Royals Report: 5 Things About Damaging Loss To Cardinals

The Royals lost 8-4 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night to split the home phase of their season series at one game a piece. The teams move to St. Louis for two games to finish their inter-league series.

The Kansas City Royals fell to 40-36, and six games behind the surging Cleveland Indian in the AL Central. The Cardinals improved to 40-36,  and remain 10 games behind the Cubs in second place in the NL Central.

The loss to the Cardinals snapped the KC Royals two-game winning streak and caused Kansas CIty to suffer a losing home stand by dropping three out of five games. The Kansas City Royals still hold the best home record in baseball at 27-11.

The Cardinals opened the second inning by scoring three runs against KC Royals starter Yordano Ventura, only to see the boys in blue respond with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame. St. Louis broke open the game by scoring two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to take an 8-2 lead.

Though the Kansas City Royals answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinals remained in control for a fairly easy win.

The most significant development of the game came in the seventh inning when KC Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain attempted to beat out an infield single. Cain pulled up lame just past first base, holding his left hamstring. He left the game and will see a doctor to determine his injury status on Wednesday.

On to my observations about Tuesday’s game:

Next: Yordano Ventura

5) Yordano Ventura Struggles In His Return From Suspension

Yordano Ventura followed his blow up against Baltimore with two dominant starts as he challenged his nine-day suspension from major-league baseball. His appeal shaved a day off of his suspension and he served his eight-game penalty before making his start on Tuesday.

Ventura struggled in his return, giving up seven earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched, allowing 7 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 4.

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Honestly, Ventura looked out of sorts the entire game and never really hit a groove. The poor performance inflated his season ERA to 5.00.

Ventura’s inconsistency makes KC Royals fans wonder if the team can rely on Ventura as the season progresses. Long believed to possess “ace” stuff, his performance continues to degrade from his strong rookie season in 2014 when he went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA.

So far this season, Ventura has gyrated between dominance and failure. His struggles seem more in his head than any lack of ability or physical shortcoming. In many ways, he reminds me of the talented Jake Arrieta with the Baltimore Orioles before he blossomed into an ace after his trade to the Chicago Cubs.

Hopefully, Yordano Ventura will realize his potential before leaving the Kansas City Royals. But, I’m beginning to wonder if he will require a change of scenery before harnessing his full talent.

Next: Edinson Volquez

3) Will The Indians Ever Freaking Lose?

Though the KC Royals split their last 10 games, they’ve lost five games in the standings as the Cleveland Indians have won 11 straight.

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The Royals had been tied for first place in the AL Central after sweeping the Indians in a three game series at Kauffman Stadium June 13-16. The KC Royals remained right with the Indians by winning three of their next four against the Tigers. As recently as June 19, the Royals were only 0.5 behind Cleveland.

Since that day, the Indians have opened up a six game lead in the AL Central with their 11-game winning streak. A little over two weeks ago the top four teams in the AL Central were bunched within two games of one another in what shaped up to be a dogfight to the finish.

Now, it appears that the Indians could pull a 1977 Kansas City Royals, who seized control of the AL West by winning 25 of 26 games in August on their way to a franchise-record 102 wins. If the Indians continue to win, they could force the KC Royals into a contest for the Wild Card rather than the AL Central division crown.

If the Indians can extend their lead to 10 games or so by the trade deadline, it could affect Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore’s strategy at the trade deadline. Giving up prospects to bolster the playoff run for a team with little chance at a division title makes far less sense, due to the risk of losing the Wild Card game (which some pundits call the coin flip game).

The KC Royals really need to stay within shouting distance of the Indians over the next few weeks, since their next chance to make up ground directly doesn’t come until the teams meet in a three game series at kauffman Stadium July 18-20. After that July series, the teams do not play each other until six games in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Next: Alcides And Kendrys

2) Alcides Escobar And Kendrys Morales Remain Hot

Alcides Escobar went 2-4 on Tuesday while hitting from the no. 2 hole with left fielder Alex Gordon resting. The hits extended Escobar’s hitting streak to nine games, and was his third multi-hit game in a row.

His recent surge has lifted his batting average from .240 on June 17 to .260 on June 29. Escobar is 16 of 40 over his last nine game, which is a .400 batting average over that span.

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Meanwhile, Kendrys Morales also went 2 for 4, which was his fourth straight multi-hit game. Morales is a scorching 10 for 16 over his last four games, which works out to a ludicrous .625 batting average. I guess that means he’s out of his slump.

Morales is now hitting a vastly-improved .247/.312/.408 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs after slashing .367/.425/.582 in the month of June. I think it is safe to say that the struggles of his first two months are behind him.

At this point in the season, the KC Royals offense doesn’t appear to be a problem, despite the team’s low run total. I expect the Kansas City Royals to score significantly more runs in the rest of the season, pending news about Lorenzo Cain‘s hamstring on Wednesday.

Next: Whit Merrifield

1) Whit Merrifield Facing His First Big Challenge

Whit Merrifield’s first mini-slump continued on Tuesday when he went 0-5 with two strikeouts against the Cardinals. He’s hit a mere 2-14 with eight strikeouts over his last three games, which is now the first rough patch of his major-league career after an almost idyllic six weeks.

Tuesday’s game snapped Merrifield’s 18-game string of reaching base at Kauffman Stadium. Merrifield has given KC Royals fans hope that the team has found their first true lead-off hitter in years, if he can respond to the adjustments pitchers have made against him.

Merrifield’s performance over the next few weeks will likely determine if his debut is for real, or simply a hot streak. At this point, his floor seems to be as a useful utility player that can play plus defense at every position except catcher. For him to establish himself as a major-league regular, Merrifield will have to show he’s got the bat to hold down an everyday job.

Next: Lorenzo Cain's Injury Presents Another Obstacle

For Merrifield to remain an asset as a lead-off hitter, he needs to show he can post OBP over .340 for the long term. I wish I had a read on the expected outcome of this little drama, but I can’t really say I have any idea how it will play out. I guess that’s why they play the games, to paraphrase ESPN announcer Chris Berman’s famous tag line.