Pitching and Triples Fuel a Royals Win

Back-to-back triples, a solid start, an old duo and Sam Long made sure the Royals handled game one of their big series.

You can’t sweep a series without winning the first game. And you can’t win the first game (or any game, for that matter) without scoring a run. Much like so many games the Royals have played lately, it felt like a shutout was in play, but one inning was enough because the pitching was outstanding for the Royals in this one. Michael Wacha did his job, for the most part. John Schreiber and James McArthur went six up, six down in the eighth and ninth to evoke memories of a forgotten era, April. But the biggest pitches of the game were thrown by a guy who was playing in AAA stadiums up until a little over a month ago.

In a game where the Royals hit back-to-back triples to score both of their runs, Sam Long stands out to me as the star of the game. Yes, that Sam Long; the one who signed a minor league deal with the Royals and had a good spring but didn’t make the team. The one who has had an ERA of 5.50 or better in two of his three big league seasons before 2024. The one who didn’t give up an earned run in any of his first 11 appearances but had given up runs in each of his last two. When he was summoned from the bullpen with runners on second and third and one out and the Royals already trailing 1-0, let’s just say I wasn’t so sure it would be 1-0 for much longer.