Bullpen meltdown on opening day leaves Royals with 7-1 loss to Twins

About 3  1/2 hours before the first game of a new baseball season, Ned Yost sat in his office inside Target Field and couldn’t help but divulge his most pressing question.

It’s easy, in the shadow of a disappointing 2016 season, to wonder about an offense that ranked 13th in the league in runs scored or a starting rotation rocked by tragedy in the offseason. But Yost, the Royals’ headstrong manager, is an optimist by nature, a believer in players and process and track records. So as another year beckoned, he had little worry about his veteran staff or the core that brought a championship to Kansas City 17 months ago.

And yet, as he stared out at 162 games, at a season that could shape the trajectory of this franchise, one thing did come to mind.

“You’re interested in watching the bullpen,” he said.

Six hours later, in the aftermath of a bullpen implosion on opening day, the statement had turned into the worst kind of prescient. On a chilly Monday afternoon, the Royals’ revamped relief core crumbled in a 7-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins. In the first high-leverage test of 2017, two relievers combined to surrender six runs while walking in three of them, flipping a tie game into a rout. As it turned out, you really didn’t want to watch the bullpen in this one.

“I didn’t anticipate that,” Yost said, responding to a question about the three bases-loaded walks. “Maybe one. But anticipating three?”

The disastrous inning nullified a six-inning gem from starter Danny Duffy and offered a genuine buzzkill to a newly-minted season. The Royals lost their fifth straight season opener away from Kauffman Stadium. The offense couldn’t break through against Minnesota starter Ervin Santana, finishing the day with just three hits.

Here, of course, one can pivot to all the caveats about overreacting to one game among 162. But on their first official day A.W.D. — After Wade Davis — the late-game formula blew up in the strangest way: Two relievers suddenly couldn’t throw strikes.

“We still have a good bullpen,” said Duffy, who allowed just one earned run in six innings. “We still have a really good bullpen. It’s just one bad game. We have 161 left.”

The moment in question started in the bottom of the seventh, as the score held at 1-1 and the temperature hovered just below 50 degrees inside Target Field. In his first opening day start, Duffy had overpowered the Minnesota offense for six innings, allowing just a solo homer by Miguel Sano. But as Duffy’s pitch count crept to 100 pitches, Yost looked out toward his bullpen.

He liked the matchup with left-hander Matt Strahm facing the bottom half of the Twins’ lineup, so out came Strahm, a breakout relief star in 2016. Then, everything fell apart.

Strahm allowed a soft single to Jorge Polanco, and then failed to make a play on a bunt attempt by Max Kepler, throwing late to first. After a sacrifice bunt, and an intentional walk of Brian Dozier, Strahm walked Robbie Grossman on four pitches, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead.

“I was just spinning off it,” said Strahm, who headed to watch video after his appearance. “I wasn’t staying on top of the ball. I need to be better.”

After all that, the Royals still nearly avoided calamity when right-hander Peter Moylan came on and struck out Byron Buxton for the second out. But with Joe Mauer up next, Yost handed the ball to left-hander Travis Wood, who was death to left-handed hitters in 2016. In 120 plate appearances, lefties had batted just .128 against Wood. In 900 career innings, he had issued just five bases-loaded walks. On Monday, Wood walked in two straight runs.

In the moments after the loss, Wood guessed that his front side was pulling out early. But he still needed to inspect video, he said.

“It was unacceptable,” Wood said. “That can’t happen … just wasn’t a good day for me.”

Before the bullpen issues, Duffy and Santana had dueled for six innings. Mike Moustakas thumped his first homer since last April 26, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Sano jumped on a first-pitch fastball the next inning, hammering a game-tying solo shot into the upper deck.

The pitch, Duffy said, was supposed to be down and in. Instead, it caught too much plate. But as he broke down his performance, Duffy was most irritated by three walks that elevated his pitch count and ended his day after six innings.

“I have no business walking three people with the stuff that I have,” Duffy said. “I shouldn’t have created that situation. So that’s on me.”

Hours earlier, as the day began, Duffy had lounged in a leather chair inside the visitors clubhouse, luxuriating in reggae music. He cued up Rebelution, his band of choice, and pulled on a throwback Kobe Bryant jersey. As Duffy waited in earnest, Royals general manager Dayton Moore appeared in a suit and tie.

In January, Moore had handed Duffy a five-year, $65 million contract extension, retaining his staff leader through 2021. In an offseason marked by roster change and tragedy, the signing offered something close to stability. In a span of months, the franchise had traded closer Davis and outfielder Jarrod Dyson, a preemptive move against a looming free-agent puzzle. They had mourned the loss of Yordano Ventura, who died in a Jan. 22 car crash in the Dominican Republic.

The former deals netted outfielder Jorge Soler from the Cubs and starter Nathan Karns from the Mariners; the latter incident induced heartache and forced a late push for free agent pitchers Jason Hammel and Wood.

Yet in the wake of a disappointing 81-81 finish, after a franchise-shaking loss and facing an uncertain future, the Royals never considered a complete roster overhaul or rebuild. They opted instead for some strategic pruning, and at the heart of the philosophy was the deal that sent Davis to the Cubs for Soler.

On Monday, Soler began the season on the 10-day disabled list. But he remains under club control for four seasons, while Davis will be a free agent after the season. For the Royals, the deal balanced the future with the desire to win now. And yet, it did rob the bullpen of an All-Star closer.

The unit has moved forward with a group that includes closer Kelvin Herrera, Strahm, Wood, Mike Minor and Joakim Soria, who was set up to throw the eighth on Monday if Strahm had survived the seventh. For now, there are question marks. For one, the roles remain somewhat fluid, and Yost says he still wants to evaluate. But there was little about Monday that could have been fixed with better decisions or strategy.

“We did have the matchup that we liked,” Yost said. “Command evaded us from that point.”

For now, the Royals will move forward. One game cannot define a bullpen, Duffy said. One bad performance is just that. One. The unit will likely have another opportunity on Wednesday. And Yost will have another opportunity to watch.

“It’s baseball,” Yost said. “Things like that happen. You don’t see it very often. But it does.”

Twins 7, Royals 1

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Bullpen meltdown on opening day leaves Royals with 7-1 loss to Twins."