Final Score: KC 4 | LAA 2
Overall Record: 25-17
Winning/Losing Pitcher
- W: Seth Lugo (6-1 | 1.66 ERA)
- L: Patrick Sandoval (2-6 | 5.00 ERA)
- S: James McArthur (9 | 4.42 ERA)
Royals Player of the Game
Seth. Lugo.
8.0 IP, ER, 12 K, 5 H
What else can we say about Seth Lugo? He was absolutely electric on Sunday in Anaheim. He recorded a season high eight inning pitched, a CAREER high in strikeouts with 12, and didn’t walk a batter. That’s dominance. The nastiest thing about Lugo in my opinion is how deceptively good he can be. You just don’t expect to get a curveball from him that drops out of nowhere with over 3300 RPM. Lugo doesn’t seem like he’ll attack with the fastball either. That was more of something he used to get ahead of batters with, not something to be afraid of. This man has created something new to look forward to every five days, and we have to tune in every time. To say that Seth Lugo has been excellent for the Royals would be an understatement. Lugo has been a culture changer for this Royals staff that needed something like him for such a long time. He has made such an addition to this squad that some are wondering if it’s the best free agent signing the Royals have ever had:
But one thing I’ll say, is it’s hard to not see similarities between him and James Shields. A little different in the fact that Lugo wasn’t supposed to be this humongous culture changer, he was just going to be a solid arm for this team to rely on. But the way he has pitched so far, he’s proved to be an emotional leader, and we’re potentially going to see the best pitching he’s had so far in his career. So yeah, if Seth Lugo can be the James Shields of this new phase of Royals baseball, I’m game.
Key Highlights
As it has been the past couple weeks, the beginning of this game was very quiet offensively. Not getting anything going except for a couple hits from Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe. Then came the fourth inning, started off by a double from, you guessed it, Salvador Perez who continues his hot start from a batting average perspective. Tack on a single from Nelson Velazquez, and here comes Freddy Fermin. Who drives in the first run of the afternoon with an RBI single. But what have we learned from this Royals team if anything? They score in bunches, so strap in. After Dairon Blanco bunt singles to load the bases, Hunter Renfroe comes up to try and keep the line moving. And he does! Driving in two in the process and taking our score to 3-0 in the top of the fourth.
Michael Massey also helps out the crew with a sacrifice bunt that drives in another run. Say what you want about that decision but it did score a run. I think I’d like Massey to swing the bat there with two on and no out, but it contributed to the win, so I don’t mind. Surprisingly, that was all the offense the Royals put up on the afternoon, even though they totaled 11 hits. Eight left on base isn’t awesome to see, but you get the win, so no complaints. That being said, we got some good hitting efforts. With Dairon Blanco, Salvador Perez, Hunter Renfoe, and Nelson Velazquez all having multi-hit performances. Which for Renfroe and Velazquez is music to our ears after the both of them had really tough issues the past couple weeks. Of course we already mentioned Lugo’s dominance, but James McArthur had another hiccup today. With Willie Calhoun hitting a solo shot off him in the ninth. Which didn’t have any last impressions on the game, but still something to work on moving forward. Throwing a curve down the middle of the plate in a 1-1 count is just tough to see. No need to burn the bridge yet though. Some Royals fans need to pump the brakes on the new closer that doesn’t even have a full year of experience in the majors yet. All in all, took the series against a team you needed to take the series against. Start by winning games you’re supposed to, then go from there. We’ll see what the rest of the summer has in store for the boys in blue.
Summary of the Next Game
The Royals stay out west as they head north to Seattle, with a date with the Mariners. We have one of the most intriguing pitching matchups of the year, with two young arms going head to head. Brady Singer and George Kirby get the ball for both of their respective teams. Singer is coming off a solid outing against Milwaukee on Wednesday, going five innings and only allowing a run. As for Kirby, he’s looking to improve off his last start, giving up four earned runs against the Twins. This looks like it’s going to be a phenomenal series, with two of the stronger young teams in the AL going up against each other. The Royals could also really need a series win to finish the roadtrip strong before returning to The K.
