It wasn’t the easiest path to victory, but tonight’s 7-5 comeback win put the Royals just one game behind the White Sox in the division. They received more terrific innings from the bullpen, along with several contributions from their recent call-ups en route to the series-opening win. I was not in attendance at Kauffman Stadium, but according to my television screen and speakers, the crowd was in playoff form.
Duffy Dominance…For A While
For the first 16 outs of the night, Danny Duffy was perfect. I don’t just mean he hadn’t allowed a runner to reach base at that point, either. He was throwing as perfectly as he possibly could. His fastball was touching 97 mph with late life. His changeup was tumbling and fading away from righties. His slider had sharp bite. Everything was working.
And then it wasn’t.
After recording the first out of the sixth inning, Duffy allowed a line drive single to Avisail Garcia, followed by a blooper from Dioner Navarro, followed by a line drive single from Austin Jackson. That brought Melky Cabrera to the plate, and one pitch later, the Royals were down by three.
Todd Frazier followed that up with a dinger of his own, and the White Sox were firmly in control. At least temporarily.
Rookies Rolling
Things got off to a great start for the Royals at the plate, with back-to-back singles in the first inning. After two productive outs, they had staked themselves to a 1-0 lead. But they couldn’t do much more than that against Miguel Gonzalez, until the seventh inning, when Brett Eibner collected his first major-league hit in his first major-league game, a double to left. Then the fun started.
Jarrod Dyson walked, and Alcides Escobar reached on a broken-bat infield single, bringing up rookie Whit Merrifield with the bases loaded. The former College World Series hero calmly stroked a single to left, driving in two runs. Following a Lorenzo Cain strikeout, the White Sox brought in a lefty to face Eric Hosmer, who poked a single to left, completing the massive comeback and giving the Royals a 6-5 lead. That single was the WPA Play of the Game, giving a 39-percentage point boost to the team’s win expectancy.
They tacked on another run in the eighth after an Eibner sacrifice bunt (however ill-advised it may have been) put a runner on third for Dyson, who hit a fly ball deep enough to score Orlando.
Hosmer Heating Up
The Royals first baseman had been scuffling for a couple of weeks, but with a pair of singles to go with a solo home run in the sixth inning – right after the Sox took the lead – were great signs. He wasn’t trying to pull pitches he couldn’t pull, and instead used his strength to work the middle and opposite fields. With the lineup now sporting just a few players from the Opening Day roster, a resurgent Hosmer could be just what the Royals need.
What’s Next?
The two teams face off in an afternoon affair tomorrow, with Yordano Ventura and Carlos Rodon toeing the rubber for their respective clubs. First pitch is slated for 1:15 pm.