The Royals take advantage

After a couple of difficult series to open the season, the Royals welcome the White Sox to Kansas City and were gracious hosts.

It’s rude to refuse a gift. And if the White Sox arrive at Kauffman Stadium bearing said gift (or, more appropriately gifts) what are the Royals to do.

Accept them of course. Cash them in for runs. Multiple runs.

The Royals had four hits in the eighth inning. The White Sox offered three walks, a wild pitch and an error on a ground ball that would’ve ended the inning. The error opened the floodgates and provided the margin of a 10-1 victory.

A couple of quick thoughts as we slide into the weekend like Bobby Witt Jr. going into home.

I don’t know what we did to deserve Bobby Witt Jr., but I’m so damn glad he’s in Kansas City and locked up long-term.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth, Witt was on first and Salvador Perez was at the plate. Perez grounded a ball to short. It wasn’t hard hit by any means as the pitch was a slider way off the plate and you know the captain is on that like a sugar fiend is on Skittles. Shortstop Braden Shewmake came in on the ball and it looked like he thought his play was to flip the ball to second to force Witt for the final out of the inning. That would’ve been fine, except Witt was busting his ass like he was attempting a steal. The speed caught Shewmake off guard and he kicked the ball into the outfield.

That meant Kyle Isbel who was on third and Maikel Garcia who was on second both scored easily. And Witt…My god, Bobby Witt. He saw Shewmake boot the grounder and flipped on the afterburners, picking up a full head of steam as he hit third and then carried on to score. Credit to third base coach Vance Wilson for going down the line and sending Witt.

I don’t believe I have ever seen three runners score on an error committed by the shortstop. Oh, the things Bobby Witt Jr. can do.

Watching Seth Lugo pitch a night after seeing Cole Ragans on the mound is a study in contrasts. It’s as extreme as whiplash.

Lugo is out there throwing his four-seam at 92 MPH on average and complimenting it with a curve and slider while mixing in the occasional sinker and changeup. He’s not overpowering hitters and piling up the swings and misses, nor is he avoiding hard contact. What he is doing is generating ground balls and getting exactly what he needs. On Thursday through the first three innings, Lugo allowed three singles and a walk, yet he emerged unscathed as he rolled up three double plays.

I’m enough of a sicko that I was actually rooting for Lugo to give up at least one single early in the fourth. Just so they could go four for four in double plays. Lugo did his part, actually allowing back-to-back singles with one out, and he did induce a ground ball, but it was hit in a position where Witt’s only play was to first. Alas.

The double play bailed Lugo out when he was at his most serious trouble which came in the sixth. A leadoff walk, a double and a single saw the Royals’ lead cut to one. With five tight games in their first six and knowing how the bullpen has performed thus far, the idea of the White Sox battling to get back into this game was rather unappetizing.

But this is the White Sox. Odds are strong they’ll do something stupid. (Actually, that should be a category on DraftKings or whatever…”Will the White Sox do something stupid? (2/1)”) In this case, Shewmake lofted a short fly ball to right. It was high and it was, at 230 feet, short. Hunter Renfroe didn’t seem to track the ball at one point but settled under it to make the catch. Gavin Sheets inexplicably broke for home. Renfroe may not have the arm he used to possess, but it still looks good in the first week of the season. He delivered a one-hop seed to Perez at home and Sheets was out with room to spare.

Four double plays! Seth Lugo’s best friend.

In his first two starts for the Royals, Lugo has allowed one earned run in 12.2 innings. He’s walked three while striking out seven. Again, not a ton of swing and miss, but that’s not his game. His ground ball rate is 55 percent.

The mega eighth inning overshadowed the night Nelson Velázquez had and the role he played in getting the Royals out in front. He opened the scoring in the bottom of the second driving home Melendez who had doubled with one out. Velázquez doubled his RBI output two innings later when he launched one 429 geet for his second home run of the year.

Normally, when a ball is dunked into the fountains I like to show that part in the GIF. Except Velázquez put that ball into orbit with some serious hang time. So for the sake of the upload, I present only the swing. Which was quick and violent enough to satisfy my craving for home runs.

Oh! Velázquez also jumpstarted the rally in the eighth as the first man to reach base in the inning, drawing a one-out walk.

I like how Matt Quatraro stacked his lineup on Thursday, dropping Hunter Renfroe to seventh and moving Velázquez up to sixth. That meant there were three right-handers hitting in a row in the bottom of the order, but if Renfroe and Velázquez are going to be in the lineup at the same time, that will work. And Quatraro maintains options on the bench for a little late-inning manuvering should the situation mandate it.