homer.
Kansas City’s Salvador Perez went 4 of 5 with a homer, double, two runs and four RBIs.Drew Rasmussen (1-0) pitched one inning of scoreless relief to earn the win. Six Brewers relievers held Kansas City to one run over the last six innings.
Fridays game started the Brewers final home series before they close the regular season with three games at Cincinnati and five at St. Louis. The Brewers (24-26) are chasing the Reds (26-26) and Cardinals (24-24) for second place in the National League Central behind the Chicago Cubs (31-20).
The top two teams in each division earn automatic playoff berths this season.
Kansas City took an early lead off Brewers starter Adrian Houser as the first three batters of the game all scored.
After Whit Merrifield singled and Adalberto Mondesi walked to open the game, Perez doubled them home. A one-out single by Hunter Dozier put runners on the corners.
When Dozier stole second, Nottinghams throw bounced into center field, allowing Perez to score from third.
The Royals made it 4-0 when Perez singled home Mondesi in the third.
Then it all fell apart in the fourth.
After giving up Yelichs leadoff homer, Duffy allowed the Brewers next three batters to reach as Ryan Braun singled, Jedd Gyorko walked and Keston Hiura singled to load the bases.
Duffy issued a one-out walk to Arcia that cut the lead to 4-2, but seemed on the verge of getting out of the inning after striking out Luis Urias. Thats when Nottingham delivered the Brewers first grand slam of the season.
The Brewers extended the lead to 9-4 when Arcia homered to left center off Royals reliever Jake Newberry with two outs in the fifth. Perez homered in the ninth off Josh Hader to complete the scoring.
Neither starter was effective.
Houser gave up four runs two earned and five hits and two walks with two strikeouts in four innings. Duffy struck out five but yielded six earned runs, seven hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.
Duffy was pitching for the first time since getting scratched from a scheduled start Tuesday after missing the Royals team flight to Detroit.
TRAINERS ROOM
ROYALS: Kansas City manager Mike Matheny says theres a possibility outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler could play again this season. Soler hasnt played since Sept. 5 and has been dealing with a strained right oblique.
Hes at the secondary site getting work, Matheny said before the game. Were just waiting to hear how today went, get a review of how he feels.
BREWERS: Braun left the game with lower back tightness after hitting a single in the fourth inning. Braun has been dealing with a back issue all season and appeared to aggravate it while hitting a single in the first inning.
BREWERS COMPLETE TRADE
The Brewers acquired pitchers Brandon Ramey, Juan Geraldo and Israel Puello as part of the Aug. 31 trade that sent reliever David Phelps to the Philadelphia Phillies. When the trade was originally announced, the Phillies had received Phelps for three players to be named later.
Milwaukee also released pitcher Jake Faria.
UP NEXT
The Royals and Brewers continue their three-game series Saturday at Milwaukee. Kris Bubic (1-5, 4.50) starts for Kansas City, and Corbin Burnes (3-0, 1.98) pitches for Milwaukee.
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