Final Score: CWS 1 | KC 2

Overall Record: 4-4

Winning/Losing Pitcher

• W: Chris Stratton (1-0 | 6.00 ERA)
• L: Michael Kopech (0-1 | 3.38 ERA)
• S: James McArthur (1 | 9.82 ERA)

Royals Player of the Game

Salvador Perez

3-3, 2B, RBI, BB

It is going to be tough to stop him if he keeps playing like this. We are seeing Salvador Perez in his prime right now. I’ll say it. It’s refreshing to see Salvy playing for something. It’s a reminder of how fun winning really is. That is a little crazy to say for a 4-4 baseball club in April, but that’s where we’re at as Royals fans at this point. He started his evening off with a screaming double off the tip top of the wall. That if it wasn’t for a nasty wind blowing in from right-center field, it would’ve made it by plenty.

Perez followed that up with a couple singles, weirdly getting thrown out at home, and most importantly, walking in the bottom of the eighth inning. Putting the eventual game-winning run on base in the bottom of the 8th. What an at-bat by Salvy, going all the way to a 3-2 count, and laying off his usual nemesis, the outside slider. You cannot ask for more from Salvy, he’s still got the 2015 Royals devil magic in him.  

Key Highlights

I will never get tired of seeing a phenomenal pitching performance, and Brady Singer put on a show again on Friday. Only giving up two hits, and a run over 6.1 innings work. Singer had everything working, and the White Sox had no clue what was coming next. When he has the fastball moving on the corners, and keeps the slider out of the middle of the zone, he is tough to get a hold of. He has looked damn near unhittable in his first two starts, with his opponents being tied up in knots the whole time.

We truly cannot stress enough how amazing this pitching staff has been. Of course, Salvy came through in the first, but it truly wasn’t until he walked in the 9th before it got interesting again. Enter: Dairon Blanco. Coming in to pinch-run for Salvy in a pivotal spot. We see MJ Melendez swing through the first pitch, and Blanco does not go. On the second pitch, Dairon takes off and makes it under Paul DeJong’s tag. Now, the potential go-ahead run is on second, and we are in the hands of MJ. And MJ Melendez continues his hot start, with a blistering line drive into left field!

It is imperative for MJ to come into his own in 2024, and so far, he has looked the best yet. He seems like a huge emotional leader of this team as well, never afraid to celebrate and pump up the whole dugout with his intensity. That takes us to the top of the 9th with a one run lead. Will Smith comes in, what do you think happened? Well, it didn’t get that far this time. After giving up a hit and a walk, Matt Quartraro turned his sights to James McArthur, who made it look easy. Two pitches, two outs, two wins in a row. 

Summary of the Next Game

Saturday at 6:40, the Royals try to make it a winning streak. As Michael Wacha makes his Kauffman Stadium debut in a Royals uniform. The White Sox send out Chris Flexen as he tries to straighten out his season in Chicago. Surprisingly, everyone in the rotation besides Wacha has a quality start this year. He’ll look to change that, as the Royals hope to continue the hot start on the mound.