Recap: Royals 7, Twins 0; Break Out The Homer Stick

Did you know, when the Royals game was in the fourth inning on Saturday, they were the lone team in baseball that had yet to hit a home run. This is not surprising, given the “Keep The Line Moving” mantra and general proclivity to stock the lineup with well-rounded bats. The homers would come, but a dry spell at the start of the season is always a little more noticeable.

The Royals ended that drought in a big way, powering their way to a 7-0 stomping of the visiting Twins.

WPA Play of the Game – Back To Back

It feels like a missed opportunity not to have some sort of contest to guess who would hit the Royals first home run of the season. The honors this year go to Mike Moustakas who barreled a n 87 mph fastball from Tommy Milone and sent a gift to the Twins bullpen. Lefty on lefty crime is beautiful.

Lorenzo Cain followed with a blast of his own that nearly punched a hole in the Royals Hall of Fame in left. Another 87 mph fastball gets the lean back treatment.

Both home runs pushed the Royals Win Expectancy nearly 24 percent to the good. It would stay elevated the rest of the game thanks to one newcomer in particular.

The Ian Kennedy Show

Let’s be honest. There were some minor questions surrounding Ian Kennedy’s start. Originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, it was pushed back following his last start in Arizona when he exited with hamstring tightness. Just a precaution, said the Royals. We’ve heard that before, said the fans.

No need to worry. Kennedy delighted Royals fans with 6.2 masterful innings of seven strikeout baseball. He generated 11 swings and misses, evenly distributed among his pitches. Six came from his fastball, three on his change and two on his curve. For a while, it looked like he could go the full seven, but back to back singles with two outs ended his evening.

You Get What You Give

After playing three consecutive close games, the Royals needed a simple victory that saved the bullpen. They got it. After the back to back home runs, the Royals tacked on another pair of runs the following inning and followed that up with a three-spot in the sixth. Plenty of runs with Danny Duffy and the Royals debut of Chien-Ming Wang coming out of the bullpen to lock down the victory.

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

Up Next

The first Sunday day game of the season and the Royals are going for the three game sweep with Edinson Volquez returning to the mound to square off against Ricky Nolasco.