The offense comes alive

In the best win of the season for the Royals, Jac Caglianone brought the presence and the rest of the lineup brought the production.

He did not collect a hit in his five at bats. He was the designated hitter, so he wasn’t able to make a play on defense. Yet the presence of one Jac Caglianone in the lineup provides a spark.

This was a different team from the one we watched for the first 60 games. The Royals fell behind 7-2 early. A daunting five-run deficit that, given this team has scored five or more runs in a game just 10 times this season, felt insurmountable. Yet they not only rallied, they seized the lead and then proceeded to tack on a pair of insurance runs an inning later. Anchored by a bullpen that put up 6.1 scoreless innings, it was a 10-7 come-from-behind victory for the Royals.

This was the best win of the season.

The vibes on Tuesday were different. As this Royals team has scratched and clawed for every single run they’ve plated this year and with games decided by one or two runs, this ballclub has lost the joy we saw last season. Based on the successes of last season, there’s more pressure and with an offense that can barely scrape together three runs a game, this group has become workman-like.

I’m not sure we can—or should—say that one player who had never stepped into a major league batter’s box can shift those vibes. I just don’t know how else to describe what I saw. It was a team that played with some life. They had that confidence we came to know last year, but have, for the most part, been missing this season.

The boys are once again, finally playing some ball.

The vibe shift was obvious from the jump as the Royals made an early offensive statement, requiring just two batters to post two runs on the scoreboard. Jonathan India led off the game with a single and was followed by Bobby Witt Jr. blasting a home run to center-left.

That ball had some quality hang time, travelling 428 feet before landing in the bleachers.

It was difficult to watch any part of Tuesday’s game and not view it through the prism of the presence of Caglianone. When Witt exited the yard, I felt as though he was leading by example for the newcomer. Kid, relax and have some fun…this is how it’s done. (Witt is about two and a half years older. Weird to think of him as a veteran.)

The Royals snared an early 2-0 lead.

The second inning was Cags Time. Caglianone led off the frame, saw three consecutive fastballs from the Cardinals Andre Pallante, and fell behind in the count 1-2. It’s at this moment, for me at least, that I go from thinking “I hope he can get his first big league hit,” to “I hope he doesn’t strike out.” I would be a terrible big league hitter.

Pallante’s fastballs were coming in at 95-96 mph. The first one was elevated that Caglianone offered, and fouled it off. A bit overanxious, perhaps. Understandable. The next two four-seamers were inside jobs, the second of which was also fouled off.

Pallante was setting Caglianone up for the kill. There are no pleasantries between a major league pitcher and a rookie up for their first plate appearance. The right-hander broke off a knuckle curve that was perfectly placed. It was a true pitcher’s pitch.

Caglianone gave it a ride.

I thought he had a gapper for his first hit. The Cardinals speedy center fielder Victor Scott II had a different idea. It was a helluva catch. And it was a helluva plate appearance.

Inside with the heat and away with the offspeed. That was 98.4 mph off the bat, flying 392 feet. To flip that knuckle curve, in that location, and in that count…that’s impressive.

After the quick strike in the first, the Royals offense took up its usual position in cold storage. After Pallante allowed that home run to Witt, he got down to business and retired 12 consecutive Royals. Meanwhile, Michael Lorenzen struggled once again, allowing seven runs before he was removed from the game with two outs in the third.

With the Royals trailing 7-2, Caglianone led off the fifth and found a belt-high four-seamer immediately to his liking.

The pitch was a little on the outside half of the plate, but as you can see from the GIF, Caglianone let the pitch travel and laced it the opposite way. This was 112.1 mph off the bat, and with the St. Louis infield shifted over to the right, Caglianone had an excellent chance at reaching when that ball left his bat. Nolan Arenado can still pick it at third, though. That’s a shame.

This ground out was just a prelude to what was one of the biggest offensive innings of the year for the Royals. Nick Loftin was up next and went down for a 1-1 Pallante slider to club his first home run of the season. At this point, it was 7-3. A comeback still felt unlikely.

Yet the Royals wouldn’t stop. They hit four consecutive singles, the last of which, from Witt, drove home two more. That cut the deficit to two runs.

The Witt single was the result of an eight-pitch at bat, where he battled back from being down 1-2. This was the at bat of the game.

Witt could’ve been in command had he not offered at that 1-0 slider that was well down and out of the zone. But he hung tough, fouling off another slider at 1-2 that was a really tough pitch. After that knuckle curve bounced, he spit on another slider that was just off the edge—just an outstanding take given the situation. With the bases loaded and the Royals down four, they needed to cash in.

A foul on a four-seamer, and then came the elevated sinker that Witt drove just out of reach of the shortstop. Like I said, this was the at bat of the game.

The comeback was not complete. There was still work to be done. Against lefty reliever Steven Matz, Vinnie Pasquantino split the right-center gap with a game-tying double. Salvador Perez was next and was quickly down 0-2. He fouled off two more pitches before pulling an inside sinker to left to plate Pasquantino with the go-ahead run.

Five-run deficit? Erased.

The big hits from Pasquantino and Perez were the kind of clutch knocks we’ve seen far too infrequently to this point in the season. Pasquantino has been getting hot of late, but for Perez to single while down 0-2 in that situation was an extremely welcome sight. Perez, prior to Tuesday, was hitting just .217/.267/.319 with runners in scoring position, good for a 61 OPS+. The Royals needed that hit. He needed that hit.

With the Perez single bringing Pasquantino home, that meant the Royals batted around and Caglianone would be up for the second time in the inning. As Pasquantino motored around third, Caglianone positioned himself beyond home plate and held his arms aloft to signal that a slide was not needed. That led to this moment.

While Salvy is the captain, Vinnie and Bobby are also leaders on this team. Their embrace of Caglianone as a teammate is important, not just for the rookie but for the franchise. I have no idea what Pasquantino was telling Caglianone, but we don’t need to know. Words of encouragement, how to attack the new pitcher…whatever he said, we know Pasquantino took the moment to impart something to the new guy. It’s these little things that make a team.

Caglianone grounded out. This one was hit at a mere 96.9 mph.

Caglianone ultimately went 0-5. In the box score, it looks like a rough night. But the rookie was scorching the baseball and was twice robbed of that first big league hit. Baseball Savant’s game pages have summaries at the top. These were the top exit velocities of the game:

Hilarious. It’s not uncommon to see Witt atop the game leaderboard. Pasquantino likewise makes frequent appearances. And now Caglianone. You get the feeling those three might make some sort of competition about this stat. It could be a fun summer.

It’s weird to write that when the Royals put up 10 runs in a ballgame and every player in the starting lineup except Caglianone got a hit and either scored or drove in a run, that it was the debutant who provided the spark behind this offensive explosion. Witt himself said as much. This was a different team with a different vibe with Caglianone in the lineup. Such is how the prospect hype train rolls.

All aboard.