2 minutes ago
Most hitting philosophies have two parts: 1.) Before two strikes, get your pitch. 2.) With two strikes, get the ball in play. Failure to do either one when it mattered cost the Royals the ball game. The Royals put together three very good at-bats to start the second inning: Salvador Perez singled, Mike Moustakas saw nine pitches and walked, then Jeff Francoeur did the same. The Royals had the bases loaded, nobody out and Oakland A’s starting pitcher, Tommy Milone, on the ropes. Someone was up in the pen, Milone’s pitch count was already alarmingly high—the Royals appeared to be one hit away from chasing the A’s starting pitching and getting a shot at their middle relievers, the weakest part of any bullpen.
Then Elliot Johnson chased a changeup.
With nobody down and the bases loaded, hitters often look for a pitch up in the zone. Hit the ball on the ground and there might be a play at the plate or, even if you do score a run, you might hit into a double play. The hitter’s goal is to get the ball to the outfield in the air, deep enough to score the runner on third. So if Elliot was going to get his pitch, it should probably have been a fastball and it should probably have been slightly up in the zone. Johnson chased a change-up (easy to do because they’re designed to look like a fastball), but he also chased it down in the zone. He did not get his pitch.
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By LEE JUDGE.
2 minutes ago
23 hours ago
According to the guys on TV, James Shields has now gone at least eight innings five times and hasn’t won any of those games. Some of that can be explained by match-ups: number one pitchers tend to face other number one pitchers—at least early in the season—so the lack of run support for Shields isn’t surprising considering who was pitching for the other teams. But this game appeared to be a mismatch: James Shields against Jarrod Parker. Parker had an ERA over 6.00 coming into the game and Shields is one of the best pitchers in the league. James not only pitched eight innings, he struck out nine, only walked one, gave up just two runs and still didn’t win.
The Kansas City offense managed five hits, two walks and one run. When you get a mismatch you need to win.
The Royals missed an opportunity.
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By LEE JUDGE.
23 hours ago
2 days ago
If a pitch bounces on the way to the plate umpires make a big deal of throwing the ball out of play, but then someone hits a three-hopper to short, the shortstop bounces the throw to first and the ball goes right back to the pitcher. That ball is scuffed and nobody says a word—unless it’s the pitcher. The guy on the mound, the guy who just got an early Christmas gift, is the most likely person to take a scuffed ball out of play.
It drives veteran ballplayers crazy.
When you see a pitcher examine a ball, then hold it up and shake it, he’s asking the umpire for a new ball. Meanwhile some veteran pitcher or catcher is sitting in the dugout, rolling his eyes and thinking: "This kid is an idiot."
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2 days ago
Everybody loves the big pitching match ups—your ace faces their ace, number one against number one—but those games are tossups and either team could win. Then there are the games you should win and can’t afford to lose; not if you’re going to put together a winning record. This was a game the Royals should have won and they did. When you face a team that’s 15 and 24 and they’re using a fill-in starting pitcher with an ERA over 11.00, it’s an opportunity—the Royals needed to win this game.
The Royals beat the Angels 9-5.
To many baseball people a game like this is more of a must-win than a game against Chris Sale or Justin Verlander. They all count for one in the win column, no matter who you beat. Beating up on bad teams is what good teams do.
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