Kansas City Royals return to winning ways against Seattle

Jun 22, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Joe Blanton (49) throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Just over 24-hours after taking a beating at the hands of the last place Boston Red Sox the Kansas City Royals began a 9-game road trip by seeking to return the favor against the Seattle Mariners and “King” Felix Hernandez.

In a game that featured a match-up between a former Cy Young winner in Hernandez and a former winery owner in Joe Blanton, it appeared, on paper at least, that the Mariners would have the upper hand in Game 1 of this 4 game set.  The first inning did nothing to quell that perception.

The night did not begin well for the Boys in Blue as Joe Blanton, making his second turn through the starting rotation surrendered a first-inning home run to Robinson Cano.  The Royals, showing the resilancy that they have put on display throughout the first half of 2015 proved able to bounce right back by plating 2 runs in the 2nd inning thanks to RBI by Alex Rios and projected All-Star Omar Infante.

Kansas City was able to add an additional run in inning number 3 as Alcides Escobar, after leading off the inning with a single was able to trot home easily as Mike “Moose” Moustakas drilled a laser beam off the right field wall. The Royals would miss an opportunity for a big inning thanks to a couple of strikeouts and a questionable display of baserunning by Kendrys Morales.  The inability of the Royals to deliver a knockout blow against Hernandez proved to be a recurring theme throughout the night as  Hernandez managed to deliver 6 2/3 innings while surrendering 9 hits while giving up four runs.

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Meanwhile, after shaking off that first inning home run, Joe Blanton seemed quite content to perform his best Cy Young impersonation. Seriously, how good was Joe Blanton tonight?  Blanton’s performance (6IP, 1 H, 7 K’s, 0 BB) was a welcome sight for a Royals team (and their fans) whose starting rotation is in all kinds of shambles.  Before departing at the top of the 7th Inning, Blanton retired 16 of the final 17 Seattle hitters that had the audacity to step into the box against him.

Once Blanton departed in the 7th inning the outcome of the game appeared to be a foregone conclusion. It mattered not that the Royals were unable to muster any additional offensive production. The final three innings of this contest proved to be vintage Kansas City Royals.  Kelvin Herrera entered in relief of Blanton and proceeded to throw nothing but gas, Wade Davis did all the things that Wade Davis does in inning number 8, and Greg “Save Man” Holland proved more than willing to slam the door on Seattle in the 9th.