Mike Moustakas comes through again in the clutch as Royals rally to beat Twins 6-5

His nickname echoed through the park as the flags at Kauffman Stadium whistled in the wind. A baseball game relied upon the lumber he cradled in his hands. So often in his tenure as a Royal, Mike Moustakas stepped into these situations and found himself unable to access his talent, unable to unlock his power, unlock to display the ability that enticed his employers for so long. “I’ve took my lumps,” he said. “I’ve took my bumps and my bruises.”

In the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 6-5 victory, Moustakas entered the batter’s box and demonstrated why this year, Kansas City can see a present bright enough to match the future they envisioned. He swung at a 94-mph fastball from Minnesota Twins closer Glen Perkins. Moustakas did not pull it into the teeth of a defensive shift. He did not loop his swing and lift a lifeless pop-up. He simply flicked the ball into left field for a go-ahead RBI single, a piece of opposite-field hitting that has been his mission all season.

“To see a guy change his style as much as he has?” manager Ned Yost said. “To me, I can’t recall another guy, in my managing career, in my coaching career, that has made that big of an adjustment in a winter’s time.”

Before Moustakas came through, the Royals built a rally on singles by Salvador Perez and Paulo Orlando, plus an RBI groundout by Christian Colon. Colon tied the game, and finished the night with two hits, two RBI and a run scored. Then it was up to Moustakas.

His hit keyed the two-run comeback, erased an unlucky outing from Jason Vargas, granted Kansas City its fourth win in five games and added another brick to the rebuilding of Moustakas’ career. This is not the first time he has disappeared for a winter and returned toting an offensive panacea. But 2015 marks the first season he has experienced immediate success.

In addition to a pair of singles, Moustakas bashed a two-run homer off left-hander Tommy Milone. The pitch clocked at 88-mph and burrowed in on his hands. It was the sort of offering that confounded him for years. He deposited it in the Twins bullpen in right field. Along the way, Moustakas boosted his on-base plus slugging percentage to .958.

Yost serves as the public face of an organization that has supported Moustakas since Kansas City selected him with the second pick of 2007 draft. When Moustkas hit .212 in 2014, meriting a demotion to the minors along the way, the organization maintained its faith. Through two weeks this season, they’ve seen the reward. “It’s almost like you want to stand up on this table and scream ‘I told you so!’” Yost said.

For the Royals (11-3), a club tied for the best record in baseball with the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets, Moustakas’ fortnight of success stems from his offseason preparation and his daily toil. Team officials insisted Moustakas benefited from his success last October. He committed himself to expanding his offensive approach this winter. He dedicates hours each day refurbishing his swing with hitting coach Dale Sveum.

During the offseason, Moustakas visualized moments like Tuesday night. His agent, Scott Boras, emailed him video from his career as a terror at Chatsworth High School outside of Los Angeles. Boras considers Moustakas one of the greatest high school hitters he has ever witnessed, and he likes to remind his client of his prowess. “You really couldn’t get me out,” Moustakas said. The clips confirmed he still possesses the same swing, the same force, the same capacity to strike fear into the hearts of opponents.

“That’s when I was at my best,” Moustakas said. “Just going back there and reliving that and seeing that in my mind always helps.

He combined the confidence with technical adjustments. Sveum counsels Moustakas on tucking his hands tighter to his chest when he tries to hit pitches the other way. In the past, Moustakas extended his hands, which caused the head of the bat to drop. This caused the bat to strike the bottom of the baseball and produce harmless flies. When Moustakas keeps the bat level, he can crack line drives.

Earlier on Tuesday, first baseman Eric Hosmer remarked to Sveum he had never seen Moustakas hit to the opposite field more than he does now. Moustakas even hits foul balls to the left side. He never did that before, Hosmer mentioned.

“He’s going up there with a plan,” Hosmer said. “And he’s executing it. That’s for sure.”

“Today is a perfect example of what he can do,” Yost said. “Off of Perkins, he can stay back, brings his hands in, drive the ball the opposite way. Off of Milone, he got a pitch, boom! He can hit it into the seats. He’s becoming a more complete, well-rounded, all-around offensive player.”

The Royals required the offensive output. Vargas experienced a spate of misfortune after steaming into the sixth. The Twins hung five runs on him in 5 2/3 innings. His ERA swelled to 6.75. Vargas coughed up a two-run lead as he and reliever Jason Frasor could not slow a slew of hits in the sixth.

The swift ending ruined what had been a productive outing for Vargas. He did not have to search far for motivation. He faced this same club in his last start. The Twins blitzed him for 10 hits and bounced him from the game before Vargas could record an out in the fourth inning. He lamented afterward his inability to “stop the bleeding.”

He experienced a similar sensation in Tuesday’s sixth inning. He yielded a pair of one-out doubles to Mauer and Dozier. Mauer held at third base on Dozier’s hit. When Mauer got caught in a rundown after Kennys Vargas’ grounder to third base, the Royals were an out away from an escape.

The next two balls in play managed to evade defenders. Trevor Plouffe pounded a changeup toward third base. Moustakas sprawled but could not hold the ball. One run scored. Oswaldo Arcia fished for a curveball and dropped it into right field to tie the game.

“It’s an inning where we need to be able to shut their offense down,” Vargas said. “And I wasn’t able to convert it.”

Frasor relieved Vargas. He should have brought a mop to the mound. He has become Yost’s most trustworthy hand for middle-game crises. His process on Tuesday was fine. The results were not. Kurt Suzuki and Shane Robinson each collected groundball singles through the right side to increase Minnesota’s lead.

Down two runs, Kansas City chipped away. Their first three runs resulted from homers: Alex Gordon’s second-inning solo shot, his first of the season, and Moustakas’ fifth-inning blast. Their last three stemmed from small ball. Paulo Orlando walked in the sixth and raced home on a double by Christian Colon.

The duo returned to contribute in the eighth. When the lineup rolled around to the top of the order, Moustakas stepped into the spotlight. After years of strife, he wants to prove he belongs in that moment.

“I was young,” Moustakas said. “I wanted to do so well when I first got up here. Now, it’s just all about the team. Finding ways to help this ball club win games.”

Royals 6, Twins 5

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Mike Moustakas comes through again in the clutch as Royals rally to beat Twins 6-5."