Royals Report: Rally-Mantis Magic Gone In Extra Inning Loss

The Royals lost their first game since the appearance of the Rally-Mantis in the Kansas City dugout, falling 7-5 in the 10th inning against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.

The Kansas City Royals fell to 53-59 with the 7-5 loss, and are now 11 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. The Chicago White Sox improved to 54-58 and pulled ahead of the KC Royals to take sole possession of third place in the Central.

The Kansas City Royals did score more than three runs for the third straight game in a row, after failing to break that barrier for nine straight games. So, perhaps the Rally-Mantis was still some help. The Royals did manage to squeeze out they tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning to extend the game into extra innings on Alcides Escobar‘s two-out single to left to bring home Jarrod Dyson, which knotted the score at 4-4.

Unfortunately, Kelvin Herrera broke down in the top of the 10th inning when he gave up a three run home run to Todd Frazier to put the Royals down 7-4. The KC Royals responded with a single tally when Cheslor Cuthbert doubled, advanced to third on an error, and scored on Lorenzo Cain‘s grounder.

More from Kings of Kauffman

• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Day 2 update
• Winter Meetings: Any blockbusters for the KC Royals?
• Grading the 2022 KC Royals: The versatile Nate Eaton
• KC Royals: Club appears ready to hire pitching assistant
• Grading the 2022 KC Royals: Infielder Nicky Lopez

However, the rally fell short and the Kansas City Royals lost 7-5.

The home run has murdered the KC Royals pitching staff all season. The Royals have surrendered 149 home runs in 2016, which is the third worst mark in major-league baseball behind the Cincinnati Reds (179) and Minnesota Twins (154). Clearly, general manager Dayton Moore’s strategy to load up on fly ball pitchers due to the deep fences of Kauffman Stadium has backfired due to the league-wide jump in home runs.

The news from Tuesday isn’t all bad. First, the Kansas City Royals did manage to score three runs off Chicago ace Chris Sale. Second, Cheslor Cuthbert went 3 for 5 and pushed his average over the .300 mark to .301. And, finally, manager Ned Yost moved Alcides Escobar out of the leadoff spot in favor of center-fielder Paulo Orlando.

With the speedy Orlando slashing .331/.354/.434 the move made almost too much sense to be utilized by Ned Yost; however, with the KC Royals losing, I’m afraid that we’ll see Alcides Escobar back in the no. 1 spot in the lineup card on Wednesday.

Next: KC Royals End Homestand With Series Vs. White Sox

The more interesting question is the fate of the Rally-Mantis. Does the team still see her as a good luck charm since they DID score more than three runs for the third game in a row. You can’t blame the Rally-Mantis for a bad pitch, right? Or will the team let Rally-Mantis return to the wild?