The unraveling

An eighth inning implosion leaves the Royals without that elusive three-game winning streak. Plus, thoughts on the Royals' lone All-Star representative

Now that Aroldis Chapman has been traded away, I wonder how many eighth-inning meltdowns we will be blessed with through the remainder of the season. You know, like the one we saw on Monday in Minneapolis.

Mama said there’d be days like these. Still, it doesn’t make it any easier to watch. It’s a young team that just outplayed the perennial contending Los Angeles Dodgers, taking two of three and winning a series for the first time since mid-May. For a weekend at least, it was easy to feel good about this young team and the hopeful direction in which they seemed to be heading.

Maikel Garcia got the party rolling on Monday, launching a first-pitch ambush over the left field fence for the early lead. Starter Austin Cox had traffic on the bases all evening but did well to keep the Royals in the game. It felt touch and go all night, but good defense, timely ground balls, and some boneheaded Twin baserunning meant that when Cox exited in the bottom of the fifth with two down, the Royals were still in it, trailing 3-2.

It stayed that way until Nick Pratto blasted a home run off the foul pole in right to tie the game at 3 in the eighth inning. Maybe, just maybe, these Royals would find a way to grind out a win and hit their first three-game winning streak of the season.

And then Taylor Clarke undid all that goodwill. All it took was a single pitch. A first-pitch 96 MPH fastball right down the chute to pinch hitter Edouard Julien. Julien didn’t miss and the game was tied no longer. Turns out, that was just the appetizer to a full-course menu the Twins enjoyed in that frame. By the time dessert was served, Clarke was in the showers, charged with allowing five runs in a third of an inning. Included in the smorgasbord of suck was a safety squeeze by Michael A. Taylor that Clarke inexplicably fielded as he was charging toward the first base line while Pratto—as the first baseman—had a clear line on the ball and probably a play at the plate.

I’ll give these baby Royals credit…they didn’t exactly roll over after that inning. With two down in the ninth, they strung together a Nicky Lopez double, a Garcia walk and a Bobby Witt Jr. double to at least give Rocco Baldelli and his staff something to think about.

Alas, the deficit Clarke left was too large to overcome. There will be no three-game winning streak. Not this time. The Royals lost, 8-4. Their record stands at 25-60.

Minnesota now owns a record of 43-43 and is your AL Central “leader.” Seven of those wins have come in eight games against the Royals. The Guardians have only had the pleasure of playing the Royals three times this year, so they come by their 41-43 record (and second place standing) a little more…honestly? at this point.

What an abysmal division.

The Royals travel to Cleveland for four after this series in Minnesota so the Guardians will get their chance.

With the victory over LA on Sunday, the Royals have now won four series this year.

• In San Francisco in early April, they took two of three.

• At home against the White Sox in early May they won three of four

• At San Diego in mid-May, they won two of three.

• And last weekend at The K, they won two of three against the Dodgers.

Hmmmm…Three of their four series wins have come against National League teams located in California. Maybe if John Sherman can’t get his funding for a new stadium, he’ll relocate to Stockton or Modesto or maybe even Death Valley and petition for a switch to the NL. Other than that, I have nothing.

I actually can’t believe this team hasn’t managed to win at least three games in a row yet. That’s just damn near impossible. The A’s somehow reeled off seven wins in a row. The Rockies have won three in a row and they also have a four-game winning streak. The Royals? Bupkis.

I have to think this winning streak drought is approaching historic proportions. Even the ’62 Mets, a team we will probably discuss a lot over the next couple of months, managed a pair of three-game winning streaks on their way to 120 losses.

This is quite something.

Salvador Perez was selected to his eighth All-Star team on Sunday afternoon. He is the Royals’ lone representative. Vote Omar, indeed.

I must admit, I’m a bit flummoxed by the selection process these days. There’s a fan vote, another fan vote, a player vote and the commissioner’s office gets a handful of selections. The manager of the team no longer has a say. That’s the Ned Yost Rule.

It turns out that Salvy was a pick from the commissioner’s office, meaning no Royal was deemed All-Star worthy by either the fans or the players.

The Washington Post had an article on Monday that asked “What Josiah Gray’s all-star nod says about the Nationals’ rebuild,” which I thought was an interesting question. Gray was acquired back in 2021 when the Nats were in the process of tearing down the team that had won the World Series title just a couple of years prior, arriving from LA as part of the package for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.

“Or maybe, given all the factors at play, it simply means their initial building block is a building block indeed. He’s an all-star at 25, regardless of whether you believe Lane Thomas or Jeimer Candelario deserved to go instead of him. Gray has improved and arrived.”

…

“So it’s true the Nationals were required to have at least one all-star — and it’s true that Thomas and Candelario seemed like more logical choices. But that Gray could even be considered is the notable win here, since he’s now a dozen steps closer to having a full and successful life in baseball.

That’s good for Josiah Gray and the Washington Nationals’ rebuild. After all, they’ve often been one in the same.”

So let’s ask the same question: “What does Salvador Perez’s All-Star selection say about the Royals rebuild?”

On one hand, it’s a difficult question even to answer. Other Royals candidates would’ve been Bobby Witt Jr. (leading the team in fWAR), Maikel Franco (nipping at Witt’s heels in almost 50 percent of the playing time) or Scott Barlow (the closer). Interestingly enough, the recently-traded Aroldis Chapman did not garner support from the players to make the roster. That’s…interesting.

I digress. The rules say every team must be represented. The infield is chock full of Blue Jays and José Ramírez as player picks. Putting three catchers on the team (Adley Rutschman is the player’s vote), means it’s kind of a numbers game that puts Perez on the roster. So in that instance, it doesn’t really say much at all about the rebuild.

On the other hand, there’s not a single player on this roster pushing the issue. It would’ve taken the matter out of the hands of the commissioner, had someone from this team…anyone…stepped forward and put together a season that was even borderline impressive.

This is not an indictment of Perez as an All-Star. I think he’s deserving, actually. In the AL, Perez ranks first among catchers in home runs (15), is second in slugging (.451) and RBIs (40). The veteran can still produce with the bat.

However, the fact that the captain, a 12-year veteran of a now perpetually rebuilding organization, is the Royals’ lone All-Star representative, it does say quite a bit about the Royals’ current state of rebuild. Then again, so does a .294 winning percentage.