MILWAUKEE (AP) — Lorenzo Cain hit a two-run homer, and normally lights-out reliever Greg Holland struggled in the ninth before the Kansas City Royals held off the Milwaukee Brewers for an 8-5 win Monday night.
The Royals won in manager Ned Yost’s first regular season game back in Milwaukee since being fired by the Brewers late in the 2008 campaign.
But the victory was more difficult than expected after the Royals entered the bottom of the ninth with an 8-2 lead.
Milwaukee got three runs with nobody out off Holland, the closer pitching in a non-save situation. Jonathan Lucroy’s second double of the night made it 8-5 to chase Holland from the game.
Holland’s ERA ballooned from 1.76 to 3.52 after allowing three runs on four hits and a walk.
Wade Davis retired the next three hitters for his eighth save.
Until the ninth, the Royals had set the tone with a typically aggressive offense. Moustakas drove in leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar with a single in a three-run first inning with Escobar running on the pitch from first.
Cain tacked on his two-run shot in the fifth, his fifth of the season, off starter Kyle Lohse (3-8) for a 5-0 lead.
It was just enough of a cushion for starter Edinson Volquez (6-4), who allowed six hits and two runs in five shaky innings. The damage could have been worse if not for two inning-ending double plays and a hard-hit liner by Lucroy for an out in the third to third baseman Moustakas with runners on base.
Lucroy finished 2 for 4, adding a two-run double with two outs in the fifth. Pinch hitter Martin Maldonado added a two-run single in the ninth off Holland.
But the Brewers wasted too many other opportunities, leaving nine men on base.
Lohse had another poor outing for the Brewers, giving up five runs and five hits in five innings. His ERA rose to 6.44.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: Yost said SP Yordano Ventura (right hand weakness) threw the ball well during a 35-pitch bullpen session. He left Saturday’s game against St. Louis because of the injury. A rainout Sunday with the Cardinals gave the Royals more flexibility with their rotation, and Yost said he would likely push Ventura’s next start back to Friday against the Red Sox in Kansas City.
Brewers: CF Carlos Gomez was scratched from the lineup with right leg tightness. The leg has bothered Gomez since he spent two weeks on the disabled list in late April with a hamstring injury. Gomez also missed a few games last week because of an injury that now seems to be concentrated to the upper part of the leg. Gomez might miss a couple games this week, manager Craig Counsell said.
UP NEXT
Royals: Chris Young (5-2) makes the start on Tuesday in his first appearance since carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 2-0 win at Minnesota on June 9. Young has a 2.08 ERA in 26 innings on the road this year.
Brewers: Matt Garza (4-7) is 2-5 with a 3.45 ERA in nine career starts against Kansas City.
— Associated Press —