Opening Day euphoria

It was everything you wanted it to be. And more. Royals baseball is back.

On Opening Day, we gathered to celebrate the past and to embrace the future.

It was an afternoon where the game matched the weather. Crisp. There was rain. There was snow. There was sunshine. And there was wind. Lots and lots of wind. It was a game made for pitchers—who wants to have a bat in their hands on a day like this?—and the lack of offense was reflected in that.

That didn’t mean there wasn’t room for a storybook ending. It was as if everything through the first seven and a half innings was just prelude.

The future

The future—as you are aware—is Bobby Witt, Jr.. I mean, goodness…could you script it any better than what we saw in the eighth inning on Thursday? It was as if the baseball gods came together and willed that moment into reality.

Leading up to that…happening, Witt had had a quiet first couple of plate appearances, flying out in his first at bat and grounding out in his second. In his third plate appearance (and first of the game against Cleveland reliever Triston McKenzie—remember that) Witt hit a ground ball to short that was scorched, coming off the bat at 110.4 mph. On an afternoon where the elements made it absolutely miserable to hit a baseball, it was the hardest-hit ball of the afternoon.

In that at bat, Witt watched the first two pitches for called strikes—the second one was off the dish. McKenzie couldn’t get him to bite on a slider down and away or an elevated fastball. The pitch Witt put into play was a center-cut fastball.

I’m not sure how it set up their second confrontation, but it seemed to. With two outs and the go-ahead run on second, Witt spit on the first pitch, a four-seamer down and away. Maybe I’m getting a bit carried away here, but I felt that was an impressive take. It’s his first big league game, he has an opportunity to make something positive happen and he has the patience to wait for a better pitch.

He got it on the next pitch, a slider he yanked down the left field line.

Double, go-ahead RBI and euphoria.

It was an elevated slider that was flat. A cement mixer and Witt was all over it. Check out how he kept his hands inside the ball so he could turn on that pitch.

That, my friends, is an amazing swing. Witt wasted no time in making an impact. What a storybook debut.

The past

The past of course was represented by the Royals starter, Zack Greinke. The last time Greinke toed the slab wearing Royals blue at Kauffman Stadium, he threw seven innings of two-run ball against the Tampa Bay Rays. Brayan Peña was his catcher. Mike Aviles hit second in the lineup. Kila Ka’aihue was the cleanup hitter and drove in two runs. Joakim Soria shut the door for his 43 save.

It’s been awhile.

Make no mistake thought…this isn’t some kind of nostalgia trip. The Royals are counting on Greinke to lead this young staff. He certainly showed the way in the first inning. Seven pitches, all strikes. A single that was erased on a comebacker where Greinke started a double play was the only damage. It was a reminder that while Greinke may not have the velocity he once had behind his four-seamer, he possesses a wide array of pitches and can throw all of them for strikes. Oh, he can also field a bit.

Greinke flummoxed the Guardians lineup the first time through. Facing the minimum, he allowed six grounders, two fly balls and one infield pop. It was vintage, late-career Greinke where he kept everyone off balance with a well-located array. He required 30 pitches to record those nine outs.

Trouble percolated in the fourth after a single and stolen base. Nicky Lopez saved a run with a fantastic diving play (more on that in a bit) but Jose Ramírez drove in a run with what turned out to be a hustle double. This is a familiar scene to Royals watchers over the years—a few good innings threaten to take an ugly turn—but Greinke didn’t waver. As you would expect.

He escaped the jam with this beauty to Franmil Reyes.

And got a weak grounder to first to close out the frame.

Greinke threw 25 four-seamers, 20 sliders and 15 changeups in his 84 pitches. That’s notable because historically Greinke throws more changeups than sliders. At least since 2018. He said after the game, it was a conscious decision on his part. He’s looking to utilize the slider more this year. He wasn’t particularly happy with the pitch on Thursday, as he only got one swing and miss on it.

What was working for Greinke was the command of his fastball. He finished the afternoon with a 52% CSW% (called strikes plus whiff percentage). That’s a fantastic percentage. Only two of his fastballs were put into play.

Dig those low strikes. One pitch down the chute was his first pitch of the day that was fouled off. The two fastballs put into play weren’t even in the strike zone. With fastball command like that, all of the secondaries will play strong. Especially on a day where the weather made it difficult to stand in the box.

Greinke gave up his lone walk of the game in the fifth and was ultimately knocked out of the box after a Reyes single with two outs in the sixth. It was everything the Royals could’ve hoped for in Greinke’s re-debut in Royal blue.

Flashing leather

I’m not sure we’ve discussed how great this Royals defense is going to be. Maybe we have, but we need to continue to emphasize this point. Clearly, someone like Greinke who will be pitching to a lot of contact—he didn’t record a swing and a miss until his 12th batter of the game—is going to benefit greatly. When you have shortstops all around the infield, expect some defensive wizardry. Nicky Lopez saved a run (at least for a moment) in the fourth with an amazing diving snag of a liner off the bat of Ahmed Rosario.

That’s just a five-star defensive gem. Greinke said he told Lopez it was one of the best plays he’s ever seen. That’s something.

As previously mentioned, Witt made a pair of fine defensive plays of his own. These weren’t flashy like the Lopez grab, but they didn’t need to be. I note these plays not to come up with something positive for Witt on the afternoon. Rather, they were difficult plays he made look easy. His plus arm strength was on display.

He was smooth at third. Comfortable. And after years of watching adventures at the hot corner, he’s a clear defensive upgrade at the position.

And Greinke himself, as noted above, can still pick it. He’s won six Gold Gloves in his career and showed that with him on the mound, it’s going to be extremely difficult to get anything through up the middle. He made a nice play on a comebacker from Rosario to start a 1-4-3 double play in the first and snared a soft liner off the bat of Andrés Jiménez in the fifth.

This defense is going to save a lot of runs.

A quick word about the bullpen

These guys are going to be a strength. Mananger Mike Matheny was once again masterful in how he used his best relievers. Jake Brentz’s fastball velocity was down and he struggled with his control, but got the whiff of Yu Chang to escape from a bases loaded jam in the sixth. Josh Staumont’s velocity was up from last year.

Matheny’s most inspired moment was calling on Scott Barlow in the eighth to face the heart of the Guardians lineup. The slider was nasty and the Royals rode him for the final six outs.

Get your best on the mound to secure the victory. Especially in the early days of the season.

A tale of two leadoff walks

I was struck by the parallels of the Royals half of the seventh and eighth innings. Both frames opened with the leadoff hitter drawing a walk.

In the seventh, it was Carlos Santana reaching. The Royals tried to sacrifice with Hunter Dozier at the plate. That…didn’t go well. Obviously, I’m not a fan of the bunt and asking Dozier to drop one is pretty much bonkers strategy. According to Baseball-Reference, Dozier has never even attempted to sacrifice in his major league career. Plus, there’s the fact that you’re trying to advance Santana who isn’t exactly fleet of foot. It ended exactly how you would expect. The bunt wasn’t awful, but it was easy for catcher Austin Hedges to leap from behind the plate to gun down Santana at second.

With Mondesi at the plate, the Royals were still determined to get that runner to second. So Dozier takes off on a steal attempt. Again…really? Dozier was five for nine last year trying to swipe a bag. Hedges is one of the best throwing catchers in the game, with a pop time that grades as elite. Yeah…that wasn’t even close.

Hedges recorded two assists in the inning and the Royals never got that runner to second.

In the eighth, the Royals once again worked the leadoff walk. This time it was Michael A. Taylor. That brought up the number nine hitter, Lopez. In this situation there wasn’t any question as to what was going to happen. Indeed, Lopez squared around and laid down a beauty along the first base line. If there was a time and place for a bunt, that was it. Besides, it always feels like Lopez isn’t exactly sacrificing when he bunts like that. Sure, he’s trying to get the runner to second, but at the same time it feels like he’s bunting for a hit.

With Taylor at second, the order turned over for Merrifield and Witt. Those are a couple of bats you want with a runner in scoring position late in a tie game. And we all know what happened.

Yep. Storybook.

Central issues

• Seattle @ Minnesota - PPD

Behold the beauty of the Opening Day victory.

Up next

The Royals are off Friday before resuming the series on Saturday. Thanks to the lockout, this four game set extends into next week. I’m for it. Schedule quirks can make things interesting.

• Saturday - Zach Pleasac vs Brad Keller @ 3:10

• Sunday - Cal Quantrill vs Kris Bubic @ 1:10

• Monday - Aaron Civale vs Carlos Hernández @ 1:10