The Kansas City Royals kept their bid for a World Series return on track Monday, rallying with five runs in the eighth inning to beat Houston 9-6 and stay alive in their playoff series.
Royals left fielder Alex Gordon drove in the go-ahead run with a ground out off Astros closing pitcher Luke Gregerson.
It was part of a gritty performance by Royals batters in the eighth, after the Astros had taken a 6-2 lead thanks to a two-run homer from Carlos Correa and a solo homer from Colby Ramos in the seventh.
The Royals knotted the American League Division Series at two games apiece, and host game five on Wednesday.
The winners of the series will face either the Toronto Blue Jays or Texas Rangers for a World Series berth, with the Royals trying to get back to the championship showcase after falling last season to the San Francisco Giants.
The Blue Jays, beaten twice at home to start their series, pulled a game back on Sunday and were trying to stay alive in game four at the Rangers’ ballpark in Arlington later Monday.
Alex Rios got the Royals’ comeback rolling with a leadoff single off Astros relief pitcher Will Harris in the eighth.
Alcides Escobar, Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain followed with singles to bring home one run and load the bases with no outs.
Left-handed reliever Tony Sipp came in to face left-hander Eric Hosmer, who singled to right to trim the deficit to two.
Kendrys Morales then hit a ground ball toward the mound that eluded Sipp and then glanced off the glove of Correa, the error allowing two more Royals runs to score.
Sipp struck out Mike Moustakas for the first out of the frame before the Astros brought in closing pitcher Luke Gregerson. He walked Drew Butera to load the bases again, and Gordon’s ground out drove in a run that put the Royals up 7-6.
Gregerson struck out Rios to end the inning, but the damage done was compounded in the top of the ninth when Hosmer crushed a two-run home run to stretch the lead.