Kansas City Royals: Bullpen pummeled by MIL in 10-6 loss

Following a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Padres, the Kansas City Royals continued their pursuit of win number seven in Spring Training today vs. the Brewers. Unfortunately, a losing streak is now in play as the club lost its second-straight contest, 10-6.

Positives

Lucas Duda opened up the scoring today with his first RBI of Spring Training on a first-inning single. The following inning, Ryan Goins collected his second RBI of the spring on a sacrifice fly.

Ramón Torres and Michael Saunders were great today, with Torres going 3-for-3 and Saunders going 2-for-3.

Although Jakob Junis gave up a solo home run in the top of the second inning to Hernan Perez, he was solid in his two innings of work. Striking out three batters and showing good velocity on his pitches, it’s safe to still feel confident in him.

Kelvin Herrera and Brandon Maurer followed Junis’ two innings with a shutout inning, each.

Negatives

Starters Alex Gordon, Jorge Soler and Drew Butera combined to go 0-for-7 in today’s outing. Gordan and Soler are now hitting .222 and .167, respectively in Spring Training.

Despite Nicky Lopez collecting two RBIs today at the plate, he wandered off first base in the midst of a bottom of the seventh rally, causing Frank Schwindel to be caught stealing at home. In addition to the baserunning mishap, Lopez also committed a fielding error.

Reliever Burch Smith was all over the place today, walking two batters and surrendering five runs in just two innings. This is an unfortunate development for Smith, who was having a solid spring before today’s contest.

It turns out Smith wasn’t the only relief pitcher who got rocked. Left-hander Foster Griffin allowed four runs (just two earned) and walked a pair of batters in the top of the eighth inning.

Final Thoughts

Much like in yesterday’s game, it wasn’t just one bullpen arm that struggled. Today, both Smith and Griffin had uncharacteristically-bad games, ultimately impacting the outcome of this game in a major way. Typically, 12 hits and a half-dozen runs would be enough for a win, but it just wasn’t the case today. Consistency out of the starting rotation and bullpen will be two things to look for moving forward.

Next: Lifelong Baseball Fan, Seeking a Commitment

The Kansas City Royals play at Camelback Ranch ballpark tomorrow against the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is at 2:05 PM CST. You’ll be able to find both a preview and recap right here at Kings of Kauffman.