Two Great Plate Appearances in April
So much more went into yesterday's Royals win, but I can't stop thinking about two plate appearances in particular.
Winning Major League Baseball games is not easy. Winning a series isn’t easy. Winning a series against a division opponent isn’t easy. All of that should be celebrated even if sometimes it might seem underwhelming in how they got there. And the Royals did what they were supposed to do both this series against the Twins, in winning three of four and on the homestand as a whole, winning five of seven. It wasn’t quite the performance from last year when they came home 2-4 and went back on the road at 9-4, but give the opponents, I’d argue it was just as impressive. And whether you win ugly or pretty, they all count the same in the standings.
Of course, winning pretty is a little easier to see a path to sustainability, but wins are wins. Having said all of that, I’ll get to the game as a whole, but I really want to spend some time today on the two plate appearances we were lucky enough to see in the bottom of the seventh with the Royals down 2-1. It sure felt like it was going to be another loss where we lament the lack of offense (and we still can lament that!), but with runners on first and third, the leadoff hitter and the number two batter did what they’re supposed to do.
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In the seventh, the tide started turning with one out when Freddy Fermin was hit by a pitch and newly called up Drew Waters bounced a single to center. That put runners on first and third with one out for the top of the order. That meant it was time for Jonathan India, who got on base three times in three straight games to end March, but since the calendar turned to April had hit .133/.278/.233 up to that at bat. It’s easy to see that he was still working walks with six in 36 plate appearances, but he hasn’t exactly been lighting the world on fire.
Classic India. While some others in the lineup might be allergic to not chasing pitches, India just doesn’t expand the zone. This cutter is just a hair off the plate and designed to get some weak contact.
With runners on first and third and one out, in order, the Twins want India to:
Hit into a double play
Strike out or pop up
Hit a grounder right to someone
Hit a line drive right to someone