Interesting that you thought McArthur looked tentative. I thought he looked careful, but not overly so. Then Juan Soto refused to bite on breakers just outside the zone while Torres and Judge both got weak grounders that became seeing-eye singles.
I do feel like the staff as a whole was very tentative to Soto and Judge for the most part, Soto especially so. McArthur depends on guys to chase to be successful and unfortunately, it was one of those nights against one of those teams that's pretty well-disciplined in their approach. But as you said, that was a big mistake to Wells and thought the sequencing wasn't great either (threw him two sinkers inside for balls so he was familiar with the pitch).
It was frustrating to watch how they dealt with Soto and Judge. I get that those guys are elite and amazing, but it just felt to me like they were scared to let those two beat them.
No pitcher is going to get Soto to chase and as Kevin says, the Royals danced around him all night long. I wanted McArthur to attack. I wanted to see another slider that was a challenge pitch.
What in the world is going on with MacArthur? He's gone from a shutdown closer at the start of the year to a scary option who gives up way too many homers. Have you heard anything?
Tough loss but I kinda felt that if the Royals were able to take one in the Bronx that would be a win. They are in a good shape especially with how the schedule plays out for the remainder of the year. Pittsburgh has seemingly thrown the white flag for the year. Detroit is surging but we get them at home. San Francisco is at home and their bullpen beyond Walker is inconsistent. The Nationals are young, but they are a bit all over the place, and Atlanta may be feeling the heat of a tough playoff race.
Seeing Salvy get a four-hit night was much-needed. Hope we can get something similar from Bobby. The Royals definitely need him and Salvy and maybe one more hitter to get hot to help this team have more momentum going into the postseason.
I agree with your entire comment. Getting a win in New York makes them 9-11 in this stretch which is respectable. Which is what they need to be at this point. And from here, the schedule is much more favorable. Can’t take anything for granted though. The Twins thought they could get back on track against the Angels at home last night. Didn’t turn out so well for them.
What drives me nutso about Singer? In the third he goes right after Judge and K's him.
Then in the fourth he dicks around with an 8-hole, banjo-hitting utility player and walks him
You could predict what was going to happen next: a seriously strugglin Verdugo knocks one out.
Aaaaaarrrrrgggggggggggg!
Actually BWJ was NOT blazing around the bags on that Salvy popup; he was motoring well, mind you,
but playing it smart and conserving energy for when he really needed it: like when Vance Wilson waved him home. THEN he hit the after-after burners. Phenomenal, Unbelievable (ran out of adjectives).
All I’ve heard the last couple of weeks out of New York (the AL side) is a braying for the promotion of Dominguez and the DFA of Verdugo. Then for Verdugo to do that…
The postseason starting rotation (in some order) will be Ragans, Lugo, and Wacha, right? So Singer, Lorenzen, and Marsh in the bullpen? We already knew that Stratton won't be on the postseason roster, but it's clear now that McArthur shouldn't be.
I would think that it would be the three you noted in the rotation. Singer in a longer series if they get that far. The bullpen will be interesting given the days off and how Quatraro and Sweeney and the other pitching and bullpen coaches work. No to Stratton for sure. McArthur still has a chance to make a case.
McArthur's ERA is back over 5.00. I know that's not necessarily the best indicator for a reliever, but it's still abysmal and matches the eye test. And with a bullpen of Singer, Lorenzen, Marsh, Long, Erceg, Long, Schreiber, and Lynch, why on earth do you need McArthur?
Interesting that you thought McArthur looked tentative. I thought he looked careful, but not overly so. Then Juan Soto refused to bite on breakers just outside the zone while Torres and Judge both got weak grounders that became seeing-eye singles.
The pitch to Wells was a mistake, though.
I do feel like the staff as a whole was very tentative to Soto and Judge for the most part, Soto especially so. McArthur depends on guys to chase to be successful and unfortunately, it was one of those nights against one of those teams that's pretty well-disciplined in their approach. But as you said, that was a big mistake to Wells and thought the sequencing wasn't great either (threw him two sinkers inside for balls so he was familiar with the pitch).
It was frustrating to watch how they dealt with Soto and Judge. I get that those guys are elite and amazing, but it just felt to me like they were scared to let those two beat them.
No pitcher is going to get Soto to chase and as Kevin says, the Royals danced around him all night long. I wanted McArthur to attack. I wanted to see another slider that was a challenge pitch.
The pitch to Wells was indefensible.
What in the world is going on with MacArthur? He's gone from a shutdown closer at the start of the year to a scary option who gives up way too many homers. Have you heard anything?
Relievers, man.
He puts the "fun" in "fungible"!!!!!1!!!
Tough loss but I kinda felt that if the Royals were able to take one in the Bronx that would be a win. They are in a good shape especially with how the schedule plays out for the remainder of the year. Pittsburgh has seemingly thrown the white flag for the year. Detroit is surging but we get them at home. San Francisco is at home and their bullpen beyond Walker is inconsistent. The Nationals are young, but they are a bit all over the place, and Atlanta may be feeling the heat of a tough playoff race.
Seeing Salvy get a four-hit night was much-needed. Hope we can get something similar from Bobby. The Royals definitely need him and Salvy and maybe one more hitter to get hot to help this team have more momentum going into the postseason.
I agree with your entire comment. Getting a win in New York makes them 9-11 in this stretch which is respectable. Which is what they need to be at this point. And from here, the schedule is much more favorable. Can’t take anything for granted though. The Twins thought they could get back on track against the Angels at home last night. Didn’t turn out so well for them.
What drives me nutso about Singer? In the third he goes right after Judge and K's him.
Then in the fourth he dicks around with an 8-hole, banjo-hitting utility player and walks him
You could predict what was going to happen next: a seriously strugglin Verdugo knocks one out.
Aaaaaarrrrrgggggggggggg!
Actually BWJ was NOT blazing around the bags on that Salvy popup; he was motoring well, mind you,
but playing it smart and conserving energy for when he really needed it: like when Vance Wilson waved him home. THEN he hit the after-after burners. Phenomenal, Unbelievable (ran out of adjectives).
All I’ve heard the last couple of weeks out of New York (the AL side) is a braying for the promotion of Dominguez and the DFA of Verdugo. Then for Verdugo to do that…
Witt. Phenom.
The postseason starting rotation (in some order) will be Ragans, Lugo, and Wacha, right? So Singer, Lorenzen, and Marsh in the bullpen? We already knew that Stratton won't be on the postseason roster, but it's clear now that McArthur shouldn't be.
I would think that it would be the three you noted in the rotation. Singer in a longer series if they get that far. The bullpen will be interesting given the days off and how Quatraro and Sweeney and the other pitching and bullpen coaches work. No to Stratton for sure. McArthur still has a chance to make a case.
McArthur's ERA is back over 5.00. I know that's not necessarily the best indicator for a reliever, but it's still abysmal and matches the eye test. And with a bullpen of Singer, Lorenzen, Marsh, Long, Erceg, Long, Schreiber, and Lynch, why on earth do you need McArthur?