Home runs and Alex Gordon win games

So the Royals won on Saturday and Sunday, salvaging a split with the Orioles and bringing their record above .500 again and back into second place in the AL Central. Finally, some positive things to talk about!

First of all, Danny Duffy was majestic on Saturday night, leading the Royals to a 1-0 victory after throwing almost 8 perfect innings. Adam Jones, who is a massive jerk, ruined the perfect game with a hit up the middle with 2 outs in the seventh inning. Other than that, Duffy looked like the pitcher he was drafted to be, and should he maintain this level of pitching, he will remain in the rotation, even after Bruce Chen comes back from injury. There were a few things that went Duffy’s way, such as a phenomenal defense and lack of offense by the Orioles, but overall Duffy looked effective and did not offer any bases on balls. However (there is always a “however” with the Royals), Duffy only had 2 strikeouts, which could be a slight concern as the defense may not always bail him out and he is prone to control issues. He needs to keep the hitters on their toes and mix up his pitches.

(I know that some fans were probably bored by the 1-0 victory. It was like watching a chess match between Gary Kasparov and Deep Blue, with the technically sound Royals winning based on one smart move [which happened in the first inning when Billy Butler drive Nori Aoki home]. I am not concerned with the boredom, but more with the fact that the Royals could not muster any more runs after the first inning. In fact, in their first 3 games against the Orioles in this homestand, they only scored 2 runs. That is pathetic, but I digress)

Secondly, on Sunday Alex Gordon smashed two home runs, which effectively knocked out their starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and killed an Orioles rally. This prompted an amazing photoshop job by twitter user @GSmithKC. 

I love how the Orioles are shown as roadkill. And I love how Gordon finally grabbed the keys to the Royals’ bus. I have enjoyed his defense this season (by the way, he has 4 outfield assists and teams STILL try to run on him – idiots), but his bat has been quieter than a Prius going under 5 mph.

Interestingly, Gordon now leads the Royals with 22 RBI’s. In second place is Omar Infante with 19 and HE HAS NOT PLAYED SINCE MAY 6. In two weeks, only one player was able to pass Omar?!? That is a bit of a warning sign. The offense absolutely has to start producing more runs, especially because Detroit is running away with the division again.

Speaking of Detroit, they were supposed to regress this year. The Royals were supposed to have a chance at winning the division. Instead, the Tigers have the best record in baseball and seemingly cannot lose, especially to the Royals. Rather than discuss them, I will use this space as a chance to point this out:

HAHAHAHAHAHA the Tigers suck. Also, way to choke and get swept in 4 games in the 2012 World Series. By the way, some more happy news to end this post: The Royals hit at least 2 home runs in 3 of their games on this homestand and won all three of those. HOME RUNS WIN GAMES.They also are only 3 home runs behind St. Louis for fewest in the MLB. A big series against the White Sox (who will be without Jose Abreu) could push them above the Cardinals, which would be worth celebrating.