A Royals Split in St. Louis
It could have been a sweep for the Royals, but winning one is better than winning none.
Sweeping a doubleheader makes for some for some pretty easy writing. Getting swept in a doubleheader makes for the topics to come easier, but the writing isn’t as fun. Splitting a doubleheader makes me feel like Larry David.
Winning one is better than not winning one, but, especially when a 3-0 lead was blown in game one, it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Still, the goal is to win series and the Royals taking the nightcap gave them the second win in a three-game series and the third straight game of an offense that looked pretty, dare I say it, competent.
Was it the arrival of Jac Caglianone that jump-started this offense? Maybe! He did get his first hit in the first game of the series. I think there is something to adding a guy to the lineup who provides a threat to hit the ball out of the park. I wonder if the bigger change is that the lineup is optimized a bit better. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt when the 7-8-9 hitters go 5 for 11 as they did in the second game.
Make sure you’re catching Caglianone Kauffman Corner every Thursday. You can catch us live at 8:30 on YouTube and other social channels or listen anywhere you find your podcasts. Or just come back here on Friday mornings as I’ll get the video posted here for you to watch. Soren, Les and I are having a great time with this.
The day started on a note we haven’t seen very much. Jonathan India stepped to the plate to start a game. Now, he has been much better lately. He went 3 for 9 in the two games and is now hitting .280/.353/.371 since he moved back in the box just a touch. If he hit that the rest of the season, the trade was worth it. But what he hasn’t done much is put the ball over the wall. In fact, coming into the day yesterday, he had done it just once.
That changed two pitches into the game.
That’s not a cheap shot either. No, it technically wouldn’t have gone out in Kauffman Stadium, but still, to hit a ball 401 feet is nothing to sneeze at.