Braves fall to Royals in 13th after forcing extras

KANSAS CITY — Kendrys Morales hit a two-run homer to center field with two out in the 13th inning against Braves reliever Jason Grilli as the Royals earned a 4-2 walk-off victory on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium to win their first series since April 24 against Baltimore.

Alcides Escobar led off the inning with a single, his fourth hit of the game. With two out, Morales sent a 3-2 pitch over the 410-foot sign.

Asked how if felt to come back and win the game, and finally win a series, a noticeably exhausted Royals manager Ned Yost said, “I just want to go sit on the couch.”

The Braves, trailing 2-0 in the ninth, rallied for two runs off Royals closer Wade Davis, who suffered his first blown save of the season after eight conversions. It was his first blown save since July 12, 2015, against Toronto.

“It was a tough inning,” Davis said. “They did a good job getting the ball to the outfield. It sure feels a lot better that we came back and won.”

Morales had gone 6-for-38 before the homer.

“I’m really happy with the outcome,” Morales said through interpreter Pedro Grifol. “There’s a lot of harmony in the clubhouse. Everyone is pulling for each other.”

RBI singles by Mallex Smith and Erick Aybar in the ninth off Davis tied the score.

Danny Duffy started and threw three shutout innings for the Royals, but he left because he was on a pitch count. Six pitchers followed, including Davis.

“I thought it went pretty well,” Duffy said. “I sort of ran out of gas in the third inning and lost my legs, but I got through it. Next time I should be stronger.”

The Braves had a choice to make with the switch-hitting Morales at the plate in the 13th. They could have had lefty Eric O’Flaherty pitch to Morales hitting right-handed, but the small sample statistics showed Morales was a .364 hitter from the right side (in just 33 righty at-bats) coming into the game, compared to .150 hitting left-handed. Accordingly, manager …

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