Luis Severino<\/a><\/strong> continued his sparkling season \u2014 when pitching away from West Sacramento, that is \u2014 pitching 7 2\/3 innings of one-run ball to lead the Athletics<\/a> past the host Kansas City Royals<\/a>, 6\u20134, and spoil Alex Gordon<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s induction into the Royals Hall of Fame Friday night.<\/p>\n The Athletics notched 11 hits, including two homers, and drew three walks to notch their first road win since a May 13 11\u20131 blowout win at Dodger Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes big performances, and it takes team performances,\u201d Athletics manager Mark Kotsay<\/a><\/strong> told reporters after the game. \u201cWe got that. Our offense did a great job tonight. We’ve struggled a little bit with runners in scoring position. We were better tonight, even though we left some guys out there. Overall, to be able to get through the adversity, it takes a collective effort. We saw that tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n As they\u2019ve now done in 40 of their 70 games this season, the Royals scored first, doing so on a two-out Salvador Perez<\/a><\/strong> double to left-center in the bottom of the first. Recently acquired Athletics catcher Austin Wynns<\/a><\/strong> tied the game in the top of the second with a two-out solo homer to left \u2014 his first hit as an Athletic. A two-out, bases-loaded infield single by Nick Kurtz<\/a><\/strong> in the top of the third gave the Athletics a 2\u20131 lead, with a diving stop by Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino<\/a><\/strong> keeping the hit from being a two-run single. It became 3\u20131 on the second pitch of the fourth thanks to a Luis Urias<\/a><\/strong> solo homer, his first roundtripper since May 10.<\/p>\n More scoring came in the sixth after the Athletics chased Royals starter Michael Wacha<\/a><\/strong> from the game. Tyler Soderstrom<\/a><\/strong> drew a two-out bases-loaded walk from reliever Steven Cruz<\/a><\/strong> before Max Muncy<\/a><\/strong> poked a seeing-eye two-run single up the middle. The Royals scored three in the ninth off Mason Miller<\/a><\/strong>, who was pitching in a non-save situation, to bring the score to 6\u20134.<\/p>\n Across his 7 2\/3 innings, Severino allowed one run on six hits, walking two. Beyond the first inning, he only faced four hitters more than the minimum. Perhaps most impressive was that Severino had all this success despite recording only one strikeout. \u201cFor (Severino),\u201d Kotsay said, \u201ckeeping the ball down tonight, getting some ground balls, turning some double plays behind him\u2026at the end of the day, he understands what he needs to do to have success.\u201d<\/p>\n The Athletics sent eight men to the plate in a three-run sixth to give them a comfortable lead. Three straight one-out singles \u2014 a liner to left by Denzel Clarke<\/a><\/strong>, a textbook bunt single to third by Lawrence Butler<\/a><\/strong>, and a hard liner to right by Jacob Wilson<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 loaded the bases. Two batters later, Tyler Soderstrom drew a two-out walk to plate the first run, and rookie Max Muncy brought home Butler and Wilson with his single up the middle.<\/p>\n Severino took charge in what could have been a tough bottom of the sixth. Maikel Garcia<\/a><\/strong> led off with a single up the middle and was retired on a force play at second from a sharp one-hopper off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino. Due to a miscommunication, the Athletics did not get a double play out of it, but it did not seem to faze Severino. He retired the ever-dangerous Salvador Perez on a liner to short and Jac Caglianone<\/a><\/strong> on a low liner to the first baseman, ending the threat without the Athletics scoring a run.<\/p>\n Wacha struck out four Athletics with two-strike changeups. The victims were Lawrence Butler in the first, Nic Kurtz in the second, Denzel Clarke in the fourth, and Max Muncy in the fifth. Overall, he induced 17 swings and misses with that pitch.<\/p>\n Maikel Garcia gave the Athletics fits, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.<\/p>\n Prior to Friday night, Mason Miller last pitched on Sunday. The flame-throwing closer has been underused due to the Athletics not have many ninth-inning leads to protect recently. When he entered the game, the rust showed. He uncharacteristically walked the first two batters he faced due to overthrowing, causing his pitches to go wild. Then, when he did<\/em> get one over, it was a mistake over the middle, and Nick Loftin<\/a><\/strong> belted a two-run triple. He scored when John Rave<\/a><\/strong>, up next, cracked a sacrifice fly.<\/p>\n Severino (2\u20136) earned the win, with Wacha (3\u20136) taking the loss.<\/p>\n The Athletics (27\u201344) and Royals (34\u201336) will play the second game of their three-game series Saturday afternoon. Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez<\/a><\/strong> (0\u20134, 6.00 ERA) will face lanky Royals right-hander Michael Lorenzen<\/a><\/strong> (4\u20136, 4.94 ERA). First pitch from Kauffman Stadium will be at 3:10 pm Central\/1:10 pm Pacific.<\/p>\nAthletics \u2013 Royals Game Summary<\/h3>\n
What Went Right for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
Starting Pitching<\/h4>\n
The Top of the Sixth<\/h4>\n
Severino Quells the Potential Rally<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
Michael Wacha\u2019s Changeup<\/h4>\n
Garcia<\/h4>\n
Command from Miller<\/h4>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n