Andrew Benintendi has been the best, most consistent hitter in the Kansas City Royals’ lineup all season. He’d been the hands-down answer to the question of who the Royals would want at the plate if they needed a hit or someone to get on base.
But Benintendi had cooled off considerably as of late. He entered June batting .328 with a .395 on-base percentage. Since the calendar flipped, he’s batted .188 (9 for 48) with a .250 OBP in the 12 games leading up to Wednesday.
That recent slide didn’t deter Royals manager Mike Matheny from turning to Benintendi as a pinch hitter to lead off the eighth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Giants with the score tied. Benintendi delivered with a double that set the Royals offense into motion to produce the game-winning run.
Nicky Lopez’s bunt put Benintendi 90 feet from scoring, and Whit Merrifield hit a deep fly ball to right field that allowed Benintendi to tag-up and score to set the Royals on their way to a 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants in front of an announced 25,527 in the finale of a three-game series at Oracle Park.
Royals starting pitcher Jonathan Heasley allowed two runs and five hits, including a home run, and two walks. He struck out four. Relievers Amir Garrett, Taylor Clarke and Jose Cuas bridged the gap to closer Scott Barlow with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Barlow then tossed 1 2/3 scoreless to earn his seventh save of the season.
