Casey Kotchman had an eventful night, hitting a game-winning homer and avoiding a whip cream pie in the face from teammate Evan Longoria during a postgame celebration.

Kotchman led off the ninth inning with a home run to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

“I don’t get either one very often,” Kotchman said.

Kotchman drove the first pitch from Blake Wood (5-1) over the centerfield fence. He also knocked in the other Tampa Bay run with a run-scoring single that tied it in the seventh.

“How about Casey?” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Those balls were properly struck. Kotch has been hitting like that all year. It’s fun to watch.”

Kotchman, who has seven multihit outings over his last 10 games, is hitting .341 this season. The greeting he received from the welcoming committee at the plate was a blur.

“Just kind of numb,” he said.

It was Kotchman’s first walk-off hit since he had an RBI single in the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-1 victory over Texas on July 13, 2007. The first baseman has three homers over the last six games after going deep just four times in 93 games to start the season.

Rays closer Kyle Farnsworth (4-1) pitched a perfect ninth to earn the win.

Luke Hochevar allowed one run and five hits over seven innings for the Royals. The right-hander, who had won his previous three starts, had seven strikeouts and two walks.

Rays rookie Jeremy Hellickson, 3-0 in four starts during July, gave up one run and six hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

“It was a great game,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “There was outstanding pitching from both starters.”

Tampa Bay tied it at 1 in the seventh when Ben Zobrist drew a one-out walk, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Kotchman’s single.

“Just happy to get the ‘W,” Kotchman said.

Eric Hosmer put the Royals ahead 1-0 on a first-inning RBI single. Alex Gordon, who had been hitless in his first 37 at-bats at Tropicana Field, hit a leadoff double and later scored on Hosmer’s opposite-field hit to left.

Kansas City had a runner in scoring position in four of the first six innings, but went 2 for 10 in those situations. The Royals also failed to take advantage after getting two on with one out during the eighth.

Tampa Bay had two on and one out in the second, but failed to score when Matt Joyce and Robinson Chirinos both struck out.

Hochevar induced double-play grounders in both the fourth and fifth innings.

Kansas City center fielder Melky Cabrera was in the lineup after not starting Sunday’s game because of a sprained left ankle. He went 2 for 4, including a double, and has 47 multihit games this year.

— Associated Press —

Johnny Giavotella’s debut was a dream come true.

Giavotella hit his first major league home run and doubled as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Sunday.

“It does feel surreal,” Giavotella said. “This weekend has been almost magical. Everything I wanted to accomplish in baseball, it’s come true this weekend. To have my family here watching me, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Giavotella, who was promoted Friday after hitting .338 in 110 games with Triple-A Omaha, is 5 for 11 (.455) with a .909 slugging percentage in his first three games

“He’s a little sparkplug,” said Alex Gordon, who set a single-season club record with his 18th outfield assist in the fourth inning. “He’s a little guy, but has lot of energy. He was hitting down in Triple-A. He didn’t really change when he got up here.”

Giavotella faced Rick Porcello, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

“He’s facing three solid pitchers,” Gordon said. “That was a pretty impressive for his first series.”

Giavotella led off the three-run fourth with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Billy Butler groundout. Mitch Maier’s triple scored Eric Hosmer, who singled. Brayan Pena’s two-out single brought home Maier.

Giavotella homered to left on a 2-1 pitch from Scherzer in the fifth.

“It was an unbelievable feeling and a feeling I’ll never forget,” Giavotella said. “Scherzer was trying to come in on me all day. He was banging me inside and I couldn’t get my hands extended. I guess he missed over the plate that time and I got my hands inside and barreled it up and it flew out of the park.”

Royals left-hander Bruce Chen (6-5) gave up three runs on five hits in five-plus innings, while striking out five — three in the first inning — and no walks to pick up his first victory since July 6. He allowed three hits to start the three-run sixth, when there was a 46 minute rain delay. Rookie right-hander Louis Coleman replaced Chen after play resumed.

“Bruce did a phenomenal job the first five innings and then that storm blew in and stuff was blowing everywhere,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “You would think that would be to the pitcher’s advantage, but they somehow put together three hits and then the downpour. Somebody said one guy swung threw a napkin and got a hit. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Scherzer (11-7), who like Chen did not return after the rain delay, yielded four runs on six hits in five innings. Scherzer was 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA in his previous three starts against Kansas City.

“It was one of those outings where I got out there and fell behind and made some mistakes and they made me pay for it,” Scherzer said. “And then there were some pitches where I was able to locate it but they were able to hit it.”

The Tigers trimmed the lead to a run in the fifth with Andy Dirks, Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera contributing RBI doubles.

Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his 21st save in 27 opportunities.

Gordon was credited with hit 18th outfield assist in the fourth inning when Cabrera was out 7-6-4 trying to stretch a single into a double. Jermaine Dye in 2001, and Mark Teahen in 2007, shared the record with 17 outfield assists.

“That play was really (Alcides) Escobar,” Gordon said. “I threw it off the line a little bit and Escobar made a great play. He’s been doing that all year. You’ve got to give him credit, too.”

Royals right-fielder Jeff Francoeur threw out Jhonny Peralta, who attempted to go from first to third on Alex Avila’s single in the seventh, giving the Royals’ outfielders 40 assists, which tops the majors. Francoeur leads all big league outfielders with 93 assists since he debuted in 2005.

— Associated Press —

Justin Verlander watched helplessly as his first pitch went sailing toward the outfield wall. The Tigers’ ace could see Austin Jackson tracking it from the moment it left Alex Gordon’s bat, but Verlander wasn’t sure the speedy center fielder could get to it.

Jackson leaped — and came back down with a 409-foot out.

Bailed out by his defense in the first inning, Verlander returned the favor in the seventh. He pitched out of trouble brought on by an error to preserve a one-run lead over the Kansas City Royals, and Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde finished off the 4-3 victory Saturday night.

Verlander (16-5) won his fifth straight start and moved into a tie with New York Yankees lefty CC Sabathia for the major league lead in victories. The right-hander also improved to 13-2 in his career against Kansas City.

“At first I didn’t know if I was going to make it back there to get it,” Jackson said of his leaping grab. “It kept going and I was getting to the track and trying to time my steps right. I was able to get back to it.”

It was the Royals’ best scoring opportunity until Jeff Francoeur’s solo homer in the fifth.

“Talk about a catch,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “That could be the best catch I’ve seen all year. I didn’t think he would get over there and then to time his leap at the last second to catch it above the wall.”

Victor Martinez drove in two runs for Detroit before leaving late with a left knee sprain. He will be evaluated again Sunday, but manager Jim Leyland doesn’t think it’s serious.

The Tigers built a 4-1 lead by the seventh when their defense gave Kansas City hope.

Ryan Raburn had just moved from third base to right field to start the inning. Eric Hosmer singled with one out and Francoeur doubled down the right-field line. Raburn’s throw overshot second base by a wide margin, allowing Hosmer to score, and weak-hitting Brayan Pena’s two-out double moments later drew Kansas City within 4-3.

The unflappable Verlander bounced back to get Alcides Escobar on a weak foul popup down the third-base line, preserving the Tigers’ one-run lead. Escobar promptly spiked his bat in frustration.

“I didn’t have great control of my curveball. I was kind of able to get a little feel in the fourth, fifth, sixth inning,” Verlander said. “A couple hits in the seventh, one big hit by Pena, and next thing I know the tying run is on second base. Luckily I was able to get through it with the lead.”

Verlander wound up allowing five hits in seven innings while striking out eight. Valverde handled the ninth for his 32nd straight save to start the season, matching the club record set by AL MVP Willie Hernandez in 1984.

Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez also had RBIs for Detroit.

Danny Duffy (3-4) allowed three runs and five hits for Kansas City, but he was done in again by his pitch count. The rookie left-hander needed a career-high 105 to get through five innings, 30 more pitches than Verlander needed to get through the same point in the game.

“I didn’t have very good command,” Duffy said. “I didn’t do my job. I didn’t locate very well. I was really frustrated. I’m really frustrated with myself right now. I didn’t keep my team in the game.

“They battled back,” he said, “but by no means did I give us a chance to win.”

Detroit got its first two runs in the first inning, when Duffy issued back-to-back one-out walks and Cabrera followed with a double to right. The shaky start brought pitching coach Bob McClure to the mound, but it sure didn’t do much good. Martinez lined the very next pitch up the middle for an RBI single.

The Tigers made it 3-0 in the third when Cabrera doubled and Martinez singled, then answered Francoeur’s homer in the seventh. Alex Avila singled off Blake Wood, and Jackson reached first base when Wood threw the ball away on a soft grounder to the mound. Brennan Boesch moved the runners up and Ordonez hit an RBI groundout.

“It’s very important to get the runs for starting pitchers like Verlander,” Cabrera said. “When they get run support they feel a lot of confidence. And we got another one in the seventh. That really helped the bullpen.”

— Associated Press —