The Royals beat their little brothers to the east on Thursday and took the season series 3-1. Remember, these games aren’t about rivalry, because that’s something that doesn’t exist between these two teams. Although I will give you the fact there is something very satisfying about seeing sad Cardinal fans.
Until next year.
A Start Of True Outcomes
Can we discuss the first inning? I feel like we should discuss the first. A most bizarre frame of baseball.
Cardinal starter Mike Leake started by striking out the side. But after his first strikeout, Whit Merrifield reached second on an error by third baseman Jhonny Peralta. Merrifield then stole third and came home on a throwing error by Brayan Pena. So the top of the first saw a run, two errors, and three strikeouts. Fine.
In the bottom half, Chris Young decided he didn’t want the Cardinals to put the ball in play. Apparently, he didn’t really care if he allowed a ton of baserunners, either. Young walked the first two batters. After striking out Matt Holliday, and with Brandon Moss at the plate, Young uncorked a pitch that got away. Both runners tried to advance 90 feet. Salvador Perez fired to second and got the second out of the inning. Young then walked Moss, before striking out Matt Adams to end the frame. So the bottom of the first saw three walks, two strikeouts and a TOOTBLAN.
Hitting the Ejection Button
Not enough managers get run anymore. This is a byproduct of replay. So imagine my delight when Mike Matheny was asked to vacate the dugout after arguing a decision on instant replay that went against his team.
The whole kerfuffle occurred when the Cardinals were betrayed once again by their defense. Holy cow the Cardinals played some dismal defensive baseball in this series.
Perez was ruled safe. Matheny went nuts. Order was restored.
More managers need to get angry over replay calls. Why give someone sitting in a dark room full of television monitors a free pass when you feel aggrieved? Why can’t managers pick up the same phone used by the umpires and give the control room a piece of their mind? Can you imagine Buck Showalter slamming a headset to the ground? Or how about John Gibbons screaming into the abyss? I would be in favor of replay if more managers got kicked out for arguing the calls.
Kendrys, Destroyer Of Baseballs
Since Kendrys Morales missed a handful of games at the end of May with a sore finger, all he’s done is tear the cover off the baseball. In 100 plate appearances before Thursday’s game, Morales has hit .385/.440/.604. He put the punctuation mark on June by absolutely obliterating a pitch.
An exit velocity of 115.6 mph? Sending a ball 456 feet? Oh, my.
There will be a vote for the Royals Player Of The Month for June. Not even the UK electorate can screw this one up. Have a month, Big Ken.
Up Next
The NL road trip continues with a visit to Philadelphia. I think Kendrys is still going to play right field.