Final Score: TB 5 | KC 1
Overall Record: 47-40
Winning/Losing Pitcher:
- W: Zack Littell (3-5, 3.94 ERA)
- L: Brady Singer (4-5, 3.05 ERA)
Royals Player(s) of the Game
Bobby Witt Jr
1-for-4, 1 HR
The Royals offense was a no show before and after the two and a half hour rain delay, but Bobby provided something. He hit a solo shot in the sixth to make the game 2-1, but the offense went dry on a wet night. It was a solid game for Bobby as he also continues to add on to the highlight defensive plays as well.
Brady Singer
5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 3 BB
Queue the Brady Singer rain delay gif. Jokes aside, Singer was good in the first game of the series as his earned run was caused by a wild pitch. He is still grinding through innings this year, but in a game where the Royals offense went down he kept them in it for five innings. He lowers his ERA to 3.05 on the year and looks to continue his rebound season.
Key Highlights
Outside of BWJ, the offense was bad. The only other bats to have solid nights at the plate were MJ Melendez and CJ Alexander. MJ had a good night going 3-for-3 and CJ Alexander went 1-for-2 collecting his first MLB hit. Maikel Garcia also tallied a hit and that was all the offense had in the tank.
The pitching started good with Singer and ended badly. John Schreiber came in for Singer after the rain delay and gave up a run. Chris Stratton came in after that one upped Schreiber with two runs given up. Carlos Hernandez almost gave up a lot of runs after loading the bases. Finally, Nick Anderson finished up the game by giving up a solo shot. The bullpen continues to be more miss than hit by giving up more hits than misses.
Summary of the Next Game
The Royals look to try to get back in this series with some sort of offense against the Rays. The Royals will be sending out Michael Wacha (4-6, 3.91 ERA) who is pitching well recently. The Rays will send out Ryan Pepiot (4-4, 4.40 ERA) who is coming off a good start against Seattle.
Photo Credit: Ed Zurga, AP Photo
