Kansas City Royals' Young Leadoff Hitter Does Not Something Not Seen in Last 40 Years of Team History
The Kansas City Royals lost on Opening Day to the Minnesota Twins but that didn't stop young leadoff hitter Maikel Garcia from joining a rare group in team history.
The Kansas City Royals lost on Opening Day to the Minnesota Twins, 4-1, but that didn't stop young leadoff hitter Maikel Garcia from joining a rare and prestigious group in team history.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:
Maikel Garcia!
the 2nd leadoff homer on Opening Day in Royals history, joining:
1984 Onix Concepcion
Any time you do something that hasn't been in the last 40 years, you're doing something right. The Royals figure to be much improved this season after the additions of Hunter Renfroe and Adam Frazier (not to mention multiple pitchers), and it will go a long way if Garcia can serve as a lineup catalyst ahead of Bobby Witt Jr.
The 24-year-old Garcia is entering his third major league season, all with the Royals. Lifetime, he's a .274 hitter (entering Thursday). He had four home runs and 50 RBI a season ago to go along with 23 stolen bases.
In the loss, left-handed pitcher Cole Ragans went 6.0 innings, surrendering two earned runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out nine.
For the Twins, Carlos Correa went 3-for-4 with two RBI and starting pitcher Pablo Lopez went 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts.
The Twins won the American League Central a season ago while the Royals finished last, but Kansas City has optimism that they can contend this year after all the moves.
The two sides will be off on Friday but will reconvene in Kansas City on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET.
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