KANSAS CITY (AP) - Mike Moustakas walked with the bases loaded in the 11th inning Wednesday night, giving the Kansas City Royals a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Billy Butler singled to lead off the inning against Kameron Loe (2-2), and Eric Hosmer drew a walk before Jeff Francoeur ripped a single to left field.
Third base coach Eddie Rodriguez threw up the stop sign on the lumbering Butler as he rounded third base, leaving them loaded for Moustakas, who walked on five pitches from Jose Veras to give the Royals a confidence-building victory.
Tim Collins (3-0) worked around a walk of his own in the 11th to earn the win for Kansas City, which came back from a 3-1 deficit with two outs in the ninth inning to force extra innings.
Alcides Escobar provided the damaging blow with a two-run triple off closer John Axford.
His disastrous ninth inning spoiled a sublime outing by veteran left-hander Randy Wolfe, who went seven innings in his best start of the year for Milwaukee.
Wolf had been miserable on the road coming into the game, going 1-2 with an 8.28 ERA in five previous starts. But the 35-year-old veteran managed to keep the Royals off balance, giving up only six hits and two walks before leaving with a 2-1 lead.
Francisco Rodriguez survived a shaky eighth inning and Milwaukee added a run in the ninth, turning the game over to Axford, who had saved 10 of his 11 chances this season.
Axford walked Hosmer with one out, and issued a free pass to Moustakas with two outs, before Escobar lined a triple into the gap in left to tie the game. Pinch-hitter Clint Robinson struck out to send the game to extra innings.
By that point, Jonathan Sanchez's return to the mound was an afterthought.
Sanchez pitched five effective innings for Kansas City in his first start off the disabled list. The left-hander showed no lingering effects of the biceps tendinitis that had kept him out since May 7, allowing only one run, seven hits and two walks.
The run he allowed came in the third inning, when Edwin Maysonet reached on a dribbler toward third base. Milwaukee played small ball to perfection with consecutive bunt singles by Norichika Aoki and Carlos Gomez that loaded the bases for Ramirez. His single tied the game.
Sanchez worked around two walks the next inning, and left a runner stranded on third base in the fifth, exiting after throwing 64-of-96 pitches for strikes.
The biggest problem for Sanchez was Wolf was just as good.
The wily veteran gave up a leadoff single to Alex Gordon - who homered and then scored the go-ahead run Tuesday night - and then allowed him to score on groundouts by Yuniesky Betancourt and Billy Butler later in the first inning.
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