Projecting a Memorable End to an Intriguing Week for the Royals
For the Kansas City Royals, the week began with a 6-5 victory over cross-state rival St. Louis Cardinals. It’s always nice to get a win over the Cardinals, especially after losses in the two previous games.
Then it was a home series against the New York Yankees. From young to old, every part of the Royals despises the Yankees, so it’s easy to get behind the hatred of that ball club when they come to town.
An incredible back-and-forth game on Monday night kicked off the series. The Yankees would throw the first punch but the Royals hit right back. The Royals became the first team in Major League Baseball history to come back to tie the game in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th innings of the same game. It was also the first game in MLB history where both teams scored in the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th innings of a game. Unfortunately, the Yankees won the game, but it was one that will go down in the history books.
On Tuesday night, it was the 10 year anniversary of future Hall of Fame catcher Salvador Perez’s first MLB start of his career. In typical Salvy fashion, he balled out and hit two home runs, leading the Royals to an 8-4 victory.
In a 100-degree scorcher, the series finale ended uneventfully with the Yankees winning the game 5-2.
As it has been discussed in the past couple of months, wins and losses aren’t important at this point in the season. Yes, the Royals started the campaign hot. Unfortunately, several injuries to the pitching staff along with the fact that shortstop Adalberto Mondesi could virtually never see the field ultimately led to the team falling off a cliff.
However, there is a silver lining. The young pitchers in the system are getting a chance to work through some of their growing pains now. This will be important for the team moving forward as it plans on competing in the future. More good news: young studs who started out in Double-A such as infielders Bobby Witt Jr and Nick Pratto, and catcher MJ Melendez, are now in Triple-A and continue to have success. There are even rumblings that Witt could make his MLB debut this weekend.
Imagine a packed Kauffman Stadium on Friday night with the Cardinals coming to town, dollar hot dogs being consumed, a fireworks show set to be held postgame and the MLB debut of Bobby Witt Jr. That seems like it would be a perfect scenario. The oft-injured Mondesi is also expected to return to the big league club this weekend ahead of the home series against the Cardinals.
Before the season began, I had circled August as the toughest month on the team’s schedule. A series against the Chicago White Sox, two against the Cardinals, the Yankees, the Cubs, and two against the Astros were all going to be tough.
At this point in the season, the pressure is off of the Royals. It’s time to enjoy the team for what they are: a younger group of players that have some easy-to-root-for veterans that continuously go out there and give it their all every day. With the potential addition of a superstar in Witt, the end of this season could bring more highs than lows, in spite of what the team’s record shows.
