Record: 21-16
Winning/Losing Pitcher:
W: Taylor Clarke (1-0 | 0.00 ERA)
L: Cam Booser (0-3 | 5.40 ERA)
Key Highlights
For the most part, this one was all White Sox. Dazzling defensive plays, a great start by Sean Burke, it was looking like the White Sox were going to just out play the Royals. They scored on a Brooks Baldwin single and an Andrew Vaughn fielders choice, and they were in the lead 2-0. Kyle Isbel hit a home run, to break that powerless streak for him, it looks effortless when he does connect.
Matched with a Seth Lugo start that was typical Seth Lugo. He went 6.2 innings only allowing one earned run over that time. He just did what he always does against the White Sox in a Royals uniform, which is get the job done. He might not have been at the top of his game that we’ve seen, but I’ll take that stat line at ANY time.
The Royals even tried to fight back earlier in the eighth with Salvador Perez hitting a double that snuck right over Baldwin’s head in left. Played it a little nonchalant, but the Royals will take the offense when it’s given to them.
Okay, all the marbles are up for grabs as we head into the bottom of the ninth. Thanks to Taylor Clarke having an impressive outing. You could feel the energy all over the place. Even at home, you could tell something was going to happen, the fans were going to be able to get rowdy for something. Mark Canha started it off by drawing a leadoff walk to start this rally. Then in one of the more bizarre plays I’ve seen; Drew Waters pops it up and the ball bounces off of second basemen Chase Meidroth’s head. That’s right, his head, and Rex couldn’t stop laughing on the broadcast.
Stack that with Freddy Fermin setting down a beauty of a bunt, and he makes it no contest. He beats out the bunt without a throw! Kyle Isbel pops out on the infield fly rule, and now we have bases loaded, down by one, and one out. Jonathan India heads to the dish, where he lines it up the middle and it’s smothered by shortstop, Jacob Amaya. He tries to get it over to the second basemen t start the double play, and the throw takes Meidroth off the bag. Tying the game for the Royals and leaving everyone safe with Bobby Witt Jr. coming up to the dish. Which what do you think he does? He comes through. Because he’s Bobby baseball.
He hits a high fly ball to Luis Robert in center. Effectively ending the game as a sac fly, except Robert drops the ball and Junior ends it with a walk off single. What a crazy game that provided all of the entertainment, energy, and passion that this ball-club needs. Good teams find ways to win these games, where they are out of it but they’re given an inch and they take a mile. Need to continue to see this throughout the rest of the season, because if we do we’re in for some magic this year.
Royals Player of the Game
Freddy Fermin
2-4, Two Bunt Singles
Call me crazy, but I think the energy that spiked the Royals over the top was Freddy Fermin’s bunt single in the ninth. Everybody in that clubhouse loves him, so to see him get on with a “gimmick” play, that fires you up. And they thankfully used that to propel them over the top. You could say Seth Lugo or Bob were more valuable in this game, but without Freddy playing smart baseball we might not be in the win column. His first bunt single in the third was a direct representation of his smart ballplayer abilities though. Realizing the defense was back, he’s a good bunter, and taking advantage from there. Freddy doesn’t always get his flowers, so I thought he deserved them.
Summary of the Next Game:
The Royals will try to keep the magic going on Wednesday night as Michael Wacha heads to the mound. Although his ERA isn’t exceptional at 3.52, he has been all year except for the end of his starts. It has been more than three times that he has gotten into the sixth unscathed and has had to leave that same inning. All in all, Wacha is still a dominant piece of this rotation puzzle even if he has some issues at the ends of his starts. Jonathan Cannon is on the hill for the White Sox, as he has been middle of the road for this team so far. Cannon is one of the more “veteran” arms in this rotation only because he’s been around through the retooling process for them. He has faced the Royals three other times and has only allowed more than a run once. So, they have to be at their best, especially since the offense has lacked of late. The Royals need to keep on pushing and take game after game. I don’t care if it’s the White Sox, take advantage of the opportunity. They could potentially find themselves seven games over .500 if they complete the sweep as well. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but this is a team they’ve played well against. And the White Sox seem a bit spooked. It is another 6:40 start time at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday as we let the boys go play ball.
Discover more from Farm to Fountains
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
