Lorenzen, the Pen and Enough Offense

The Royals didn't need much from their bats because Michael Lorenzen, John Schreiber and Lucas Erceg didn't allow a run.

It felt like a bullpen night. Early on, it was pretty clear Michael Lorenzen didn’t have it. You can’t tell much from the first batter, but he gave up a hit on a middle-middle sinker. He threw another one on the seventh pitch of the next at bat, but it was hit right to Maikel Garcia at third to start a double play. Then he hit the next guy with a curve and got a hard groundout to second to end the inning. He’d faced four batters, left multiple pitches right down the middle and was walking off the mound with a scoreless first.

It was a similar trend in the second. A nine-pitch walk led off the inning. Oof. He made some great pitches to the next batter, but still went to 3-2 before he got him looking. He got a pop out on a sweeper right down the middle before he gave up a 110.4 MPH single to center. But the inning ended with a ground out. Then in the third, more of the same. A strikeout started the inning, but it took six pitches. Then he walked a batter and gave up a hit on a hit-and-run. But he worked out of that too. Through three innings, Lorenzen looked awful, but he had thrown three shutout innings. No way that would last.