I have previously written about the Royals tendency to hit worthless fly balls.
Well yesterday afternoon, the Royals hit four flyouts that were not worthless.
In fact, those flyouts scored 4 runs. I was in shock. THE ROYALS ACTUALLY HIT 4
SACRIFICE FLY BALLS. (by the way, it turns out that is the first time in MLB
history a team won scoring at least 4 runs by sacrifice fly)
I know that I sound very sarcastic about that but anyone
watching the Royals all season long will have noticed by now that any time they
get a runner on second or third base with 1 or no outs, they rarely score. They
are abysmal at hitting with runners in scoring position (RISP). They have left
an average of 3.55 runners in scoring position on base per game, which ranks
#15 in the MLB, exactly average (The Mets are last with 3.98 stranded RISP per
game). But accounting for the lack of hitting and mediocre batting average,
that number should be higher for Kansas City. That basically means that the
Royals are leaving 3.5 runs on the bases each game, and we all know how much
they struggle to score anyway. As you can see, that is why I so shocked to see
them sacrificing runners home yesterday. Anytime you get a runner on third base
with less than 2 outs, that run should score, but since Billy Butler has turned
into a groundout machine, the Royals have seemingly lost the ability to hit
sacrifice flys. So, kudos for playing normal baseball! Although, in their
defense, they actually rank #3 in baseball with 0.38 sac flys per game. None of
those sacrifices seem to score a runner though…
Yordano Ventura pitched a great game yesterday. At one
point, he had thrown something like 56 strikes and only 21 balls. That is a
Justin Verlander-like stat. Even better than that, he was mixing his pitches
like crazy. There were at-bats where he threw several curveballs and changeups,
then would throw a 96 MPH fastball past the Indians’ bats. Even if they knew it
was coming, they were pretty much powerless to hit it. It won’t be long before
he is our staff ace. In fact, if the Royals cannot make a serious run to get to
the playoffs, they should trade James Shields for a slugger and go into next
season with Ventura as the #1 pitcher.
Interestingly, the only Royals player who did not get a hit
yesterday was Alex Gordon, who is their best hitter right now. Other various
notes include:
The Royals still have the fewest strike outs per game,
averaging only 5.65. That is pretty good for having Mike Moustakas in the
lineup.
Alcides “Esco-baller” Escobar has a 10-game hitting streak. HE
ALSO SCORED ON A POPOUT TO SHORTSTOP. Yes, you read that correct. A POPOUT TO SHORTSTOP. He is my choice for Royals Player of the Year, as well as the MLB
Comeback Player of the Year. He is one of the best base runners in the MLB, and
its about damn time he earned a Gold Glove. I freakin love watching him play.
Wade Davis unnecessarily loaded the bases in the eighth
inning before striking out two and getting a ground out to end the inning. In
the last 19 innings, he has allowed 0 runs and has 30 strikeouts. That is
insane pitching. The Royals record when they have a lead in the seventh inning
is like 24-1. All they have to do is get Davis and Holland the ball and you can
chalk up a Win. It is like a joke when Davis loads the bases, as if he is toying with other teams, daring them to try and score, even giving them a few baserunners and some empty hope before HE STRIKES THEM OUT AND DROPS THEIR HEAD IN SHAME.
Greg Holland notched his AL-best 19th save, out of 20 chances.
The Royals have been blessed with great closers the past several years (Holland,
Jonathon Broxton, and Joakim Soria). With Davis and Holland, they have an
interesting trade chip. I say, unload Holland for a solid bat with power, and
another strong starting pitcher.
The Royals are now in second place and have won 4 straight. Kansas
City has not been more than 2 games above .500 all season, so I do not expect
their winning streak to continue, but if it does, that would be fantastic. They
might be able to catch the Tigers! The AL Central right now is the tightest
division in the MLB, with the last place Twins only 3.5 games behind division-leading
Detroit. Although meaningless now, the Royals are only 1 game out of the wild
card standings. A huge run now could help them put some distance between them
and the other contenders (LA Angels, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, NY
Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians). As you can see, there are a ton
of teams that will be competing for the 2 wild card spots, unless some teams
start distancing themselves.
With the World Cup starting today, it might be hard to keep
an eye on the Royals, but I will do my best, especially if they keep winning!
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