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DeJesus hits walk-off homer to lift Royals over Mariners

Jul 13, 2008 - 3:34 AM By Pat Madden PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- David DeJesus' first career walk-off home run allowed the Kansas City Royals to increase their winning streak to three games with a 5-4 triumph over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

DeJesus connected on the first pitch from Seattle closer Brandon Morrow (1-2) for a two-run shot, his 10th home run of the season.

"I thought he got it," Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said. "I still haven't seen the replay, but I think it just barely made it over. That's one I actually called. I said to Dave, 'We've got two outs. How about Billy (Butler) drawing a walk and then you going boom?'"

"It was a fastball down the middle, like I've gotten away with before," Morrow said.

Morrow retired the first two batters to start the inning but walked pinch hitter Butler on four pitches to set the stage for DeJesus' heroics.

"Billy had a good at-bat. He took four pitches," DeJesus said. "I just wanted to be aggressive on it. (Morrow's) a pretty hard-throwing guy. I was able to put a good swing on it. It was a first-pitch fastball. I thought, if it's coming in, I'm going to turn on it, and he put it right there and I was able to do it.

"Once I got in there (to home plate), the guys were punching and banging the heck out of me."

It was the first walk-off homer for Kansas City since April 19, 2005, when Alberto Castillo accomplished the feat against Cleveland.

"It's huge," Hillman said. "It's really big. I'm not going to tell you it's just another win. It's not. That's a big deal for us and for our fans. Not too many people left early tonight."

The blown save was the second in as many appearances for Morrow, who allowed back-to-back homers in the ninth inning against Oakland on Thursday.

"This one is tough to swallow," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "Sometimes they happen when a pitcher has been used a lot, and maybe he isn't as sharp or doesn't have his best stuff, but Brandon is firing. He's throwing great stuff. There were a couple of borderline pitches to Butler, and that turned into a walk. DeJesus is not known for his power, but he's done it to us again. Still, you'd like to have a three-run lead or a four- or five-run lead so somebody else can go out there."

"As a young pitcher, he's a good pitcher," Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima said of Morrow. "To become a great pitcher, he has to go through situations like that. This is a test for him. He has to get over it to get to become a great pitcher."

DeJesus' blast made a winner of Horacio Ramirez (1-0), who set down all eight batters he faced.

The Mariners, who are the American League's lowest-scoring team, were stymied for five innings but broke through against Gil Meche with four runs in the sixth inning to take the lead. Raul Ibanez's 11th home run, a two-run shot to right field, was the big blow of the frame.

All-Star Ichiro Suzuki also collected two hits for the Mariners one night after going hitless against the Royals for the first time since April 13, 2005.

The loss was Seattle's sixth in its last seven games.

Kansas City got two-out, run-scoring singles in the first inning from Mark Grudzielanek and Alex Gordon for an early 2-0 lead. The Royals added another on a fielder's choice by Mark Teahen in the second inning.

Grudzielanek collected his 2,000th career hit for Kansas City. The veteran's single to center field in the third inning made him the 18th active player to reach the plateau.

The 23,792 fans in attendance gave Grudzielanek an extended ovation.

"I heard them," Grudzielanek said. "I had all kinds of thoughts going through my head. It felt like quite a while out there being in front of those fans by yourself. It was a very special time."

"He's a very solid second baseman. He turns the double play as one of the best I've ever seen," Hillman said. "It's a great thing for him individually. It's great for us, as we won as a club."