The KC Royals were unable to keep up in season opener

While there were some bright spots of the 2020 season opener, the KC Royals were unable to keep up in Cleveland and lost game one.

Finally, KC Royals baseball was played live for fans to watch. Though it has really only been a few months since spring training games were played, it feels as though it has been years since fans were able to see the Royals in action.

Last night was the first game of the 60 game 2020 season and while things may not have worked in the Royals favor, it was still great to witness the boys on the field playing the game they love.

The Royals dropped the game 0-2 to the Cleveland Indians, struggling to field a few hits drilled into the right spot, and finding their bats missing the ball at the plate; Cleveland pitcher Shane Bieber recorded 14 strikeouts over 6 innings.  A few players managed to get a hit in, Whit Merrifield, Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, and Nicky Lopez all getting 1 hit each, but the rest of the time, the Royals bats were quiet.

The Royals may not have been able to get their offense going as planned, but there were some positives that came out of the first game of the season and surprisingly enough, it’s in the pitching department.

Danny Duffy managed a decent first start to the season. Duffy only pitched 4.1 innings and recorded 2 strikouts, but gave up no walks and only 3 hits. He did receive 2 earned runs, though, he wasn’t on the mound when these runs reached home as Scott Barlow had replaced him at that point.

Fans got to see an old favorite in Greg Holland as well. He struggled with a few batters, walking 2, but managed an inning with no hits or earned runs, speaking to his ability to get things back under control.

Maybe most exciting, though, was that Tyler Zuber made his major league debut for the Royals. Zuber has been with Kansas City since they drafted him in 2017 out of Arkansas State University. He made fairly quick work of the minor leagues, making his way to AA ball in 2019. Now, he has found himself in the majors.

Zuber had a successful debut, pitching 2 scoreless innings and walking only 1 batter. While it’s a small sample size for the young and inexperienced player, it’s exciting to see one of the Royals pitching prospects finding success so early in the season.

The first game of the season didn’t fall in the Royals favor, but it was a great chance for players to get back into the swing of things and get a feel for the strange season ahead.

Manager Mike Matheny looks to not be playing around when it comes to players, especially on the mound. There will likely be a lot of differences to come during this 2020 season, but for KC Royals fans, this season will hopefully be one of growth, progression, and some winning along the way.

The first game of the season ended in a loss for the Royals but there were some bright moments for many, like the debut of Tyler Zuber. The Royals will see Cleveland again tonight and hopefully, the bats will start to come alive.