Robinson Cano gets 2,000th hit but Mariners lose to Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The latest loss for the Seattle Mariners diminished Robinson Cano’s excitement about his 2,000th hit. Lorenzo Cain singled home pinch-runner Paulo Orlando in the 10th inning, and the Kansas City Royals rallied past the Mariners 4-3 Wednesday night to close in on their first division title in 30 years. Cano reached the milestone with an eighth-inning single off Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera. “I mean, it was good, but it could have been better if we get the win,” Cano said. “It’s something that when I was a kid, you dream about to get to this day. But losing is not fun.” Cano became the 14th player in major league history with 2,000 hits in his first 11 seasons. “I feel blessed,” Cano said. “I’m thankful that I have this year that I feel healthy. Like I said, it doesn’t mean too much because we were losing. Winning would have been better. I would be dancing. “It’s something that I will never forget. It’s something you want when you’re a kid in the backyard, to get to this moment. But we ended up losing the game; it’s hard to celebrate.” Cano got his 1,000th hit against the Royals on July 25, 2010. It was a ground-rule double off Victor Marte down the right-field line at Yankee Stadium. “But I didn’t get that ball right away,” Cano said. “The person who got that ball left and I had to send my driver and he had to drive almost 2 hours to get that ball. The person left. The person didn’t know.” The victory reduced the Royals’ magic number to two for clinching the AL Central crown. They can lock it up Thursday night with another victory over Seattle and a Minnesota loss to Cleveland. The defending AL champions have not won a division since taking the AL West in 1985 and going on to win the World Series. “Champagne tomorrow, that would be nice,” Cain said. Alex Gordon snapped an 0-for-22 skid with a one-out single in the 10th. After Ben Zobrist was hit by a pitch from David Rollins, Orlando ran for Gordon. Cain’s single, his third hit, off Tom Zych, the eighth Seattle pitcher, sent Orlando home. The Royals tied in the ninth when Jarrod Dyson’s sacrifice fly scored Cain, who singled and moved to third on Eric Hosmer’s broken-bat single to left field. Tom Wilhelmsen gave up the run, blowing a save after converting his first 12 chances. Wade Davis (8-1) worked a spotless 10th for the win. Rollins (0-2) absorbed the loss. Ketel Marte had three hits, including a two-run triple in the third, for the Mainers. Nelson Cruz’s single to shallow left scored Marte for the final run of the inning. The Royals went up 1-0 in the fourth when Alex Rios’ sacrifice fly scored Kendrys Morales. Left-hander Roenis Elias limited the Royals to one run and four hits over 5 1-3 innings. He walked four and struck out six. Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura allowed three runs and six hits, four of them in the three-run fifth, over six innings. Hosmer’s single off Joe Beimel in the seventh scored Cain, who doubled, with the second Kansas City run.

Morrison returns

Mariners 1B Logan Morrison returned to the club after being present Tuesday for the birth of his first child. “The whole wrapping them up is crazy,” Morrison said. “Oh my gosh! How the nurses do it, it’s like tighter than a Chipotle burrito. When I tried to do it, it’s like, this isn’t working.”

Trainer’s room

Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez, who exited his victory Sunday at Texas in the sixth inning with elbow tightness, is scheduled to pitch Saturday against the Angels, providing him with an extra day between starts. Royals: C Salvador Perez left in the eighth with a bruised left knee. Drew Butera replaced him.

Up next

Mariners: LHP James Paxton has faced the Royals once, on Sept. 24, 2013. He threw seven shutout innings and struck out a career-best 10. Royals: RHP Johnny Cueto is 0-5 in his past six starts. He has not won since Aug. 15.