The Royals went into the cellar and pulled out a bottle of 2015 vintage. It was just like the good times. You remember the good times. The Royals starting pitching kept them in the game. They rode productive outs and the singles train. The bullpen provided the lock-down innings. And the Royals broke it open in the eighth.
Yes. Good times.
Fire Was Thrown
The box score says Ventura surrendered four runs, but there were plenty of positives to take from his start against the Red Sox. First, he came out truly throwing fire. With location. Take his first inning match-up against Dustin Pedroia.
The last two pitches were 98 mph on the black. A pair of called strikes and a lonely walk back to the dugout for the Boston second baseman.
In the second, Ventura got into a spot of two-out trouble when Travis Shaw (remember that name, he’s our villain of the evening) singled and Jackie Bradley, Jr. followed with a double to drive home the run. The next batter, catcher Christian Vazquez looked at three straight curves. I have to think he was expecting to see something with a little more heat. He just couldn’t pull the trigger. See. You. Later.
If you want to neutralize Shaw, you have to pitch him up in the zone. He’s 3-22 when putting pitches in the upper third of the zone into play this year. His power comes in the lower corners.
Ventura opened the at bat with a curve with nice bite and in a nice location for that particular pitch, but followed with a fastball in Shaw’s wheelhouse.
One swing and three runs. It would’ve been nice if Ventura could have completed the inning, but after a walk, he was lifted for Luke Hochevar. That was a proactive hook by Ned Yost. Get Ventura out while he was still pitching relatively well so he can head to the showers with a positive feeling.
Overall, probably Ventura’s best start of the season. His command was on and his velocity was up. He had nice movement and his offspeed pitches had bite. He wobbled at times, but he was able to get right quickly. Hell, he issued just one walk and it was to his final batter he faced. It would’ve been nice had he been able to go just a little bit deeper, but this was a positive development.
All Aboard The Singles Train
Whoooo-whooooo.
The Royals strung together four singles in the fourth to plate three. The fact it was the bottom four batters in the Royals lineup made it all the sweeter.
The inning prior, the Royals flexed their muscles to score two. Paulo Orlando did his triple thing for the first time this season, and scored on an Alcides Escobar ground out. Yes, a productive out. It’s like the Royals are finally breaking out of their offensive slump when they start doing that whole productive out thing. An out later, Eric Hosmer hit a glorious bomb that travelled 417 feet.
Cuthbert Wants To Stay
With Mike Moustakas reporting to Double-A for a rehab assignment, and a Saturday return looking likely, time may be running short for Cheslor Cuthbert in his latest major league opportunity. He made a convincing case for Yost to find a place for him to play with a three hit night. His first two hits were a pair of squibbers. The first knock left the bat at 58 mph and tickled the third base bag. His second was a bit harder at 86 mph and snuck through into right field. Now, the third… The third was a thing of beauty. A double that split the left-center gap with an exit velocity of 108 mph.
Oh, he also made a great catch on a foul pop in the top of the ninth. Moustakas has been missed, to be sure, but Cuthbert has done really well on both sides of the ball since his recall.
Moving Cuthbert to second is a pipe dream, cherished by those who nightmare of Omar Infante. So let’s just enjoy these last few games of Cuthbert in Kansas City for the time being. We will see him again.
The Eighth Inning Makes You Believe In Baseball Again
If I told you before the game that Salvador Perez would score from first base on a bunt (along with an error) you would have consoled me over my failed drug test. Yet, it happened. You saw it. I saw it. If we hadn’t seen it together, I probably would have laughed softly and dusted off my straight jacket. Thanks to a nifty bunt my Omar Infante, Koji Uehara didn’t field the ball cleanly and then threw the ball down the right field line. Perez motored around second, was as surprised as anyone in the park when Mike Jirschle windmilled him home, and got his fingertip on the plate just ahead of the tag. Now I’ve seen everything.
And that was just the prelude to an Orlando bomb, jacked to left field just in front of the Hall of Fame. Three beautiful insurance runs.
Orlando is your player of the game, if you’re into that sort of thing. Three hits in four at bats with his first triple and home run of the season. He drove in four and scored a pair.
Up Next
The Royals won back to back games for the first time since April 22 to move back to .500. It’s a day-night doubleheader at The K.