Image credit: Charlie Riedel, Associated Press
Final Score: MIL 4 | KC 6
Overall Record: 22-16
Winning/Losing Pitcher
W: Brady Singer (3-1 | 2.36 ERA)
L: Joe Ross (1-4 | 4.75 ERA)
S: James McArthur (8)
Royals Player(s) of the Game
Brady Singer: 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 2 BB
Another week, another ‘Player of the Game’ award that I’m giving to a starting pitcher. A few times through the rotation could just be a hot streak, but this is starting to become a real trend for this group. The Royals have three starters with ERAs below 3.00, with a fourth sitting at 3.38. Singer hasn’t been the BEST of the group, but he has been the most surprising. After a rough 2023, he appears to be back to his 2022 form (when he had a 3.23 ERA in 27 games). His WHIP and H/9 numbers are also significantly lower than that season, which contributes to his 2.36 ERA. Singer currently sits at 15th in the league in ERA and has allowed just four runs in his eight starts. Assuming he (and the rest of the rotation) keeps this up, the Royals will continue to win games and compete for a playoff spot in September.
Bobby Witt Jr: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB
If MVP odds after 38 games mean anything, then Bobby Witt is having a tremendous season. He continued his hot start to May (now up to nine hits in seven games) with a pair of hits in the afternoon rubber match win over the Brewers. He added a walk and came around to score all three times he got on base. His solo homerun opened up the scoring in the eighth inning, before two more runs were put on the board by the Royals. He was expected to lead the offense this year and he has done nothing short of that so far.
Other Highlights
Freddy Fermin continues to be a bright spot for the Royals bench. His two hits and a walk raised his batting average to .241 on the season, which makes it much easier to allow Salvador Perez to get some rest without completely hemorrhaging the offense.
Will Smith has now gone six consecutive appearances without allowing a run. In 4.2 innings during that stretch, he has given up just a single hit and no walks. Chris Stratton has now gone three straight appearances without allowing a run and has only allowed runs in three of his 15 appearances this season. After a pair of blown saves, James McArthur bounced back and recorded the final two outs of the game. These three (Stratton and McArthur especially) are crucial to the Royals success, so it is a good sign to see them all doing well and/or responding to some rough outings.
Summary of the Next Game
The Royals head out west to face the Angels in a four game weekend series. Michael Wacha will face off against Reid Detmers in the opening game on Thursday. The Royals should catch a break, as Mike Trout will miss the entire series (and much more time) with an injury. Luis Rengifo, their best offensive weapon so far this season, is also battling an injury and is day-to-day. With Cleveland facing the White Sox over the weekend, the Royals will likely need to win this series to keep up with the division leading Guardians.