Royals win slugfest 11-7

Bobby Witt Jr. won’t stop scoring runs

Despite the lopsided score, this game had a lot of ups and downs in it.

Things started off well for Kansas City when Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Loftin, and Nelson Velázquez each singled in the first inning to score the first run of the game off of starter Sean Manaea, who struggled with his command. It was a little disappointing they only got one given how off Manaea seemed, but getting the first lead still seemed like a good thing.

Then, in the bottom half of the inning, Alec Marsh fought his own command and some bad luck to give up a walk, a single, a strikeout, another single that could have been a double play had the infield been aligned differently, a ground out that was almost a double play, and a double to immediately let the Mets takes a 3-1 lead. Things felt dire, especially considering how much meat the Royals had left on the bone in the first inning.

Then, and I beg you to sit down before you read this next section, the Royals mounted an unlikely comeback. Hunter Renfroe got things started with a one-out single. Dairon Blanco walked. Maikel Garcia grounded out, but the runners each advanced, so Bobby Witt Jr. was pitched around. With the bases loaded number three hitter Nick Loftin...took an RBI walk. Yes, you read that right, three walks in four batters to give the Royals a run. Then Salvador Perez capped the rally with a two-run single to give the Royals back the lead at 4-3.

Marsh had a clean second inning, Manaea had a scoreless third inning and things seemed like they were either about to settle down or go completely off the rails. The second feeling came courtesy of a Garrett Hampson stolen base that was anything but traditional. As the broadcast described it, he looked like a running back juking a defender on a football field. But don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself. (Hats off to the Royals’ social media person for the caption, too.)

Then, with two outs in the bottom of the third, Pete Alonso came to the plate and did what Pete Alonso does, tying the game. Could this be the beginning of the end?

No. The offense determined, it absolutely could not.

In the top of the fourth, Witt hit a deep flyball to right with one out. Taking nothing for granted he ran hard the whole way and when Starling Marte dropped it he ended up at third. Nick Loftin singled to left and the Royals were suddenly back on top. But they weren’t done there.

If I had a nickel for every time the Royals hit a home run that bounced off the glove of the opposing centerfielder this year I’d have two nickels. But it’s weird that happened twice. That also happened to be Salvador Perez’s 250th home run, putting him in some pretty elite company.

But the Royals still weren’t done. Garrett Hampson reached on a single and stole second again, this time more traditionally, before Freddy Fermin could bring him home with a single. Royals 8, Mets 4.

From there it seemed like the Royals might coast. Especially when Witt hit a one-out triple in the fifth inning and came home on a Loftin sacrifice fly in the fifth. That was Witt’s fourth run scored on the day, setting a Royals mark as the first player to ever score four runs in a game twice in a three-game span. Then in the sixth the Royals scored two more runs on a Velázquez single, a Fermin walk and a Renfroe double. Dairon Blanco took a walk and Bobby Witt Jr. came within inches of bashing a three-run home run to right center before a leaping Brandon Nimmo came down with this one.

In the bottom of the sixth Pete Alonso led off against Angel Zerpa and did what Pete Alonso does. But Pete can do that in every at-bat so far as I’m concerned, as long as there continues to be no one on and the Royal keep scoring multiple runs in multiple other innings.

In the bottom of the eighth Matt Sauer came on for his third relief appearance in four games since the Royals were in the midst of their third blowout in four games. Unfortunately, Sauer, who was a starter until this spring, wasn’t really prepared for that kind of usage. He immediately gave up a dinger to Starling Marte before walking Francisco Lindor and Alonso. With runners at first and second and Sauer obviously not having it today, manager Matt Quatraro went back to the bullpen and called upon John Schreiber. He got a groundball that they couldn’t quite turn into a double play, gave up a sacrifice fly to bring us to our final score and escaped the inning without further damage.

James McArthur came on to pitch the ninth for the first time since Tuesday’s game against the Astros and struck out two, gave up a pair of singles, but induced a groundball out from Lindor to finish the game. He did not earn a save considering the Royals’ four-run lead when he arrived in the game to a fresh inning.

Once again Alec Marsh was not as good as he was in his debut, but once again he limited his walks and home runs and gave the Royals five solid innings. It’s hard to ask for much more from a fifth starter which is what he is, right now, even if some still hope he can become more later.

To be honest, I’m kind of glad the Royals’ relievers gave up some runs the past few days. They weren’t going to go scoreless for the rest of the year and I’d rather they gave up runs that didn’t matter much now than the tying or winning run in a close game later.

The Royals may be at the start of a new winning streak. Either way, they’ve won eight of their last nine. You might want to quibble about the quality of their competition over that stretch, but good teams beat up on bad teams to get their gaudy win totals. As long as you play close against the good teams - as they did against the Twins and Orioles - and beat the bad teams, you’re very likely to have a good season.

The Royals will go for their third-straight series victory tomorrow afternoon in New York. Ace Cole Ragans will pitch for KC. José Buttó will go for the Mets. In his first start of the season, he allowed only a single run on three hits in six innings with six strikeouts. But he did walk three. Today’s Royals walked five times and struck out only six. If they can bring that same approach to the plate tomorrow, they should find some opportunities. First pitch will be at 12:40 CT.

P.S. Don’t look now but Hunter Renfroe might be heating up, too. Over the last week, he has slashed .300/.391/.550/.941.