Record: 17-15 (W3)
W: Seth Lugo (3-3 | 3.07 ERA)
L: Shane Baz (3-1 | 3.86 ERA)
First things first: Bobby Witt Jr.’s hit streak is up to 22 games.
This line drive is out of just two parks: this and Yankee Stadium, but in any case. This home run would start a permanent lead the Royals carried to a 3-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in perhaps the only games they will ever play in George M. Steinbrenner Field. It marks the team’s first sweep on the road this year on top of already being the first road series win of the season.
The Royals collected a season-high 15 hits in this game from every batter in the starting lineup. Seven of nine got on base twice or more. The offense was so constant that a 4-for-19, .210 average with runners in scoring position doesn’t feel too bad with 8 runs scored.
Shane Baz struggled with his command, as the strikeout-heavy pitcher only struck one Royal out and walked three. More than half of his pitches were out of the zone and the Royals made contact with most of the ones that weren’t, hitting him hard 11 times. Bobby’s home run in the third, highlighted earlier, was preceeded by a Freddy Fermin ground-rule double and followed by two more doubles from Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez. Even Maikel Garcia hit a ball 100+ MPH afterwards, but for an out.
The only Royal to not reach base today was Mark Canha, who substituted for Salvador Perez after the 5th inning. It was reported that he left for hip soreness, which is unlikely to be any big deal.
Bobby’s home run being a Steinbrenner Special could also be retribution for Yandy Diaz’s home run in the first inning. It was the only run Seth Lugo would allow until his sixth and final inning where a couple of singles would bring in a second and final run for the Rays. Otherwise, it was another remarkable outing from the 35-year-old veteran, who struck out five and walked none to lower his ERA by just one-hundredth of a point.
Player of the Game
Maikel Garcia – 3-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 3 SB
Garcia had another great day at the plate, collecting three hits including a double to raise his slash line to .296 / .353 / .435. He’s also working hard to boost his base-stealing numbers, with two steals of third base and three overall on the day. Lost in this is another 103 MPH lineout he hit which had the best expected batting average of all of his batted balls today. Garcia continues to drive the ball well, providing a lot of offensive utility in the middle of the order.
Summary of the Next Game
The now 17-15 Royals will travel to Baltimore for a 3-game series against the 12-18 Orioles, the one team in the AL East trailing the Rays. Righty Dean Kremer is the scheduled starter for Baltimore with the Royals’ own righty scheduled, Michael Wacha. Wacha faced the Orioles in the April series at Kauffman, where he pitched 5.2 innings and had four earned runs, but two of them were suffered under the pitching of Sam Long.
Image Credit: Isaiah J. Downing (USA TODAY Sports)
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