Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun
It's always a good day when you can win two games and the Royals did just that.
The prevailing wisdom is that most doubleheaders end in a split, but I looked it up last year and that really wasn’t the case. It was pretty near 50/50 in terms of splits and sweeps. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the better team swept the doubleheader yesterday because the Rockies look like worthy foe to the 2024 White Sox. But nothing should be taken away from the Royals for beating the team in front of them. I can’t tell you yet if they’re a good team; I think that’s undecided. But I feel a lot better about them not being a bad team because they’ve handled their business when they’re supposed to. They’ll get a chance against a better team this weekend.
Before I get into yesterday’s doubleheader action, I want to share yesterday’s Kauffman Corner podcast, as I do every Friday around these parts.
I know I’ve said this before, but we’re having a freaking blast every Thursday morning. You can catch us live on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook (maybe more, but I’m not actually entirely sure), or you can watch it later or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.
I suppose this is also an excellent opportunity to let you know that I’ve launched a YouTube channel! Jared Koller has kindly offered to partner with me on some video endeavors. If you’re looking for more Inside the Crown content, please subscribe and like the videos. As Soren says with the podcast, likes are free, so I’d love the support there as well!
Now that I’ve provided your weekly commercial, let’s get back to what’s actually happening on the field. It was a great day for the Royals. Any time you can win two games in one day, you feel good about that. That said, the first game provided some moments of trepidation, particularly with their ace on the mound.
Cole Ragans was looking to bounce back from a tough start against the Rockies, and it just didn’t look right from the start for him. He walked the leadoff man and then I feel like just struggled with command for the rest of his outing. Even one of his outs was pretty lucky. Ryan McMahon grounded out sharply to first on a 92.1 MPH fastball right down the middle. On a different day when McMahon isn’t struggling mightily, that ball might have been a two-run home run. The very next batter, he got beat on a changeup that wasn’t horrible, but was just up enough to get to the outfield and drive in the first run for the Rockies.