'5 Aces': Bobby Witt Jr. Makes Bold Declaration About Royals' Rotation
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The Kansas City Royals are rolling.
After a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night, the Royals have won 14 of their last 16. They've surged to a season-high six games over .500, and they'll go for the four-game sweep of the Pale Hose on Thursday.
Meanwhile, for the second straight year, the Royals' starting rotation is starting to cook. Royals starters have the best fWAR (4.1) in the American League and the third-best in all of baseball. They lead the majors in innings pitched at 217 1/3 and their 3.02 ERA is second-best behind the New York Mets.
It's been impressive to watch the Royals go to work. And after the latest win over the White Sox, the team's superstar, Bobby Witt Jr., made a bold declaration about his teammates, Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic, and Michael Lorenzen.
“We got pretty much five aces, five horses out there throwing,” Witt said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “You just got to do your job, get a couple of runs, and then we’re in a good spot because of how they work and how they do things. It’s just really, really special.”
Wacha, the Royals' starter on Wednesday night, tossed seven innings on just 84 pitches, and he achieved the 1,500-inning career milestone, which thoroughly impressed his teammates.
“That number is mind-blowing to me,” reliever Lucas Erceg said, per Rogers. “The guy has been there, done that, he’s played the game long enough to show us the ropes of how we want to go about our business and be around the game for so long. That’s what makes the big leagues so cool.”
This Royals rotation has it all: experience, youth, comeback stories, and impressive depth (don't forget, Noah Cameron got sent back to Triple-A immediately after throwing six no-hit innings in his major league debut).
And they'll need every scoreless inning they can get from these starters, because even while they're winning, they're not scoring much themselves.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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