Beanball War Breaks out in D-backs Loss to Royals, Lovullo Ejected

Yilber Diaz was rocked in his third major league start and Bobby Witt Jr. had a huge game for Kansas City.

Jul 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) hits a double during the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

The Diamondbacks were routed by the Kansas City Royals 10-4 Monday night. Yilber Diaz was hit hard by the Royals and Bobby Witt Jr. fell a single shy of the cycle.

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo was ejected in the 7th after a heated argument with the umpiring crew. Gabriel Moreno was hit in the back by a pitch from John Schreiber. The beaning was in retaliation for Bobby Witt Jr. getting hit in the arm on a pitch up and in the previous inning by Humberto Castellanos.

Prior to getting hit, Witt had a triple, a double and a three-run homer. The fans immediately stood up to boo when Witt was hit, and TV cameras picked up Royals catcher Salvador Perez screaming and gesturing at Castellanos from the on-deck circle, creating a tense atmosphere.

While it was natural for the Kauffman Stadium fans and the Royals' dugout to feel Witt was hit intentionally, knowing Torey Lovullo it seems unlikely he would call for that. Castellanos has not had good control lately, and walked in the winning run in the Cubs game yesterday on five pitches.

When Moreno came to the plate Perez could clearly be seen setting up inside and Moreno knew what was coming. Nodding his head after the first inside pitch, he stepped out and then stepped back in to take his plunking.

Moreno put his head down and ran to first base, and the umpires huddled up before issuing warnings to both benches. At that point Lovullo came out to argue and was immediately tossed. He got very heated, and Perez became upset too.

The Royals retaliated for the Diamondbacks hitting Bobby Witt Jr. and the umps warned both dugouts

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was HEATED and got ejected, Salvador Perez had some strong words in the exchange too pic.twitter.com/2m1lr9djfn

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 23, 2024

The game itself was largely forgettable for the D-backs. They answered back from a one run deficit in the top of the third to score three runs off Cole Ragans. Kevin Newman and Alek Thomas hit back to back doubles, followed by a long two-run homer off the bat of Ketel Marte, his 20th of the year.

Yilber Diaz, making his third major league start, was not sharp at all, however, and could not hold the lead. In his first two starts he threw 28 and 23 sliders respectively. Perhaps trying to run counter to the scouting report, Diaz almost completely ditched the slider, and went with fastball/curveball.

Nothing was effective in keeping the Royals hitters off him. Witt had a triple in the second inning, but Diaz managed to strand him to get out of the inning. A two out walk and two singles by the bottom of the order resulted in the first Royals run in the second inning.

The Royals got three more runs in the third inning on a double by Witt, a single by Vinnie Pasquatino and a long two-run homer to dead center by Perez. The fourth inning started off single, double, single, and Lovullo pulled Diaz from the game.

Miguel Castro came on to face Witt and grooved a 94 MPH sinker down the middle on the very first pitch. Witt, the hottest hitter on the planet knocked it over the wall for a three run blast as two more runs were charged to Diaz.

Diaz final line was 3IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 HR. He did not strike out a batter and only induced three WHIFFS in 36 swings. He threw 46 four-seamers, 17 curve balls, and just eight sliders.

Castro gave up a second homer and appears to have lost velocity on his sinker, as it's now just a 94 MPH pitch. With both reduced velocity and command, his roster spot may be in jeopardy.

The D-backs got a run in the eighth and put two on in the ninth, but were out-hit 15-8. They've lost two straight and their record is now 51-50, as the fall a game behind the Mets for the third Wild Card.

Box Score

Game two of the series is Tuesday night, 5:10 P.M. MST. Jordan Montgomery makes his return from the injured list and will face Royals starter Alec Marsh.