KC Royals must move on now from Bobby Witt Jr. plunking

By now, late on a Tuesday afternoon with another KC Royals game just a few hours away, everyone knows about the ugliness that marred not only the club's lopsided victory over Arizona Monday night, but also an incredible performance by the incredible Bobby Witt Jr.

Witt, as you no doubt know, was an easy one step short of hitting for the cycle when, with a triple, double, and home run already behind him, he came to bat in the sixth inning. The Royals led 9-3 at the time (they won 10-4) and Witt getting at least two more at-bats seemed a sure thing. And considering his three previous hits made him an astonishing 12-for-14 since the All-Star Break, there wasn't much doubt he'd find a way to slap a single somewhere before the night ended and become the first Royal to bag a cycle since George Brett last turned the trick in 1990.

The baseball world knows what happened next. Facing his second batter of the night, Arizona reliever Humberto Castellanos hit Witt's left arm, a stunning moment considering its context, and one to which Witt hardly reacted as he took his base.

Whether Castellanos meant to hit Witt is now the subject of widespread conjecture and debate, and will remain so for at least a short time. The same is true for Kansas City reliever John Schreiber, who in the very next inning uncorked a sinker that founds its way to Diamondback catcher Gabriel Moreno's back. That pitch evoked bench warnings to which Arizona manager Torey Lovullo took immediate exception and resulted in his quick ejection and a prolonged beef at the plate involving him, KC catcher Salvador Perez, Royal skipper Matt Quatraro, and the umps.

No one, of course, is admitting to anything other than lack of intent. (Witt, by the way, fell shot of the cycle when he flied out in the eighth).

What happens next, when the same two clubs meet tonight in the second of their three-game Kauffman Stadium set, is anyon'e guess.

Bit what should happen is clear, especially for the Royals as they fight for the playoff spot that's eluded them for almost 10 years.

The KC Royals need to put the Bobby Witt Jr. incident behind them

The cases against Castellanos and Schreiber are circumstantial at best; that neither hurler meant to hit either batter is plausible. No one will ever conclusively prove anything to the contrary.

But that's just one reason why these teams need to move on.

For another, both clubs are legitimate contenders — going into tonight's play, the Royals are only four games behind American League Central leader Cleveland and two games ahead of Boston for the AL's third Wild Card berth, and the Diamondbacks are only one game out of the same spot in the National League. Neither team needs to risk injury to any of their players by keeping the Monday night's fires burning. And that's especially true with Witt, whose .341/.387/.592 line, 18 homers, 69 RBI, 22 steals, and major league-leading 137 hits they simply cannot do without.

Then there's the matter of suspensions. Monday night's dust-ups put the Royals and D-Backs squarely on MLB's radar, and their blips aren't small. Tonight's game, and Wednesday evening's series finale, will be closely watched and scrutinized; any sign of intentional plunking (or plunkings) will draw ejections and suspensions. The Royals can't afford to lose any of their key players; unless and until general manager J.J. Picollo supplements the roster with trade deadline help, the club's margin for error is too thin.

Some will say, however, that Quatraro'c club can't back down. The Royals must, they'll claim, prove they'll protect Witt, and anyone else opposing pitchers might hit. But, as everyone who was watching last night, and those who weren't but have now seen the unending strings of replays currently saturating social media, knows, Perez's unambiguous and immediate reaction to Witt's plunking proved the superstar shortstop's back is well covered.

So it is that the Royals must move on. Chances are nothing untoward will happen tonight, or Wednesday, and that will be good for all involved. Whether Schreiber was retaliating when he struck Moreno doesn't matter anymore — intentional or unintentional, hitting Moreno evens whatever score might have, under baseball's unwritten code, arguably warranted evening.

And that's where things must end.

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