Royals pitcher Lopez loses perfect game in 9th

Kansas City Royals rookie Jorge Lopez allowed a walk and a single to start the bottom of the ninth inning, ending his bid for a perfect game — and then a nohitter — against the Minnesota Twins.

After retiring his first 24 batters, Lopez walked Max Kepler on a 3-1 pitch leading off the ninth Saturday night. Robbie Grossman followed with a clean single to center field, and Lopez was removed from the game after 110 pitches. He was charged with one run in Kansas City’s 4-1 victory.

A 25-year-old right-hander, Lopez was making his seventh big league start and fifth for the Royals since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers.

TWINS’ SANTANA MAY MISS REST OF SEASON >> Minnesota Twins right-hander Ervin Santana may miss the rest of the season while receiving a series of platelet rich plasma injections in the middle finger of his pitching hand. Santana is 0-1 with a 8.03 ERA in five major league starts this season. Santana had surgery Feb. 6 to remove a calcium deposit on the finger. He didn’t make his season debut for the Twins until July 25. METS’ WRIGHT HOPEFUL OF RETURN >> New York Mets captain David Wright believes he will return to the New York Mets this season. The 35-year-old third baseman participated in a simulated game before Saturday’s game against Philadelphia. Wright has not played in a major league game since May 27, 2016, because of neck, back and shoulder injuries that required surgery. PIRATES’ GREGORY POLANCO TO MISS REST OF THE SEASON >> Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco, the team’s home run and RBIs leader, will miss the remainder of the season because of a bone bruise in his left knee.: Polanco was injured Friday night and left the Pirates’ 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins in the sixth inning when he slid awkwardly into second base on a double.