The KC Royals figure out a way to win in late innings

The KC Royals have struggled to score late in games all season. Finally, they were able to mount a comeback and show they can find a way to win.

There is a glaring issue with the KC Royals this year. It’s not the bullpen as it has been the past few years. It’s not even always the starting pitching, which has seen its share of movement and struggles from some young prospects learning to pitch against major league batters.

The issue is most often the offense, especially late in games. There have been a few games when the Royals bats are hot, and some when they can’t score at all. There are plenty, though, where the loss comes down to just a couple of runs.

After Monday’s loss, Jeffrey Flanagan provided some information that proves at least part of the struggle lies in the late-inning offense.

0-17 when trailing after six innings is not a number any team wants to see. Some losses are expected, a 0 in the wins column speaks volumes.

Luckily, the Royals finally found a way to spark some offense late in Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals. While they weren’t necessarily trailing after 6 innings, they were tied and they had to work for that.

KC struck first with a run in both the second and third, but St. Louis got back track when Matt Harvey started to decline and they batted in 4 runs for the lead. The Royals did something that they haven’t done much this season after this though, they fought back.

Another run in the fifth and one in the sixth tied the game. Luckily, the bullpen that has improved so much over the last year was able to hold onto the game. In the eighth, McBroom singled to left and allowed Dozier to score putting the Royals ahead by one and giving them all the lead they needed.

Scott Barlow was brought in for the bottom of the eighth and though he gave up a few hits, the defense had his back with an incredible play to keep the Cards from scoring.

Trevor Rosenthal came in for the save and while he got 2 strikeouts, he likely had fans on the edge of their seats when he allowed a triple to center and hit another batter to put them on base. Luckily, he calmed down and found a way to keep things under control.

This game alone does not put the Royals in contention, but plenty of good things happened. Ryan O’Hearn started to find his stride, going 3-4 with a home run. Ian Kennedy pitched an inning without giving up any runs. And the Royals were able to fight back from being down, get a lead, and secure a win.

There is still growth to be done on the Royals part, but games like this show that things are moving in the right direction. Hopefully, they will be able to take the momentum through the next few games and get their season back on track.

The KC Royals were able to find some runs after being down early, something they haven’t done well at all during this 2020 season.