Kansas City Royals: Friday night’s walk-off could be a glimpse of future
The Kansas City Royals had their first walk-off win of the 2018 season on Friday night and it was great to finally see some excitement from this ball club. Is this a sign of what’s to come for the Royals?
It’s been no secret this year that the Kansas City Royals are tanking. That might not have been the plan going into the season, but now it’s evident that the Royals are not just bad, but historically bad.
They’re on pace to easily lose 100 games (maybe even 110-120) and it’s been tough to find many bright spots. On Friday night, however, Royals fans might have gotten a glimpse of the future of the franchise.
The Royals had a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning, but Brandon Maurer served up a two-run homer and just like that, the Cleveland Indians were ahead 4-3. It felt just like any other game and Royals fans didn’t expect to see a victory at the K on Friday.
This is the first time in MLB history that two rookies have hit back-to-back home runs to tie and win a game in the 9th inning or later. #RaisedRoyal pic.twitter.com/0OcYqRUFsU
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 25, 2018
Well, in the ninth inning, Ryan O’Hearn stepped up to the plate and crushed a home run to tie things up. At that point, Royals fans were excited, but it was still only a tie game. Fortunately, Hunter Dozier heard those points and came up with the walk-off home run.
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As Dozier rounded the bases, Kauffman Stadium was jacked and it felt like maybe, just MAYBE, this could be a glimpse of the future.
Neither guy is a surefire option to even be around for the future of the Royals, but they stated their cases on Friday with those back-to-back bombs. O’Hearn could be the first baseman until Nick Pratto gets called up and Hunter Dozier has played third since Mike Moustakas was traded.
When Kelvin Gutierrez is ready to contribute to the bigs, Dozier might get phased out, but maybe that home run sparked something in him and he can become a more comfortable hitter. Then, at the very least, he could be the designated hitter.
The Kansas City Royals are still 51 games under .500 and they’re going nowhere this year or next year, but for one night, we got to see something positive from two of the new guys on the team. That’s a sign that maybe this team is starting to gel and learning to play and win together. That’s the best thing that Royals fans can ask for at this point in time.
The winning seasons are still a few years away, but Friday night provided a brief look at what is potentially to come with this team.