KC Royals Fantasy Heroes: Kendrys Morales Clips Cardinals

Kendrys Morales was all the the KC Royals needed Friday night as they defeated the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 in front of nearly 40,000 fans.

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The designated hitter had three hits, two of them home runs, and all five of the game’s RBI as the Royals improved to a Major League best, 27-14.

The first-year Royal took a Lance Lynn pitch deep to right field in the first inning with two on to open the scoring.

In his next at-bat, he deposited a two-run shot in the right field seats again, for his sixth home run and American League best 36th and 37th RBI.

But if you asked Morales for that info, he’d tell you he had no clue. As reported by the AP on ESPN.com, Morales wasn’t paying attention to his stats.

"“I wasn’t even playing this time last year,” Morales said through an interpreter. “I didn’t know I was leading the league in RBIs. That’s the first I heard of it.”"

Morales is making a great case for his first All-Star selection. In addition to his RBI performance, he also leads the AL in doubles, is third in batting average (.305), and tied for fifth in home runs among designated hitters. Since his main role on the team is to hit the ball, it’s safe to say he is succeeding up to this point.

Kudos to KC Royals general manager Dayton Moore are in order. He already has helped build a cornerstone of home grown players, but this move from the outside has so far paid off handsomely.

The decision by Moore to sign him was hammered online and through talk radio, but at $17 million over two years, Morales now seems cheap.

Last year was not one of his best, but the Cuban native is just two years removed from his .277, 23-home run, 80-RBI performance with Seattle. He’s on pace for a .306, 24, 146 season.

Not bad Dayton.

And not bad Morales. The performance Friday was one for the ages, and now has St. Louis on its heels with two games left in the series.

While he was great, it also took another strong performance from starting pitcher Chris Young, who went six innings, allowing just six hits and zero runs. He is now 4-0 with a .40 ERA as a starter this season.

Of course, he never trailed while on the mound as Morales put up the three spot just one inning after Young toed the rubber.

To that, KC Royals fans said “thank you,” and enjoyed the rest of the night, watching their team pass the state’s other team for MLB’s best record.

Next: Predicting Royals All-Star Selections - Infielders

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