Kansas City Royals Rewind: Lorenzo Cain Continues to Amaze

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Joe Blanton

In his first few weeks with the Kansas City Royals, Joe Blanton looked like a much different pitcher than he had been throughout his career. Perhaps Dave Eiland and Dayton Moore had found some sort of magic pitching formula, capable of bringing players like Blanton to heights they were unable to reach elsewhere.

This week, the balloon burst for Blanton. In his two starts, spanning 7.2 innings, Blanton allowed nine runs on 14 hits and four walks. While Blanton did continue his ability to rack up strikeouts, striking out six, he was not exactly missing many bats.

That performance was enough for the Royals to pull Blanton from the rotation. While it was likely that he would have lost his place anyway with the imminent return of Yordano Ventura, Blanton’s struggles last week certainly did not do him any favors.

Joe Blanton had established himself as a solid bullpen option before being thrust back into the starting rotation due to the Kansas City Royals injury issues. Now, after his struggles over the past week, Blanton finds himself back in a relief role.

And now, those players who helped the Royals chances last week.

Next: A solid start when the Royals needed it