Yasmani Grandal lets the tying run score on a blunder then hits a walk-off homer, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals are locked in a close game. With the White Sox trailing by one run, outfielder Andrew Vaughn singles to put the tying run on base. Royals manager Mike Matheny then brings in veteran relief pitcher Drew Steckenrider to try and close out the game. Royals outfielder Nicky Lopez hits a shallow fly ball to left field, where White Sox left fielder AJ Pollock makes the catch. Pinch-runner Dyson Jarrod, known for his speed, tags up and races to second base, barely beating the throw. The White Sox now have the tying run in scoring position with two outs. Royals third baseman Emmanuel Rivera steps up and laces a double into the gap, scoring Dyson Jarrod to tie the game at 5-5. White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal, who had been preoccupied arguing a previous play, turns to see the tying run cross the plate. "I've got to hit a home run now," Grandal says to himself. In the next inning, Grandal comes to the plate against Royals closer Ian Kennedy. On a 2-1 pitch, Grandal crushes a walk-off solo home run over the left field wall, giving the White Sox a dramatic 6-5 victory. Grandal excitedly rounds the bases, pumping his fist and shouting towards the White Sox bullpen. His teammates pour out of the dugout to celebrate, with Grandal receiving a celebratory Gatorade shower. "That's a bomb!" an excited announcer exclaims. "Yasmani Grandal with the walk-off homer to win it for the White Sox!" The victory keeps the White Sox in the thick of the American League Central division race, while the Royals' late-inning collapse is a tough pill to swallow. But it's Yasmani Grandal's heroics that will be the talk of the town, capping off an incredible finish to this back-and-forth battle between division rivals.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentpretty exciting finish in the white sox
royals game draw dyson out in left field
they just acquired him to be defensive
replacement
pinch runner he's pretty fast they got a
speedy outfield now in chicago
i like it one out two outs away from
winning the game
they walk him they pinch run for him
tying run
is on first base next batter up franco
he
sends that into the gap robert cuts it
off
keeps the runners at third and first
speedy outfield oh
michael thought he could get to second
now he's hung up to drive but you gotta
watch out because there's a runner on
third he dives for the base look at this
play
so close whenever we watch replays like
this
kind of blows my mind like this that
close
that changes it's a huge change in the
game
anyway he's safe he doesn't touch him as
soon as abreu comes down he tumbles he
fires to home to keep the runner at
third
granddaughter's not lying attention at
all and the tying
run just gets to run home pretty
wild scene meanwhile he gets the third
good base running here so what happened
you can see gronda is looking down at
third base and he sees the runner
just casually there he's not coming so
he changes his uh
his mind and he gets preoccupied with
the replay i'm going to replay this
we're going to challenge this coach
and then he's going to turn to the
umpire and say yeah we're going to
challenge that play
meanwhile abreu he goes tumbling while
he's tumbling that runner could have
taken off he has no idea
and it's smart of him to not check and
just fire home to keep that guy at third
yasmani can't turn his back to the play
like that
because i think abray you should be
coming up like that you don't want to
hold on to the ball while you're rolling
around
anyway they ask for a review the umpires
go underneath the hood they say yeah we
got it right
go us he's safe he's safe he's scored
we're all good
grandahl says i gotta hit a home
run huh and then he comes up
in the next inning and boom smashes
the walk-off home run off of
ian kennedy just a bomb rounds the bases
shouts out the bullpen i think i'm
guessing says what up to the coach now
we're going to get a good gatorade throw
all excited helmet toss bring it in
little side step little side step little
side step little hop hop hop hop hop hop
hop pop pop
hop party going on no gatorade what's
going on it's right there on the ground
over there
oh it was full with water bottles so
that's a bummer