The stopper

Seth Lugo befuddles the Twins as Nelson Velázquez and Salvador Perez provide the power. The losing streak stops at three.

I’m loathe to call any regular season baseball game a “must-win.” Instead, I’ll just say Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins was important.

Important for the Royals because, after their hot start to the season, every game against an AL Central rival has meaning. Important for the Royals because, after posting their third loss in a row the night before, they needed to stop the bleeding before things got serious. And important because, as you’ll see in a moment, the schedule is about to get rough.

The Royals needed someone to step up. Good thing Seth Lugo was Wednesday’s starting pitcher. He kept the Twins in check and the Royals bats brought a bit of thunder. The Royals claimed a much-needed 6-1 victory. After a grim two days in Minneapolis, they’re set to go for a series split on Thursday.

Watching Lugo work is like attending a class on how to pitch. If you don’t come away with some sort of knowledge about how he works and with a particular degree of amazement, you aren’t paying enough attention. And really…why would you not pay attention when Seth Lugo is pitching?

I don’t even know what to do with this, other than drop it here and just laugh.

That was everything Seth Lugo threw on Wednesday at the Twins. I’ll save you having to count because it’s a lot…that’s eight different pitches.

Lugo wasn’t at his sharpest—he walked three batters—but was able to work around trouble. I mean, if you’re bringing eight kinds of looks, how in the world are opposing hitters going to do anything?

Look at how he attacked left-handed batters with his sinker and four-seamer.

If he was working up in the zone, it was four-seamers in and sinkers away. Although my favorite pitch of the night was the old front door sinker to Max Kepler in the sixth. This was a ridiculous pitch.

When Lugo was down with the fastball array it was generally four-seamers away and sinkers in.

If you read my Lugo appreciation post last week, you know that he spins his curve almost exclusively to lefties. I noted in that post about how Lugo bumped the spin rate on the curve of late. In his first five starts of the season, his curve came in at 3,268 RPMs. Over his next five, his curve averaged 3,365 RPMs. That’s around the time he started amping up the strikeouts. Although he only recorded five strikeouts in his six innings on Wednesday, his curve was spinning at an average of 3,316 RPMs. Pretty much splitting the difference between those sets of starts.

He spotted a lot of those in the zone against left-handed bats.

It’s a pitch the Twins just couldn’t handle. They swung at 11 of them and whiffed on two. They fouled off eight curves. Only one was put in play. It was hit hard and went for a single. Nevertheless, it’s a brutal pitch for opposing hitters to handle.

From there you have…everything else.

The slider and cutter were thrown for strikes. The change was a waste pitch for Lugo. He didn’t throw one close to the zone and the Twins didn’t bite on that pitch all night. Even so, I’d say just the fact he was throwing that pitch meant it was yet another thing Twins hitters had to look for. Or at least be aware of.

Yesterday, I called Lugo the Royals’ second ace. Today, I’m ready to anoint him The Stopper. The Twins have been a difficult matchup for these Royals, but the veteran starter wasn’t having it. Of his five strikeouts, he got one on his four-seamer, one on his slider, one on his curve, one on his sweeper and the one above on his sinker. I’m having a difficult time typing at the moment because I’m laughing so hard. Lugo is just video game cheat code amazing at the moment.

I mean…

That’s a sweeper, in case you’re interested.

Is it too early to start campaigning for him to start the All-Star Game?

Random stat time…

Bailey Ober in his career:
3.84 ERA, 1.8 BB/9, 9.0 SO/9, 1.6 HR/9

Bailey Ober versus the Royals:
7.71 ERA, 1.5 BB/9, 9.2 SO/9, 2.4 HR/9

Don’t look now, but Nelson Velázquez is heating up. Maybe all it takes is writing about a guy in the doldrums and insisting the Royals need to do something. No, that doesn’t explain whatever is continuing with MJ Melendez. This newsletter only yields so much power.

Maybe I need to slow down just a bit. Or at least revise the previous statement. This is more accurate: Don’t look now, but Nelson Velázquez’s power is heating up.

Nelly Nukes split the proverbial atom twice on Wednesday. His first bomb, which came in the third inning, snapped an 0-11 skid. However, if you go back to the final game of the last homestand where he also went yard, he’s now slammed four home runs (plus a double) in his last 11 games. This is an important development in the Royals offense. If Velázquez is going to get the playing time, he has to bring his power stick. Yet what I’m even more encouraged about is that in that span, he’s walked four times and struck out just four times. I’ll take that SO:BB ratio all day long.

Combine the discipline and approach at the plate along with this recent power surge and I’m buying Velázquez for a short-term improvement at the plate. He’s setting himself up for a decent June.

May has been a weird month for The Captain, Salvador Perez. When I write “weird” I mean it’s been a month where he hasn’t hit many home runs. Coming into Wednesday’s game, he had hit just two all month. Yet he’s still been productive with a .347 OBP and a .424 slugging percentage built on the back of seven doubles.

If there’s a yard in the AL Central for Salvy to find his home run mojo, it’s Target Field. Entering play, he’d bashed 21 career dingers in Minneapolis in 90 games. And wouldn’t you know it? He got one off Twins starter Bailey Ober in the fifth.

Four games in Minnesota was always going to be a test for these Royals. The schedule doesn’t get any easier. Three at home against the Padres who are hovering around .500 in the NL West followed by three games at Cleveland. They’re then back home for a set against the Mariners and Yankees with three on the road against the Dodgers. To say the next two weeks are critical in how the rest of this season plays out isn’t an understatement. And they’ll need their Captain locked in for these games. His presence in the middle of the lineup is absolutely vital. And if Nelly Nukes is locked in at the same time, that’s just a little extra length in a lineup that can certainly use it.

Central Issues

Pirates 0, Tigers 8
Pirates 10, Tigers 2

I’ll give you one guess as to which game Tarik Skubal started. Yep. He threw seven shutout innings in game one, striking out eight and walking just one. Detroit scored three runs in the first inning, two of them coming on productive outs. Matt Vierling bashed a three-run dinger in the fifth.

In the second game, Andrew McCutchen broke the game open with a three-run home run in the third. Nick Gonzales added a solo shot an inning later and the Pirates were on their way to a split.

Blue Jays 3, White Sox 1

The Hapless White Sox avoided being shutout for the 11th time this year when Korey Lee homered with two outs in the ninth. The thing they couldn’t avoid? Their 12 loss in their last 13 games.

Guardians 2, Rockies 7

Colorado hung a six-spot on Cleveland and starter Logan Allen in the second inning chasing him from the game. A couple walks, a pair of singles, two doubles and a home run…Yep, that’ll sink a starter. Keep the Rockies on your Christmas card list. They took two of three from the red-hot Guardians.