Royals rookie Jorge Lopez falls three outs shy of perfect game
Jorge Lopez was so calm that Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez didn’t realize the rookie had a perfect game going until the late innings.
The right-hander came three outs shy of perfection before Max Kepler walked leading off the ninth and Robbie Grossman then singled in the visiting Royals’ 4-1 win over Minnesota on Saturday night.
“I was so close and I think my heart accelerated a little bit,” Lopez said.
The 25-year-old right-hander made his seventh big-league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in a July trade for Mike Moustakas.
Lopez (2-4) retired his first 24 batters before walking Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Grossman hit a clean single to center field on a 1-2 changeup.