By MATT PIKE
Mike Yastrzemski hit two solo home runs, Cole Ragans struck out eight in 4 1/3 innings and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Athletics 9-2 on Sunday afternoon to close out the regular season with a winning record, posting back to back winning seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015.
Yastrzemski hit a homer deep to right in the seventh inning off Michael Kelly and homered to right off Osvaldo Bido in the eighth. Yastrzemski hit 17 homers, including nine with the Royals after he was traded from the Giants at the deadline.
Kansas City opened the scoring in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Maikel Garcia, driving in Carter Jensen. In the fourth inning, Michael Massey extended the Royals lead with an RBI single that scored Adam Frazier, thanks to a throwing error by the right fielder JJ Bleday, which allowed Massey to advance to third. Massey scored on a single from Garcia.
In the fifth inning, Massey drove in another run as the Royals continued their scoring barrage, an RBI single scoring Jensen. Then in the seventh inning, after Yastrzemski's first home run of the game, Jensen followed with a 482 foot home run to right field, the Royals longest home run of the Statcast era, before Kansas City scored two more runs on an RBI double from Bobby Witt Jr, with Massey and Garcia coming home.
With the two run double, the Kansas City shortstop led the majors in hits for the second straight year. He had 184 this season after collecting 211 in 2024.
Yastrzemski scored the Royals final run in the eighth with his second home run of the game. A's AL Rooke of the Year favorite Nick Kurtz hit an opposite-field two-run homer off lefty Sam Long in the eighth for the only A's runs. The Athletics’ first baseman leads all rookies in home runs (36), RBI (86), runs (90) and walks (63).
At the plate, Massey was 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Jensen was 3-for-5 with a home run, an RBI, and three runs scored. Daniel Lynch earned the win with 2 1/3 innings of relief with three strikeouts.
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