Kansas City Royals Week Two Review: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

3. Jeremy Guthrie

It seems that, no matter the situation, Jeremy Guthrie has an innate ability to pitch to the score. In those hard fought low scoring games that the Kansas City Royals had been wont to play in over the past few years, that can be a blessing. However, when the Royals are putting runs on the board, Guthrie’s still pitching to the score.

The downside to that was on display Friday. Victimized by the long ball, and the career day of Stephen Vogt, Guthrie gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings, including three solo home runs. That last one was truly tough, as the Royals had taken a 4-3 lead and had Kelvin Herrera warming in the bullpen at the time.

However, we need to realize that this is exactly what Jeremy Guthrie does. He is the perfect fifth starter, someone that can take the ball every time through the rotation and give the Royals six or more innings. He is very good at what he does, and is a perfect fit at the back of the rotation.

Guthrie will have his excellent games, and his not so great games. This week was one of the latter.

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