With home runs from three rookies, Royals blow past Orioles in series opener

The final month of the 2018 Royals season will be defined by frequent revision. The roster will expand over the course of the next few days; the pitching staff will endure change on occasion; and the lineup will feature constant rotation.

On Friday, that rotation turned to a lineup card of four rookies and one more on the mound.

They produced the Royals’ fifth win in six games.

Rookies Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher and Ryan O’Hearn hit home runs, backing a quality start from Brad Keller that equated to a 9-2 Royals victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Kauffman Stadium.

“Most of these guys I played with in the minor leagues. It’s fun to come up here and do it with them on this stage,” said O’Hearn, who had three hits and a career-best four RBI, including a two-run homer in the eighth. “I feel like every time we win and every time we put up a good performance, it just builds confidence and makes us close-knit together.

“It’s been a lot of fun to come to the ballpark and just get out there and compete.”

Dozier, Gallagher, O’Hearn and Brett Phillips were the rookies in the nine-man lineup, and they all had hits. Keller picked up the seventh pitching victory of his rookie year. And after winning back-to-back series for the first time in 2018, the Royals commenced a three-game set against Baltimore in a similar fashion.

The Orioles (40-95, after the loss) arrived in Kansas City on Friday with the worst record in baseball. The Royals (43-91) are only three wins better. Every other team in baseball has won at least 10 more games than the Royals. In other words, it’s a three-game series that could ultimately determine which team receives the No. 1 pick in next June’s MLB Draft.

That advantage turned to Baltimore. Because the opener turned to Kansas City.

Keller completed eight innings for the second time in his career, allowing two runs over his career-high 114-pitch outing. Cedric Mullins turned on his second offering of the game for a drive that landed on the Pepsi Porch at Kauffman. But 112 pitches later, Keller departed to a standing ovation after striking out Orioles designated hitter Trey Mancini to end the eighth.

“I just made a mistake. You got a long game after that,” Keller said of the homer. “You flush it and just lock back in after that.”

The Royals scored in five separate innings, a different rookie in the mix of each. O’Hearn, Dozier and Gallagher had the highlights with home runs. Dozier’s blast landed in the shrubs neighboring the fountains behind the left field wall. He hit the ball on the nose in every plate appearance.

“I don’t know what his exit velocities are, but I guarantee you they’re as high as anybody that we’ve got on this team, with the exception of maybe O’Hearn,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “They’ve got to be right there together.”

Gallagher, called up earlier Friday from Class AAA Omaha after backup catcher Drew Butera was shipped to the Colorado Rockies in a trade, was the final piece of the barrage of homers from rookies. He was in the lineup because starter Salvador Perez is nursing a thumb injury. But Gallagher had not played over the past week in Omaha while battling a quadriceps injury. There was a slight limp to his home-run trot in the sixth inning.

Gallagher’s recall was one of a handful of moves the Royals made before Friday’s game. They also summoned outfielder Brian Goodwin from his rehab assignment in Omaha. Goodwin played Friday and was 0-3 with a walk. Every other starter had at least one hit. The Royals finished with 14. Whit Merrifield reached base four times and scored twice.

But the rookies landed the crushing blows.

“They’re not exactly household names yet — O’Hearn, Dozier and Cam Gallagher — but they’re doing OK,” Yost said.

This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 10:09 PM.