There’s Plenty to Take Away From the Last Week of Royals Baseball
Another week has come and gone in the Kansas City Royals' 2022 season. The second week of the campaign had its ups and downs, though there were mostly downs. Kansas City didn’t get a full slate of games in, but there were some positives and negatives to take away from the past week. Let’s take a look at five of them.
Five-game losing streak stings
Apr 7, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke (23) leaves the game during the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
The Royals 17-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, April 10 started a five-game losing streak. Another loss to the Guardians on Monday, a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday and then back-to-back losses to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday and Friday capped off the losing streak. It wasn’t a good stretch of games that started with bad pitching, but it carries on with lackluster offensive output.
Bats fail to come alive
Sep 18, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Carlos Santana (41) hits a single against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Speaking of lackluster output, the Royals had plenty of opportunities to score runs during the losing streak but couldn’t put much together when runners were on base. In fact, they left 13 men on base while only scoring three runs in the opening two games against the Tigers. The team will need to be better on the offensive end and need to find someone — anyone — to come up with some clutch hits to help scratch some runs across the plate.
Weather delays two games
Oct 13, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Rain collects on a Royals decal logo on a seat in the stands before game three of the 2014 ALCS playoff baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
The weather was less than fantastic in the Midwest this week, to say the least. Thunderstorms and tornado watches caused the second game of the Cardinals series to be postponed. Zack Greinke was slated to take on Adam Wainwright in the game, but unfortunately, fans weren’t able to be treated to a battle of the old arms. That game will be made up on Monday, May 2nd at 3:15 in St. Louis at Busch Stadium.
It was a cold and rainy Easter Sunday in Kansas City and as a result, the final game between the Tigers and Royals was postponed. It will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Monday, July 11. The first game will begin at 1:10 pm and the second game is slated to begin at 7:10 pm.
Hunter Dozier’s good start at the plate
May 30, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Hunter Dozier (17) celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: David Berding-USA TODAY Sports
Hunter Dozier has been one of the few Royals to have a solid offensive start to the season. While the Royals have been struggling to get on base and find ways to score runs, Dozier has been doing his best to give the team a chance. Through eight games, he's batting .296 with a double, a triple and a go-ahead home run on his resume. In a season when the Royals need Dozier to be a veteran leader in the clubhouse and add a productive bat to the lineup, he has shown up and done so early in the season.
Pitching improvements
Despite a couple of home runs given up early in the game against the Cardinals, Daniel Lynch didn’t look all that bad. There are things to correct, to be sure, but he gave the team something to work with. Zack Grienke had his second solid outing of the season, going 5-1/3 innings and only giving up two runs. The Royals ended up losing that one 4-2, but it wasn’t Greinke’s fault the team lost that day.
Similarly, Brad Keller had his second stellar performance of the season. A two-out home run to rookie Spencer Torkelson led to the only runs allowed that game, as the Royals couldn’t get more than one run across the plate. It was a true tough-luck loss for Keller.
After a dreadful first start of the season, Kris Bubic turned things around a bit in his second start. While his control still needs some work (he allowed six walks in the outing), he limited the big inning. In 4-1/3 innings, he allowed one run on two hits and had four strikeouts. The Royals' relief pitching has also generally been solid throughout the season thus far.
Let’s hope the weather doesn’t affect any games this week and the Royals can get a full slate of games in for week three of the season. They’ll start the week at home against the Minnesota Twins in a game set to begin at 7:10 on Tuesday evening in Kansas City.
At the beginning of every week, 'Mondays with Mark' will dive into the latest developments with the Royals. Have something you want to be discussed? Let Mark know on Twitter @MarkTheOverseer or find Inside the Royals @InsideRoyals.
