Royals Recap: Offense Hibernates; Winning Streak Ends

All good things must come to an end and the Kansas City Royals (54-52) 9-game winning streak was halted by an Eric Young, Jr. walk-off, 2-run home run in the bottom of the 11th for the New York Mets (49-58). The final score was 4-2.

Jul 11, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Louis Coleman (31) pitches against the New York Yankees during the eighth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

On the Mound

The pitching was pretty darn good. Wade Davis battled his way through 5 inning. The only runs he allowed were on a 2-run shot by David Wright in the first inning. The Mets got 6 more hits off Davis in the next 4 frames but could not score. Davis struck out 5 and walked none on the evening.

Davis and the bullpen then combined for 9 straight scoreless innings. Kelvin Herrera pitched one, Louis Coleman threw 2 big innings. Aaron Crow worked around a lead-off double in the 9th, and Luis Mendoza worked the final 1.2 innings. It was Mendoza who gave up the game winner.

At the Plate

One word – abysmal.

The Royals scattered a measly 6 hits over 11 innings, two of which came as a one-at-bat pinch hit from the newly acquired Justin Maxwell and another from pitcher Louis Mendoza. The rest of the team had 4 – in 11 innings – and no one had more than 1 hit. Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar, Elliot Johnson, and Jarrod Dyson all had at least 3 at bats with no hits.

The Royals did walk 4 times and only struck out 5 times.

Losing the DH in NL parks kills the Royals and is an incredible disadvantage for teams designed to have a DH as a prominent part of the offense – all AL teams.

This and That

People who want to know why I have been negative about the Royals’ chances of gaining a playoff spot, it is because of this offense. Too many times it has made very average to below average starting pitchers look like superstars. I desperately want them to win, and I know they can’t win them all, but this is not a new problem, it this is why I was so disappointed Dayton Moore did so little at the trade deadline.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

The pitching was very good once again. Louis Coleman‘s performances since he has been recalled beg the question as to why J.C. Gutierrez was ever on this ball club. What more does Coleman have to do to prove he belongs? So far this season, Colman has pitched 13.2 innings. He has allowed ZERO runs. He has allowed 5 hits. He has struck out 17 and walked 2. His WHIP is .512, or basically, a base runner every 2 innings.

Last night, he pitched 2 perfect innings with 3 strikeout. You want to know why the Royals could have traded Greg Holland? His name is Louis Coleman – our Player of the Game!

• James Shields – 9
• Alex Gordon – 12
  
• Wade Davis – 5
• Lorenzo Cain – 8
• Luis Mendoza – 3
• Billy Butler – 8
• Ervin Santana – 7
• Miguel Tejada – 5
  
• Jeremy Guthrie -4
• Eric Hosmer – 10
  
• Chris Getz
• Mike Moustakas – 5
  
• Aaron Crow
• Jarrod Dyson – 3
  
• David Lough – 8
• Alcides Escobar – 5
• J.C. Gutierrez
• Jeff Francoeur
• Bruce Chen – 2
• Salvador Perez – 4
• Will Smith
• George Kottaras
• Louis Coleman – 2
  
• Bruce Chen

The Mets

Dillon Gee went 7 innings, giving up just 1 run on 2 3 hits and 2 walks. He K’d 4. He lowered his ERA to 3.97.

Ike Davis went 3-3 with a walk but wasn’t involved in the scoring. Wright and Young were the only other Mets with multiple hits and their homers in the first and last innings accounted for all the scoring.

Up Next

Bruce Chen (4-0, 2.09 ERA) will try to continue with his good pitching since being re-inserted into the rotation. He will go up against Jeremy Hefner (4-8, 4.21 ERA) at 12:10.

AL Central Notes

Detroit Tigers (62-45): The Tigers extend their own streak to 6 games and are now 8 games ahead of the Royals – right where they were at the All-Star break. Doug Fister allowed 1 run in 8 innings and Austin Jackson hit his 7th home run in the 2-1 victory over the White Sox.

Cleveland Indians (60-49): The Indians streak came crumbling down with a 10-0 thrashing at the hands of the Miami Marlins. Rookie Jose Fernandez threw 8 3-hit innings for the win. The Indians struck out 16 times and only walked once.

Minnesota Twins (40-60): The Twins banged out 11 hits in their 13 inning, 4-3 win over the Astros. Brian Dozier, Justin Morneau, and Oswaldo Arcia all had multiple hits. The Twins bullpen allowed just 1 run in 7 innings.

Chicago White Sox (40-67): The White Sox out hit the Tigers 7-6, but lost 2-1. Hector Santiago went 7 strong innings, surrendering both runs. Alex Rios and Adam had 2 hits each in the Sox’ 8 straight loss.