It Rained, It Poured, the Royals Barely Scored

Zack Littell shut down the Royals before a lengthy rain delay and then the bullpen took them out of the game after it.

It was all in a losing effort, but Brady Singer was good. He only ended up going five innings, but he would likely have at least gotten a chance in the sixth if not for the long rain delay. Sure, he threw more pitches than you’d like, but I thought his stuff looked as good as it’s looked all season. I also think he was the victim of tough luck in the second when he allowed his only run. A chopper to third wasn’t played by CJ Alexander, who hasn’t shown much defensively in his limited time. Then he threw a wild pitch on a ball that got away from him, but I think Salvador Perez should have caught it.

Other than that inning, which ended up requiring 28 of his 88 pitches, I still think it’s the best he’s looked this season. In hindsight, maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised. Singer got the extra day off with Monday’s off day, which meant he was pitching on five days rest. Before last night, he’d made seven of his 16 starts on five or more days of rest. In those situations, he had a 1.91 ERA with 34 hits allowed in 37.2 innings. He had a 25.6 percent strikeout rate. On regular rest, the results were fine, but a 4.01 ERA with a 20.4 percent strikeout rate and 45 hits allowed in 51.2 innings is a far cry from the extra rest numbers. That doesn’t jive with the rest of his career, but I think it’s fair to say that the Singer we saw in 2020-2022 isn’t really the same guy we’re watching today.