Cold Bats, Leaky Bullpen, Didn't Win

The start was solid, but it wasn't enough because the Royals offense and bullpen couldn't back it up.

If you were to ask any Royals fan their biggest fear about any given Royals game, it would basically be what happened yesterday in Seattle. The starting pitcher kept the team in the game with a solid performance, but the offense was non-existent to start the game and when they were able to scratch across a run or two, the bullpen wasn’t terrible, but was just bad enough to keep giving the opponent a run here and there. So often this year, the Royals have been just good enough, but yesterday they were just not good enough. And if everything were to fall apart, this would be the formula.

The lack of position player depth also showed up. Maikel Garcia needed a day off. Matt Quatraro, and most managers really, likes to give a day off before an off day to actually give two days off. So Adam Frazier played third base. While he did go 2 for 4 at the top of the lineup, he made a critical error that allowed the Mariners to score their first run. It’s a play I think is fair to assume Garcia would have made because he generally makes it. No guarantees, of course, but it’s always frustrating when a backup makes an error the starter likely wouldn’t.

I’m not going to dwell on the offensive struggles. We know what they are, and when Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez combine to go 1 for 11 with six strikeouts, this team simply isn’t likely to score runs. Witt did get both of the RBIs for the offense. One was on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and nobody out and the Royals didn’t score again that inning. The other was on a groundout with runners on second and third and one out. Hey, an out that scores a run is better than an out that doesn’t.