Royals Report: 5 Things About Falling Short Against Seattle

The Royals failed to repeat Thursday’s late-game magic when their ninth inning rally fell one run short Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The 3-2 loss caused the Kansas City Royals to fall to 44-42, 8.0 games behind Cleveland and fourth place in the AL Central. The Mariners improved to 44-43 and 9.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West.

KC Royals fans had to come into Friday’s game wondering which Yordano Ventura they would see on the mound. Would he be bad Yordano that lost his composure and get rocked? Or would he dominate?

Instead, we got neither. He was mostly good Yordano. Which, unfortunately, wasn’t good enough when Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma held Royals hitters to five hits, three walks, and one earned run over 6.2 innings with six strikeouts.

On to my observations about Friday’s game:

Next: Yordano Ventura

5) Yordano Ventura Was OK, But Lost His Composure In 6th

The overall line looks good. Ventura went 7.0 innings, while allowing 6 hits, 1 walk, 3 earned runs, and 5 strikeouts. But, it was disappointing nonetheless.

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With two outs in the sixth inning, Ventura gave up a single to Seth Smith and a double to Robinson Cano to put runners at second and third. Nelson Cruz blasted a ball deep into the right field corner, which was initially ruled fair for a three-run home run. But, review showed the ball to be clearly foul.

Smith scored on a wild pitch by Ventura that bounced out from home plate. Then catcher Salvador Perez threw past Ventura, who was attempting to cover home, to allow the second run to score.

That little-league play put the Mariners up 3-1.

Cruz then singled to center field and Kyle Seager also followed with a hit to give the Mariners four consecutive hits in the inning. Adam Lind  smashed a grounder down the first base line, but Eric Hosmer speared the ball to save two runs.

To Ventura’s credit, he came back out for the seventh inning and retired the Mariners in order.

Even so, Yordano Ventura clearly lost his focus as the inning went south on him, and it cost the KC Royals the game.

Next: Jeremy Hellickson

4) Royals Are Seeking PItching Help On The Trade Market

According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Kansas City Royals are putting in their due diligence to find potential rotation help as the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline approaches. 

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MLB.com’s Jon Morosi connected the KC Royals to some names we haven’t heard before: Andrew Cashner of the Padres and former Royals starter Jorge De La Rosa of the Rockies. He also mentioned Rich Hill and Jeremy Hellickson.

Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reported that the Kansas City Royals were interested in Tampa Bay Rays starters Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore.

MLB Trade Rumors saw Jeremy Hellickson as the most logical target, but he’s more of a mid-rotation to bottom of the rotation guy. I’m intrigued by the notion of Andrew Cashner, and another Padres starter in Drew Pomeranz.

I suppose its comforting that a number of sources have been hearing that the KC Royals are looking for starting pitching. But, the problem is there are other shoppers with better prospects to deal. The trade market doesn’t look all that auspicious for the Kansas City Royals at the trading deadline.

Next: Alex Gordon

3) Alex Gordon Tore His Hamstring One Year Ago Today

One of the major turning points of the KC Royals championship season in 2015 occurred one year ago today, when Alex Gordon tore his hamstring chasing a deep drive into left field.

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The hit turned into an inside the park home run when Gordon crumpled to the turf and had to be removed from the field on a cart. Logan Forsythe‘s two-run job put the Tampa Bay Rays up 3-2 in the fourth inning. The Kansas City Royals ended up rallying to win the game 9-7, but lost Gordon for nearly two months.

Paulo Orlando and Jarrod Dyson did an admirable job filling in for Gordon over the next few weeks, but losing Gordon helped general manager Dayton Moore pull the trigger on trading for super-utility man Ben Zobrist from the Oakland A’s. The appeal of Zobrist was that he could fill in for Alex Gordon in the outfield until his return, whereupon he took over at second base for the disappointing Omar Infante.

Moore made this deal even after trading for Cincinnati ace Johnny Cueto. Those two moves gave KC the two best trade pieces on the market at the trading deadline. The pair ended up helping the KC Royals win their first title in 30 years.

Would Dayton Moore have dealt for Zobrist if Gordon hadn’t gotten injured? We’ll never know, but the odds had to be significantly less.

Next: Salvador Perez

2) Salvador Perez Busts Out Of His Slump

Perez broke an 0-23 string with a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 5, but promptly went 0-4 the next day. However, in his last two starts, Perez has gone 4 for 7 with 1 double, 1 home run, and one walk with 3 RBI’s.

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The mini-surge has boosted Perez’s batting average from .273 at the start of play Thursday night, to .280 after he went 1 for 3 with 1 walk on Friday.

Oh yeah, Perez also hit a one-out home run (14) off Mariners closer Steve Cishek to pull the Royals within one run in the ninth inning. After Thursday’s collapse, I’m sure Cishek suffered a few anxious moments on the mound before he finished out the save with two strikeouts.

In fact, Perez was involved in both KC Royals runs on Friday, coming around to score after walking to lead off the fourth inning.

Though Perez’s late-game heroics came up short on Friday, it’s still good to see one of the Kansas City Royals main offensive cogs get back on track. Hopefully, the offense will improve when Lorenzo Cain returns from the DL after the All-Star break.

Next: Brian Flynn