The Royals paid tribute to the 2015 team on Tuesday night. They produced early runs and scored a slim victory. Oh, and remember how exciting 2015 felt? That’s exactly what tonight’s about.
Carlos Santana provided the offense early, with a sacrificial fly in the first innings and an RBI foundation in the third. After a homer from Shohei Ohtani to make it 2-1, the Royals got the lead when Salvador Perez hit an RBI single in the fifth goal. Perez, fresh from his 1,000th career hit, remained white-hot by extending the lead to 3-1.
Danny Duffy, who had a season debut without six runs, was tremendous in his second start of the year. He turns six innings of one run, turns six and hits eight hits. The only one who caused damage was the Ohtani homer. Overall, he was fantastic, and the Royals will take absolutely one run through 12 overs from a man who struggled in the rotation just at the start of the year. Duffy seems focused and upbeat after a few last years. If he can return to 2016 form, the Royals will have a much better chance of venturing into deep summer.
Wade Davis led 3-1 in eighth place and struck two of the first three holders and placed two men with one from the points ladder. With the tie on second base, Davis got two runs and Greg Holland ended the innings, which was an ode to the dominant bulls of the mid-2010s.
In the ninth, Greg Holland turned on two men with one out, but in 2015 he came out of it. He beat Mike Trout, who turned four times for the first time since 2017, to take out the second. After walking Albert Pujols to load the bases, I do not even know what happened next. Holland throws an almost wild field, the ball bounces off Jared Walsh’s penis (really) and ends up right in the glove of Salvador Perez. While David Fletcher was stuck halfway between the third and the house, Salvy thought a wild pitch would dawn.
A lucky bounce from someone’s cup is a great way to win a match in 2015. The Royals did it.
Duffy (2-0) scored the victory. Dylan Bundy, who hit well, lost the loss (0-1). Holland went out again for the ninth innings and deserved the save, his first.
Jake Brentz should also get a lot of credit for throwing a perfect seventh innings. He had a very nice stroke when he hit the corner at 100 km / h. If left, he feels like a future elite bullpen piece.
Whit Merrifield picks up two more hits. Perez fits him with two. The Royals had just five hits as a team, with the 4-5-6-7-8-9 spots in the order being 0-for-17.
The Royals are 5-4. They are going for an afternoon in the series tomorrow, where Brad Keller will try for the third time to get his season on track. Maybe he can lower his ERA from 19.29.