Willy Adames calls his shot in Brewers' ninth-inning comeback vs. Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A word of advice to opposing fans: Don’t rile up Willy Adames.
With two outs and two on in the ninth inning the shortstop delivered a bolt from the blue, a dramatic three-run home run off James McArthur that sparked the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
The blast was the first for Adames since May 1 and ensured Milwaukee’s losing streak wouldn’t grow to a season-high four games.
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It also came in response to some good-natured ribbing at the hands of some Royals fans seated near Milwaukee’s on-deck circle who had been going back and forth with Adames all game.
“We were talking the whole game,” Adames recounted. “They were being friendly and I was just having a good time with them. They were like, ‘We want Willy! We want Willy!’ And I went close to them and said, ‘Are you sure you want me?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, we want you to hit a three-run homer.’
“So I was like, ‘All right, bet. If Gary (Sánchez) takes a walk, I’m going (deep).'”
A double by William Contreras that capped an eight-pitch battle with McArthur started the rally, then Sánchez drew a five-pitch walk to set the stage for Adames, whose 392-foot blast sailed out to left field and stunned the crowd.
In a nice touch, closer Trevor Megill caught the homer in the bullpen and shortly thereafter set the Royals down in order to earn his third save of the season while the Brewers won for the first time this season in 15 tries when trailing after eight innings.
Willy Adames is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a 3-run go-ahead home run during the 9th inning.
“When I hit it I was like, ‘That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done!’ Then I signed a couple balls for them,” Adames said. “We had a great time. Sometimes, fans can be very hard. But the guys here were amazing and having a good time.
“Through all my at-bats we were chatting, then the last one was obviously the most fun one. You don’t really get that a lot when it’s fans from the other team. So, it was a really cool experience. You go to other cities, they can be hard on you.”
The homer was Milwaukee’s first go-ahead shot with two outs in the ninth or later since Victor Caratini walked off the Chicago Cubs with a three-run blast on July 4, 2022. And it was the fourth three-run shot by Adames already this year; Jake Bauers also has a pair.
“It was really priceless,” manager Pat Murphy said of the leadup to the homer. His team now has eight comeback victories to its credit. “All good-natured fun, but really cool.”
Added Rhys Hoskins: “Hey man, the guy showed up. And when you show up in a big spot like that you can talk all you want. Cool moment.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Willy Adames calls his shot in Brewers’ ninth-inning comeback vs. Royals