Royals jump all over Cubs as Merrifield, Franco, Soler each homer in 13-run outburst
4.jpg "Kansas City Royals Jorge Soler (12) is congratulated by teammate Salvador Perez (13) after his solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)")
Royals manager Mike Matheny described the collective feeling of his club ahead of Thursday night’s game as one of “frustration,” and rightfully so as their offense had repeatedly stalled during the course of a six-game losing streak.
Then the Royals beat Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood like a piñata on national television, relieving a measure of the built-up tension and anger with each swift swing of their bats in a badly needed get-right victory.
The Royals smashed their way to a 13-2 win over the team with the National League’s best record and collected 18 hits, including three home runs, as they stopped their slide in grand fashion at Kauffman Stadium Thursday night.
The 11-run margin of victory was their largest since Glenn Sparkman pitched an 11-0 shutout on July 16, 2019, against the Chicago White Sox. The Royals’ 11 extra-base hits fell one shy of the franchise record of 12. Every position player in the starting lineup had at least one hit.
In a six-run third inning, the Royals connected for five extra-base hits, which matched their most hits in a single inning dating since 1986. It had previously been done six times.
“It was great. I wish we could take a couple runs and put it towards a couple other games,” Royals infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield said. “It’s always great to have an outpour. This kind of stuff is contagious, and to do it and have it kind of trickle down the whole lineup is great. Hopefully it boosted a lot of spirits and we can carry it into a big series coming up against Minnesota.”
Merrifield, Maikel Franco each hit two-run home runs. Jorge Soler added his third homer of the season, while Adalberto Mondesi, Alex Gordon, Nick Heath, Salvador Perez and Ryan O’Hearn each smacked doubles for the Royals (4-10). Perez hit two doubles, and Heath’s third-inning double marked both his first big-league hit and first MLB run batted in. Brett Phillips entered the game late and hit a triple.
Soler (3 for 5, two runs) and Perez (3 for 5, one run) smacked three hits apiece and also collected two RBIs each, while Merrifield went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Franco (2 for 4), O’Hearn (2 for 3) and Alex Gordon all also had two hits and drove in two runs apiece.
Royals right-hander Brad Keller, making his first start since Aug. 26 against Oakland, struck out four in the first three innings on his way to five scoreless innings. He struck out seven and allowed three hits and two walks.
“That was incredible,” Keller said. “We’ve been kind of grinding on scoring runs, so to come out there and put up nine in the first three innings or whatever it was, that was pretty encouraging to see. It made it easier to go out there and just pound the strike zone and let them put it in play.”
The Royals’ offense staked Keller to a nine-run lead through three innings. Last season, he received the second-lowest average run support per game among qualifying major-league starters (3.81 rpg).
The Royals scored the first 13 runs of the game. They drew first blood on a one-out RBI single through the right side of the infield by O’Hearn. O’Hearn’s hit came after singles by Soler and Perez left runners on the corners.
Merrifield’s fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast off the left-field foul pole, increased the lead to 3-0 after Franco had begun the frame with a double into the left-center field gap.
Then the much-maligned Royals offense really exploded. Their six-run third inning included 11 batters coming to the plate, six hits, two walks, two stolen bases, one home run, one replay review that didn’t overturn the ruling on the field and the first big-league hit of Heath’s career.
Gordon’s RBI double off the base of the center field wall scored Mondesi, who had hustled his way to a double with one out. Starting with Mondesi, six consecutive men reached base. Franco’s two-run homer followed Gordon’s double. Franco lined a cutter from Chatwood into the left-field bullpen.
Nicky Lopez kept the line moving with a single to center, and Heath legged out the RBI double on a sinking liner to right field that just got down in front of Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward. Heath nearly had a hit down the right-field line earlier in the at-bat, but his drive was ruled foul and the call stood upon appeal.
“At the beginning of the game, there was a lot of nerves, and I was a little shaky,” said Heath, who made his first start. “But once things got rolling and I saw the offense take off, I really wanted to be a part of what they were doing tonight. They were great, in the dugout, on the field, everywhere. Tonight was huge for the team.”
After Merrifield walked, Heath and Merrifield executed a double steal and Heath scored on a Soler ground out. Salvador Perez’s RBI double to left-center drove in Merrifield with the final run of the inning.
After the third, the Royals let the good times roll to the tune of four more runs before sending the Cubs (10-3) on their way. Both Cubs runs came in the ninth inning.
“I’m just so happy for our guys,” Matheny said. “We keep talking about the process that they’re buying into and the things they’re working on. We need those kind of innings, those kind of days to give yourself a little bit of room.
“It’s just one of those overall good efforts. But you could feel that these guys were buying in too, some of the things we were seeing, despite not having the results we were looking for. You got to have the results, and today was one of those really good ones.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 9:18 PM.
