Kansas City Royals: Bats explode in 10-6 win over SF

On the heels of a 4-4 tie with the Athletics, the Kansas City Royals’ bats caught fire in a 10-6 win over the Giants. Read below for a breakdown of what went right, what went wrong and what’s next for the team. 

Positives:

Whit Merrifield was his usual “two-hit Whit” self, launching a home run in the top of the 4th inning off Derek Holland.

The Spring Training productivity continued from Alex Gordon. He didn’t register a hit, but a sacrifice fly and a walk were more than enough to secure the W.

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Terrance Gore and Erick Mejia each drove in two runs and combined to go 3-for-3 on the day. Because there aren’t high expectations of either player, that makes their performances that much sweeter.

Brian Flynn got the starting nod and pitched two scoreless innings, including a pair of strikeouts.

Innings 2-8 went relatively swimmingly. Although Sam Gaviglio walked a pair of batters and gave up a run, he tossed two innings and struck out three batters in the process. Blaine Boyer, Scott Barlow, and Brad Keller combined for four innings of shutout baseball following Gaviglio and Flynn.

Negatives:

Despite the win, there are still some things we need to point out, beginning with the performance of Scott Blewett. He almost blew it (get my pun)? I’m sorry, had to do it. Blewett surrendered five runs on five hits to the Giants in the bottom of the ninth, giving everyone a slight scare. In addition to it being a rough game, it may have been one of the few chances Blewett gets to showcase his talent this spring.

Bubba Starling went 0-for-2 in today’s game. He struck out in both of his at-bats. It’s critical to his 2018 season that he begins to hit the ball, beginning this spring.

Starling wasn’t the only player who disappointed at the plate today. Hunter Dozier failed to record a hit in three plate appearances. Not only was Starling’s performance a letdown, but Dozier also didn’t feel like joining the hit parade.

Finally, Tyler Collins also went 0-for-3 vs. San Francisco pitching Monday. Because of the huge game the team had as a whole, it’s easy to sweep these things under the rug. On the other hand, it’s also just one game of many in the coming month.

Final Thoughts

Looking back on the season as a whole, including Spring Training, this may be one of the better games of 2018 for the Royals. Although it didn’t come from sources we’re used to, the bats were alive and well for the entire game. Seeing unexpected heroes such as Gore and Mejia made for a great game. Now that everyone is close to getting into the swing of things this Spring Training, things will be that much more fun to watch.

As a result of the outcome today, you may be feeling confident about the lineup heading into tomorrow’s game. Keep in mind this is one game – not yet a trend. While it’s nice to have these kinds of games, we have to ensure they’ll be repetitive before getting our hopes up.

Next: What about Whitley Merrifield?

The Royals will head back to Surprise Stadium tomorrow to host the Seattle Mariners at 2:05. You’ll be able to find a preview and recap right here at Kings of Kauffman.