Royals Experience Best and Worst All in the Same Week
The Kansas City Royals should have won three of four against the Houston Astros. However, their bullpen had other plans and the Astros ended up winning three instead. With that said, Kansas City did win its weekend series at home against the Cleveland Guardians to close out the week on a high note.
Let’s dive into some of the highs and lows of the past week in Royals baseball.
At the beginning of every week, 'Mondays with Mark' will dive into the latest developments with the Royals. Have something you want to be discussed? Let Mark know on Twitter @MarkTheOverseer or find Inside the Royals @InsideRoyals.
Royals' bullpen blows it
The first game against the Astros didn’t quite go as planned. The Royals took a 5-2 lead into the seventh inning, but three Royals relievers combined to let five earned runs come across the plate over the final three frames in a crushing and embarrassing walk-off loss. Scott Barlow, one of the more consistently dominant relief pitchers in all of baseball, had two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning before giving up the walk-off home run.
Starting pitching is up and down
As it has been for a majority of the 2022 season, the Royals' starters were up and down throughout the week.
Jonathan Heasley had a great outing in the opening game against Houston, allowing only one run in six innings pitched. His second game of the week didn’t go so well in a 13-1 blowout loss to the Guardians. He only lasted 11/3 innings while giving up five earned runs and seeing his velocity tick down in the process. Heasley is now on the 15-day Injured List with right shoulder tendinitis.
Zack Greinke had a rough start against the Astros, giving up six earned runs in a 9-7 loss. However, he bounced back in the series finale against the Guardians and pitched five shutout innings in a 5-1 win.
Meanwhile, Brad Keller pitched decently, but not great in a win against the Astros. Kris Bubic was inconsistent, only giving up three earned runs in just over five innings but walking six batters during his outing. Brady Singer looked very solid in a quality start in the series opener against the Guardians on Friday evening.
Mike Matheny makes confusing decisions
This seems to be a recurring theme throughout the season, but manager Mike Matheny made an odd call to not challenge a catch by right fielder Kyle Isbel on Friday night against the Guardians. In the stadium, everyone thought it was a catch. When checking social media, everyone at home said it looked like a catch. For reasons Matheny tried to explain after the game, there wasn’t a challenge made and the Royals gave up two runs in that inning when it could have potentially only been one run. Luckily, this time around, it didn’t cost the Royals a win.
Walk-off win on Fireworks Friday
The Royals got seven strong innings from Singer and a big home run from Whit Merrifield in the eighth inning tied things up 3-3 heading into the ninth. Vinnie Pasquantino nearly ended the game with a leadoff home run in the final frame, but the ball bounced off the top of the wall and the play ended in a standup double. Edward Olivares pinch ran for Pasquantino and Michael A. Taylor then walked things off with a single to right field to cap off a great Friday night at The K.
Andrew Benintendi gets his first All-Star nod
Andrew Benintendi was selected as the Royals' representative for the American League in the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Frequently, each team gets at least one representative. In some years, a team may not have a deserving member on their team but each squad still gets represented. This year, the Royals have a player who actually deserved the honor.
Benintendi has been one of the best pure hitters in the game this year. The only question now is whether he will still be a Royal at the All-Star break or if he will have been traded by then. There is a lot of interest in Benintendi, who will be one of the best outfielders available on the market heading into the deadline.
The Royals will be playing eight games this week before the All-Star break. This features a double-header to kick off four games in three days at home against the Detroit Tigers, then a four-game series north of the border against the Toronto Blue Jays, who were just swept by the surging Seattle Mariners.
The Royals' makeup game against the Tigers will start at 1:10 p.m. on Monday afternoon and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Mark Van Sickle was born in Seattle, Washington, but has lived in the Kansas City area for 30 years. He has followed the city’s sports teams along the way, from the KC Blades to the Chiefs to the Wizards/Sporting KC, now the KC Current and — of course — the Royals. Mark has been a radio producer and on-air talent in Kansas City since 2011 and is currently a producer for morning shows on KCMO Talk Radio. He is a writer and podcast host for the Heartland College Sports Network, a writer for Arrowhead Report on FanNation and a consistent guest on Roughing the Kicker Chiefs podcast. He is also a writer and weekly contributor to FanNation’s InsideTheRoyals.com