The Fury of Eddie

Yesterday, the Royals put a nice little stomping on the New York Yankees, sending them out of Kansas City to the tune of a 6-0 shutout victory. The Royals took the series by outscoring the Yankees 19-6. There were two remarkable things from Sunday’s victory:

First, Edinson Volquez was lights out. He pitched the best game I have seen in his short time with the Royals. Eddie went for 7 innings, striking out 5 and giving up only 3 hits. His WHIP (walks and hit per inning pitched) is now 1.05, which is the 20th best in all of baseball. Watching him get the best of the Yankees was quite something. For example, when Alex Rodriquez smacked a 2-out double and then Mark Teixera was hit with a pitch, Eddie calmly struck out Brian McCann, never seeming concerned that the tying run was on second base. He has quickly become a leader and veteran of the pitching staff, being the most dependable hurler on the team. 

Second, the Royals bullpen provided some comedy and drama in the final two innings. Wade Davis relieved Volquez in the 8th inning, and after striking out Stephen Drew, he walked the next two batters. A groundout advanced both runners, leaving 2 runners in scoring position with only one out. A single could easily score 2 runs, and with Alex Rodriguez batting, this was a dangerous situation to be in. However, Davis seems to love pressure, and he got Rodriguez to strike out, then Garrett Jones had a weak groundout to first, preserving Wade’s sparkling 0.00 ERA. 

Following that inning, Jason Frasor came in to close the game out. After watching that inning, I am pretty sure that the Royals’ relievers have some sort of ongoing bet to see who can allow the most runners on base without letting them score. Frasor got a leadoff groundout, then gave up a double to Carlos Beltran. Chase Headley followed that with a single, putting runners on first and third with only one out. A single, deep fly ball, or hard hit grounder could easily score Beltran in this situation. However, Frasor got Stephen Drew to pop up a weak fly ball to Jarrod Dyson in left field, keeping Beltran at third. Headley stole second putting two runners in scoring position. At this point, I did not think the Royals would keep their shutout. 

Frasor got Didi Gregorious to bloop a short fly ball to center field, which under normal circumstances would be a base hit. However, I forgot that Lorenzo Cain was playing center field, which means that to get a base hit, one must smack a line drive off the outfield wall. Cain worked his magic to grab the ball just inches from the ground and preserve the shutout as all of the fans stood and cheered. WOW. THIS IS WHY WE LOVE THE ROYALS. 

By the way, the Yankees’ players must all be competing to see who can grow the creepiest mustache. Every single one of them had some weird fuzz on their upper lip. Hopefully, it is for charity or something. If not, they would make excellent choices for a Fully Monty sequel: