Oh no, Okamoto! Royals drop another series
· Yahoo Sports
The Royals had won five straight series against the Blue Jays coming into tonight. No longer. A pair of costly errors, Kazuma Okamoto’s four-hit night taking advantage of them, and the Royals’ relapse with runners in scoring position led the Blue Jays to take the series. The Blue Jays won 4-3.
As has so often happened lately, Seth Lugo got in trouble early in this one. He gave up a leadoff single to Brett Bateman on a 3-2 middle-middle slider. Bateman continues to look like a stud acquisition by the Jays. Fortunately, Lugo caught Bateman napping at first and picked him off. Lugo got Springer to fly out to center field, and you began to hope the Royals could come to the plate for the first time in a tie game for only the second time in this homestand.
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Lugo, for the eighth straight season, has seen his strikeout rate diminish. It now stands at 6.74 on the year. The problem with having a low strikeout rate is that batted balls, even when they’re not well hit, can lead to baserunners. Additionally, the lack of a strikeout pitch means there is less pressure on the hitters when they get down in the count two strikes. Lugo often finds himself filling out the count once he gets ahead of hitters who feel confident in their patience. Then, forced to come back into the zone with pitches that don’t frighten hitters, he can get punished.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn’t wait for the two-strike count, but smashed a 1-0 pitch into right field for a two-out single. Alejandro Kirk chased a 1-2 sweeper nearly in the dirt and hit a very slow roller to third. So slow, in fact, that Josh Rojas should have eaten it despite Kirk’s first-percentile speed. Rojas chose instead to uncork a wild throw to first. It was so bad that Guerrero was able to score from first. Nathan Lukes got a 2-2 middle-middle curve and lined it into left to score another run for a single. Kazuma Okamoto got a 2-2 middle slider and doubled into left, but hit it so hard that Isaac Collins was able to get it back to the infield in time to prevent Lukes from attempting to score. Lugo got Andrés Giménez to ground out to third on a 1-2 slider to end the inning, but Lugo had thrown 35 pitches. Partly because of Rojas’ terrible throw, but also partly because he just can’t finish guys off.
In the bottom of the first, Max Scherzer grazed Carter Jensen’s thigh with a first-pitch fastball. The Royals’ booth asserted that it was payback for last night’s first pitch that hit Bateman. I don’t understand why the Royals would have intentionally thrown at Bateman to start the game, and indeed it ignited a rally that put the Royals behind early, never to even re-tie the game. Tonight I didn’t understand why Scherzer would hit the first batter he saw, either. Even if the Jays thought they needed revenge, the whole igniting an early rally thing seemed just as likely to happen here. And, indeed, it did.
Bobby Witt Jr. laced a double over Myles Straw’s head in left to put runners at second and third with no outs. Jac Caglianone followed with an RBI infield single, and Salvador Perez grounded a single into right immediately after. The game was tied just that fast with runners at first and third with no outs. Vinnie grounded out softly to first, leading to runners at second and third with one out. Massey repeated Vinnie’s effort, but this time Jac wandered too far off third, and Guerrero gunned him down to leave runners at first and second with two outs. A balk and a walk later, Josh Rojas chased a pitch up for an easy flyout to end the scoring threat.
It would not be the last wasted scoring effort by KC, though they wouldn’t have a ton.
The Jays scored a third run in the top of the third when Lukes hit a one-out single to left, and Okamoto rapped another double. This time he was thrown out trying to turn it into a triple, but the run still scored. The Royals got the run back in the bottom of the fourth when John Rave tattooed a hanging changeup.
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In the top of the seventh, the Royals’ defense bit them in the butt again. Nathan Lukes hit what appeared to be an inning-ending grounder to short, but Bobby whiffed the throw, and Lukes was able to advance to third. He scored easily when Okamoto smashed a grounder up the middle, his fourth hit of the night and second RBI.
The Royals appeared to have something cooking in the top of the eighth against Jays setup man Tyler Rogers. Nick Loftin, in the game for Caglianone, who left after the second inning with a sore left elbow, led off with a single to right. Then Salvy singled to right. Inexplicably, Loftin didn’t make it to third. It probably didn’t matter because Vinnie grounded back to the pitcher for a double play, and Loftin wouldn’t have been able to score the tying run on that anyway. Massey grounded out to Vladdy, and the Royals’ best chance to tie the game ended.
The Royals are now 1-4 in September after their 16-11 August. They’ll have Randy Dobnak (2.65 ERA, 4.62 SIERA) on the mound to avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon. The Jays have not yet announced their own starter for the game. But considering the Royals have been nearly blanked in the two bullpen games Toronto has thrown against them this season, that doesn’t exactly bode well. Especially with Caglianone out with yet another injury. The guy just can’t seem to catch a break.
Regardless, the game will start at 1:10 Kauffman Stadium time. I’m almost tempted to root for the Blue Jays because they’re now tied with the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot, and I really hate Cleveland.