Ian Kennedy struggled, the offense couldn’t find the sequence and the result was a thunderous crashing of a 2-5 road trip. The Royals limp home to Kauffman Stadium to play the Braves this weekend. Lest we get ahead of ourselves, we need to review the latest disaster.
Bombs Away
Thursday was the 10th time in Kennedy’s career he allowed three bombs. The pitch location of said bombs was less than ideal.
Middle-middle-middle. Or something along those lines. Simply put, he caught too much of the plate and the Yankees made him pay. Thrice.
Tonight was the Ian Kennedy that made me not like the Ian Kennedy signing.
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) May 13, 2016
Kennedy allowed eight to reach. Seven scored. Playing those kinds of percentages aren’t going to be kind to the starting pitcher. Although if you’d like to find a silver lining in the performance (anything, damnit!) it’s that he was able to go into the seventh inning. Yeah. That’s not enough.
The Barely There Offense
The Royals outhit the Yankees, nine to seven, but with just a single Alex Gordon dong to their credit, it was up to the usual plan of sequencing to plate runs. It didn’t work. Eric Hosmer is still scorching hot. Lorenzo Cain picked up another knock. Cheslor Cuthbert and Christian Colon did some hitting the bottom of the order. Against Yankee starter Nate Eovaldi, the Royals put two runners on base in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings. The opportunity was there, but the damage was minimal. Again, just lacking a big hit in a key situation.
As much as I hate beating the drum, it’s time for Alcides Escobar to move out of the top spot of the order. After going 0-5 and seeing just 14 pitches in those plate appearances, he now owns a .286 on base percentage. I tried telling you this was a bad idea last year. It’s extremely wasteful now with Cain and Hosmer swinging hot bats.
WPA Play Of The Game
Unfortunately, Cain and Hosmer are followed by Kendrys Morales, who’s having a difficult time hitting. The Royals threatened early after back to back singles with one out in the first. Up stepped Morales, who has struggled mightily from the left side of the plate. Entering the game, the Royals DH was hitting .151/.192/.269 from the left side against .333/.400/.533 from the right. Unfortunately, Eovaldi throws from the right side. Morales grounded into an inning-ending double play. That reduced the Royals Win Expectancy by nearly 11 percent. The game certainly wasn’t over at that point, but the frame could be marked down as an opportunity missed.
Up Next
As mentioned the Atlanta Braves come to The K this weekend. As much as I hate to put pressure on a mid-May series, this one is now pretty important. The Royals, despite losing five consecutive series, stand at 16-18. All is not lost. However, should they drop two – or heaven forbid all three – to the Braves, it will be time for a serious rethink.