Royals' Matt Quatraro Explains Controversial Pitching Decision In Astros Loss
The Kansas City Royals have so many good pitchers that it sometimes works to their detriment.
Both the Royals' rotation and bullpen can flat-out deal. Four of the five starters carry ERAs under four, while the team's top five relievers all carry ERAs of 2.29 or better. Occasionally, that leads to a tricky decision.
On Wednesday night, number-five starter Michael Lorenzen was dealing through seven innings for the second-straight outing. This time, Royals manager Matt Quatraro decided to let him go out for the eighth inning with a one-run lead against the surging Houston Astros, and it proved to be a mistake.
Lorenzen allowed a game-tying double down the left field line to the Astros' Mauricio Dubón, then a Jeremy Peña RBI single gave the Astros the lead they wouldn't relinquish. That meant the Royals left Houston having lost their second consecutive series.
After the game, though, Quatraro stood by the choice to send Lorenzen back to the mound in the eighth, as the righty only had 77 pitches under his belt.
“I mean, none of these decisions are easy, right?” said Quatraro, per Steve Schaeffer of MLB.com. “It’s the eighth inning, but [Lorenzen] had plenty of stuff. He was strong. That’s a really just unfortunate way for that ball [by Dubón] to bounce right there.”
Lorenzen, who has a 3.76 ERA and 3-4 record through his first nine starts of the season, was glad his manager gave him the nod, and tried to explain his aggressive mentality in facing the order a third time.
“You can’t be afraid to give up a game, so I went out there, attacked,” the right-hander said. “If you’re afraid to get punched in the face, you’re never going to accomplish anything.”
The Royals have Thursday off and will head home to Kauffman Stadium to face their cross-state rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, in a three-game series beginning Friday.
More MLB: Royals' Jac Caglianone Gets Lofty 2030 Projection From MLB Writer
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