A Royals victory in four acts

The Royals combined comedy and tragedy before rolling in the euphoria of the finale. It capped the extended roadtrip on a winning note.

It was a game worthy of Shakespeare. That is if Shakespeare wrote at altitude while dropping copious amounts of hallucinogenics. What we saw on Sunday in Colorado was both comedy and tragedy with a little bit of history woven through the narrative. Why bother with only one genre when you can weave them all into a semi-coherent baseball narrative?

That’s the Royals in 2022. Let’s raise the curtain…

Act 1 — Daniel Lynch shoves

‘If music be the food of love play on.’
(Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 1)

Let’s just begin with Lynch’s pitch chart because it’s something I don’t think I’ve ever seen from a starter.

The absence of any pitches in the lower right quadrant of the chart just kind of blows the mind. And since Lynch is a lefty who faces a mighty platoon disadvantage, let’s break this chart out by where the batter was standing.

Just an afternoon of stellar location—on all pitches. Fastballs up and sliders away to lefties. Fastballs up, sliders and changeups down and in to right-handed hitters. The Rockies could do no harm.

To be honest, it wasn’t a perfect afternoon. Lynch tends to leak a little bit to the arm side, especially on the fastball and, as we can see from the chart to right-handed hitters, on the changeup. He allowed four walks on the afternoon. While not something you want to see, if he’s going to miss, miss wide and not in the middle of the plate.

I was particularly taken by Lynch’s sequencing in the third inning. He opened the frame against Garrett Hampson, a right-handed hitter. Lynch started with a fastball inside that was fouled off. He followed with a high slider before coming back in with another slider for a called strike. Ahead in the count 1-2, Lynch delivered one of those changeups that leaked to the arm side. Was that just a show pitch for an upcoming 2-2 fastball? Hardly. Lynch came back with another change that was hit in the air with a 56-degree launch angle for a foul pop. Out number one.

Next was Connor Joe, another righty. Lynch went with three consecutive fastballs, the first well off the plate, the second in the zone for a called strike and the third in about the same spot that was fouled off. Ahead in the count 1-2, Lynch broke off a nasty slider.

The next batter was another right-handed hitter, Yonathan Daza. For this duel, Lynch went exclusively with the changeup. Again, the first one was way outside, but he came back with one down and in that Daza swung over.

And then Lynch finished him off with another change that was harmlessly hit to center. Three up, three down.

However, it was the leadoff man in the fourth, righty C.J. Cron where the full Daniel Lynch experience was on full view. A changeup off the plate was generously called a strike to open the at bat. Lynch followed with high cheese at 93 MPH up above the zone that Cron couldn’t resist. Lynch then went down and in with a slider that was fouled off. Damn…three pitches none of them in the strike zone and Lynch was ahead 0-2. He finished Cron off with another offering of high cheddar, pumping 95 MPH out of the zone.

I mean, this pitch chart of that battle is a thing of beauty.

The fastball up in the mid-90s is difficult to catch up to, but it’s about as tantalizing a pitch as the opposing batters will find. Then, they’ll have to adjust to either a changeup that has about 10 to 15 inches of horizontal break or a slider that darts down about 34 inches. Both pitches are coming in somewhere between 83 and 85 MPH on average. Good luck with that.

When Lynch is spotting those two secondary pitches, he’s going to find himself in some kind of groove as we saw on Sunday. There’s a reason he’s long been considered the Royals’ top pitching prospect out of that 2018 draft class. A pair of plus secondary offerings combined with a lively fastball makes for a difficult time for hitters.

Lynch was lifted after issuing back-to-back walks with one out in the sixth. It probably wasn’t the strong ending to an otherwise stellar outing he wanted, but the stuff he showed (and with the rhythm he was in, the pace he was working!) there were a plethora of positives to take from this outing.

Lynch finished with a 38 percent CSW% on the slider and a 26 percent CSW% on the change. He generated 13 whiffs total on the afternoon—eight of them on the slider.

Act II — The Royals’ offense feasts at Coors

He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his.
Henry IV Part 1: Act 2, Scene 1

We all know about Coors Field and being about a mile high and the affect that has on the baseball in general and the run-scoring environment, specifically. I mean, the experience on Friday was pretty much the classic Coors Field game where the Royals scored 14 runs and the outcome was generally in doubt up until the final out was recorded. So it was disappointing the Royals could only muster four runs in Saturday’s loss. Talk about failing to take advantage of an environment made to score runs.

Sunday’s game was as if they moved the stadium somewhere subterranean. Maybe under the Denver airport. Scoreless through four? I don’t watch a lot of Rockie baseball, but even in Rob Manfred’s depressed scoring environment, that probably doesn’t happen a ton in Colorado. And with this Royals offense, there’s never a guarantee they’ll actually produce. Even at altitude.

Yet there they were in the fifth on a Bobby Witt Jr walk, followed by an Emmanual Rivera bomb to left-center. Let the kids play, damnit!

Although if the kids are going to play, the old men will want to have a say. Whit Merrifield followed in the next inning with a dinger of his own.

It was a bit of a week for Merrifield. Not only did he play in his 500th consecutive game, but he is also now the proud owner of a six-game hitting streak. Since that lid-lifter in Texas on Tuesday, Merrifield has raised his batting average by 54 points, his on base percentage by 36 points and his slugging by 89 points. Sure, he’s hitting .183/.213/.252, but given the hole he dug himself in over the first month-plus of the season, it’s going to take some time and an awfully large shovel to dig himself out.

Now, having said that, let’s have a real talk…Consecutive game streaks are dumb. So many times, they handcuff the manager into writing a player’s name on the lineup card who is struggling, declining or just a run-of-the-mill poor performer. Merrifield, prior to his six-game hitting streak, fell into the first two categories. The Royals experienced something like this with Alcides Escobar a few years ago. You would think they would learn. Of course, the idea the Royals would learn from past mistakes isn’t something that seems to happen.

Merrifield is still an important player for the Royals, but he’s not someone they can count on like it’s 2018. Therefore, the Royals need to figure out how to keep him fresh and ready for days when he’s in the lineup. Although it sure doesn’t sound like he’s going to take a day off anytime soon. We’ll see how that goes.

Then speaking of the kids, that marvelous young man, Witt Jr., crushed one in the seventh that traveled 436 feet.

It’s fun to watch baseballs fly over the fence.

After MJ Melendez walked, Rivera brought him home on a double (let the kids play!) before Merrifield capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly. The Royals led 6-0 and needed nine outs from their bullpen to secure the victory. Surely, not even Coors Field could steal this from the boys in blue.

Ahem…

Act III — The seventh inning wretch

Why, sir, for my part I say the gentleman had drunk himself out of his five senses.
The Merry Wives Of Windsor: Act 1, Scene 1

Collin Snider, the fireman, came on in relief of Lynch in the sixth and shut down the Rockies. Back out for the sixth, he allowed a single to Elias Diaz to open the inning.

With a lefty due up, Mike Matheny summoned southpaw Amir Garrett. Garrett retired Sam Hilliard for the first out.

Then all hell broke loose.

Garrett, required to face the next two batters, issued walks to both. Enter Taylor Clarke. Clarke has been extremely good this year, throwing 13 innings and allowing 11 hits while striking out 11 and walking none. He last appeared on Thursday in Arlington where he gave up a home run to Brad Miller.

He didn’t have it on Sunday.

Back-to-back singles plated three to open Clarke’s appearance. Nicky Lopez made a poor decision trying to get an out at second on a ground ball that took his momentum toward first as he fielded. (Note: If you’re not hitting, you may want to at least make good decisions on defense.) That scored another run. Two singles later, the game was tied.

Again, it’s Coors Field. What an exhausting place it has to be to play baseball. I should clarify the statement about about Clarke not having “it.” Perhaps the “it” was luck. The hardest-hit ball was the final out of the inning. Two of the three hardest hit resulted in outs. As we’ve seen before, when riding the singles train, exit velocity doesn’t matter a bit. Line drives…that tends to matter.

Still, this isn’t Matheny’s first time managing in Colorado. He’s been there before. He knows that a lead can evaporate in no time. And he just seemed intent on riding Clarke for as long as he could go. Was he managing for the upcoming series against the White Sox where the Royals will play five games in four days? In fact, their next off day isn’t until May 25. They’re entering a stretch of 10 games in nine days. The bullpen is going to be tested.

Otherwise, I don’t know what to tell you about what we saw unfold in the seventh. Or rather, how it unfolded in the seventh. Why Matheny didn’t push another bullpen button, I don’t know. I’ve been full of praise for how Matheny has handled his bullpen—once a massive issue surrounding him in St. Louis—but of late…He’s slumping. Something just feels off. The inertia of the seventh was just another instance.

Clarke eventually got out of the frame, but not before a sacrifice fly gave the Rockies the lead. Down six, they scored seven runs in the seventh.

Act IV — Redemption, exultation and a victory

‘If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?’
(The Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 1)

The Rockies brought their closer, Daniel Bard (we’ve come full circle!), in to seal the game in the ninth. Previously, he had converted nine of 10 save opportunities. He owned a 2.38 ERA covering 11.1 innings. He walked pinch-hitter Andrew Benintendi to open the inning. Ryan O’Hearn pinch hit and laced a single to the opposite field.

Two on, nobody out and the top of the Royals order coming up.

After Merrifield popped out, Bard uncorked a wild pitch that advanced the runners both into scoring position. Michael A. Taylor walked. And Salvador Perez strode to the plate.

With the bases loaded, the league is hitting .271/.314/.478 so far this year. As you would expect, the Royals are doing worse that than with the sacks full. A lot worse. Prior to Sunday, the Royals were hitting .143/.174/.238 with the bases loaded in 2022, the third-worst output in that situation in the majors. It’s an sOPS+ of 5. Yes, five. The Royals are 95 percent worse than league average when they have the bases loaded in 2022.

On the other hand, coming up was Perez. You know, the dude who stroked big hit after big hit during the 2021 season where he tied the single-season franchise record with 48 home runs. The Royals desperately needed a hero. To lose that game after holding on to a six-run lead in the later innings would’ve been catastrophic. They put themselves in a position to get back in front. They needed someone to make it happen.

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The Royals have 12 wins in 2022. They are in fourth place in the AL Central, already 6.5 games back of the Twins. Their run differential is a -43, worst in the American League. They aren’t going anywhere, but damn if Perez didn’t provide the biggest hit of the year.

I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if the Royals had not only blown the lead, but also squandered the opportunity to claw back into it.

Somehow, the Royals don’t have to worry about that. They close the road trip with a 4-5 record, somehow respectable for a team that’s scuffling.

Sometimes baseball blows your mind.

‘A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers.’
Much Ado About Nothing