Kings Of Kauffman
FanSided

Royals Report: Friday’s Win And Hanging With The President

By John Viril

Jul 21, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost (R) presents President Barack Obama an honorary jersey at a ceremony honoring the world series champion Royals in the East Room at the White House. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY NETWORK
Jul 21, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost (R) presents President Barack Obama an honorary jersey at a ceremony honoring the world series champion Royals in the East Room at the White House. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY NETWORK /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Jul 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis (17) pitches in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Kansas City won 8-4. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis (17) pitches in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Kansas City won 8-4. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

2) The Return Of The Three-Headed Bullpen Monster

Friday night, KC Royals manager Ned Yost got 2.1 shut down innings from the back end of his bullpen to finish out the game. It’s about time the three-headed bullpen monster did the job in Kansas City. 

More from KC Royals News

With the Royals scoring around 4.0 runs per game, they’re going to have to hold onto leads in the second half of the season if they’re to make a run at division-leader Cleveland. Either Luke Hochevar, Joakim Soria, or Brian Flynn is going to have to seize that seventh inning role so that the KC Royals can go back to dominating the late-innings by the time the playoffs roll around.

On Friday night, Hoch got the job done. Yet, we’ve seen both him and Joakim Soria look like they’ve overcome their troubles only to get blown up by opposing hitters.

While the KC Royals 3.13 ERA is still sixth best in MLB, they’ve fallen off from their earlier pace as the best bullpen in the league. That drop reflects the recent struggles of setup men Hochevar and Soria.

Somehow, Ned Yost has to figure out how to stop the bleeding and get back to dominating the late innings. Friday night was a good start.

Next: Hanging With The Prez

Home/KC Royals News