KC bullpen tosses 6 shutout innings, allowing the Royals to rally for 7-4 win over the Rockies

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kyle Isbel drove in three runs, two on a go-ahead single in the fifth, and the Kansas City bullpen threw six shutout innings to help the Royals rally for a 7-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the opener of a doubleheader Thursday.

Salvador Perez also drove in a pair of runs for Kansas City, which beat the Rockies in extra innings on Tuesday night.

Their game Wednesday was rained out, resulting in the traditional doubleheader.

Cole Ragans lasted only three innings and 62 pitches for Kansas City before leaving with groin tightness. But the All-Star left-hander’s bullpen picked him up. Angel Zerpa (1-0) and Steven Cruz threw two scoreless innings apiece, Lucas Erceg breezed past the eighth, and Carlos Estévez handled the ninth for his sixth save.

Germán Márquez (0-4) allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks over four-plus innings for Colorado. He has lost his last four starts, allowing 18 earned runs in the past three, and has only made it through the sixth inning once this season.

Jordan Beck and Hunter Goodman homered for the struggling Rockies, but they were the only real bright spots. Colorado (4-19) is off to the worst start in franchise history, and it has lost 12 consecutive road games — one shy of the club record — since beating the Rays on March 29 in its opening series of the season.

Key moment

Isbel’s slap down the first-base line with two outs in the fifth bounced out of Michael Toglia’s glove and all the way to the dugout fence. That allowed Perez and Cavan Biggio to score, breaking a 4-all tie.

Key stat

Márquez struck out Vinnie Pasquantino to end the fourth inning, becoming the first Rockies pitcher with 1,000 career strikeouts. It was the last out Márquez recorded in the game.

Up next

The Rockies send RHP Chase Dollander (1-2, 7.36) against Royals RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-3, 4.57) in Game 2 on Thursday.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb