Royals Report: 5 Things About Collapse In Toronto

1) Kelvin Herrera Flops As The Setup Man

Kelvin Herrera has improved this season by adding a slider to his fastball/change-up mix. The third pitch has clearly made him much more difficult to hit. But, none of that helped on Wednesday.

Herrera came into the game with the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Herrera struck out the first two hitters, but then gave up a double to Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, a single to Michael Saunders to score the lead run, and a double to catcher Russell Martin to put Toronto ahead 4-2 going into the final frame.

Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna finished off the Royals in the ninth despite a two-out single from first baseman Eric Hosmer. Game over.

The late rally killed the KC Royals hopes of salvaging the finale of their three-game set against the Blue Jays, and left the team with yet another losing road trip at 3-5. That’s a pretty disappointing result after the Kansas City Royals began the trip with two consecutive wins over the Cardinals in St. Louis.

I must confess, I’m getting pretty annoyed by the KC Royals continued inability to win on the road. When their starting pitching isn’t a disaster, they can’t hit. When the offense pulls off a late-comeback, the supposedly dominant bullpen fails.

Next: Kendrys Morales Back Locks Up

The Kansas City Royals seem stuck in “mediocre” this year, and I just don’t see them pulling off a second half run like they did in 2014 when Raul Ibanez inspired his then-inexperienced teammates to have confidence in themselves. The 2016 Royals don’t lack confidence, they’re just running out of bodies.