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3 takeaways from a big KC Royals road win

By Mike Gillespie |
/ Tom Pennington/GettyImages
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By now, most loyalists who follow the club through thick and thin know the KC Royals, unfortunately known more for an agonizingly poor offense than anything else so far this season, punished Texas 10-1 Wednesday night to deny the Rangers a three-game series sweep.

And most of those die-hard fans know the easy victory delayed for at least another game the Royals' 10th loss of the year.

The victory was, when all was said and done and the Royals were headed back to Kansas City for a day off before hosting Atlanta for three games this weekend and reacquainting with the Rangers for another three contests early next week, a nice way to end the first road trip of 2023.

What can Kansas City fans take away from Wednesday's big win?

All in all, Wednesday's KC Royals win made the road trip a not-so-bad venture

The Royals were a dismal 1-6 when they arrived in San Francisco almost a week ago for the first stop of a six-game journey with the Giants and Rangers on the slate. Kansas City, suddenly looking much better than the team Minnesota swept and Toronto beat three out of four times during the new season's first week, defeated San Francisco twice before losing the series finale, then suffered an embarrassing 11-2 loss to Texas Monday and a heartbreaking 8-5 extra-inning defeat Tuesday evening.

Wednesday's win, though, salvaged a decent trip for the Royals. It gave them an even 3-3 record, and .500 records on the road are what managers like to see.

KC Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller appears to be on the right track

Remember how Brad Keller was pitching through five starts last season? He threw six scoreless innings against Cleveland in his first outing (but didn't get the win because the Royals didn't score the only run of the game until the 10th), gave up only two runs in seven innings against Detroit but lost 2-1, then was charged with three earned runs in 4.2 innings and lost to Seattle 4-1.

But he was outstanding in his next two starts, holding the White Sox to a run over seven innings in another no-decision and shutting out St. Louis for 6.1 frames to earn his first victory of the season. Unfortunately, Keller's season turned mostly sour after that and he finished 6-14.

Now, with three 2023 starts behind him, things seem so different. Keller cruised through the Ranger lineup Wednesday—so effective was he in earning the win that manager Matt Quatraro left him in until he walked Brad Miller with two away in the Texas seventh. Keller struck out seven, issued only that one walk and just three hits, and surrendered only a run.

Add that performance to his first, a two-run, six-strikeout, 4.2-inning effort (albeit a loss) against Minnesota, and his second, a one-run, 5.2-frame victory over the Giants, and Keller stands 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and .186 OAA in three starts.

It's early, but on the right track is where Keller, a two-time Kansas City Pitcher of the Year, certainly seems to be.

The KC Royals can win big even when one of their biggest guns is quiet

Having more Silver Sluggers than George Brett raises expectations about a big league hitter, and that he'll be at the heart of, or at least significantly involved in, his team's big offensive outbursts is one of them.

Salvador Perez, however, so often responsible for inflicting some of the heaviest damage when the Royals score scads of runs, didn't meet that particular expectation Wednesday night.

He didn't even come close. Instead, Perez went 0-for-5 and was the only Royal starter not to get a hit.

That Kansas City thumped Texas so thoroughly without even a peep at the plate from Perez is encouraging, especially for a club counted, from the season's first pitch, among the worst in the majors offensively. So bad have their bats been that the majority of the Royals who started Wednesday's game were hitting below .200.

But no matter. Bobby Witt Jr. went 3-for-5 with a triple, a run driven in, and three steals. MJ Melendez was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Vinnie Pasquantino homered; fellow slugger Franmil Reyes did not, but singled twice and knocked in a run.

Edward Olivares and Nicky Lopez both had two hits and an RBI. And Michael Massey chipped in two RBIs.

Not counting Perez, the Royals were 14-for-36 and 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Not bad when one of the big bats is silent.

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