Ryan McBroom’s home run lifts Royals to a 3-2 win over the Twins in series opener
Kansas City Royals first baseman Ryan McBroom showed the power all the way along his journey to the majors, but for some reason he didn’t show it last September when he finally got his call to the big leagues.
Royals manager Mike Matheny, who worked as a special advisor last year, saw McBroom display that power at Triple-A while in the New York Yankees farm system. He witnessed it with his own eyes, McBroom powering a ball out of the ballpark on a day when hitters just couldn’t get it to carry.
McBroom used that powerful swing of his to launch a solo home run in the sixth inning which provided the difference in Friday night’s soggy series opener against the Minnesota Twins: The Royals collected a 3-2 victory at Kauffman Stadium over the club that entered the day with the best record in the American League.
“(Thursday) was, I think, a turning point in our season, to be honest” McBroom said. “Just to show ourselves what we can do against a really good team. I think yesterday was a turning point, no doubt.”
After trouncing the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night in a 13-run scoring outburst, the Royals (5-10) have now won back-to-back games for the first time this season. They also won their second one-run game, as well as their second comeback win of the season.
The Twins (10-4) have now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
McBroom hit 26 home runs in the minors last season before being acquired by the Royals, but he focused on making more contact when he came up to the majors for the first time at the expense of his power. He did not hit a homer in 75 at-bats last season but batted .293.
This year, he’s hoping to find a balance.
“Just have good at-bats, most importantly,” McBroom said of his approach. “Power is going to come. Average is going to be there. Whatever I need to do to stay in this league and help this team win is what I’m going to do.”
McBroom has now hit two home runs in 30 at-bats this season. He’s batting .267.
“I think it follows his history,” Matheny said of McBroom. “I watched him in Triple-A before we got him, and the ball was just jumping off his bat. You couldn’t ignore it. It sounded different coming off his bat. He has been able to take a little off his swing and keep the ball in play but not lose power. That’s not easy to do. But he figured out how to do it.”
Nick Heath and Nicky Lopez also drove in runs for the Royals, while Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi each belted doubles.
The other heroes of the night were relievers Greg Holland, Josh Staumont, Scott Barlow and Trevor Rosenthal, who combined for 4 1/3 innings of no-hit ball. Rosenthal recorded his second save of the season.
Royals starting pitcher Jakob Junis allowed two runs — each on solo home runs — and gave up five hits and two walks (one intentional) in 4 2/3 innings in his second start of the season. He also struck out two.
“Fantastic. That’s exactly right,” Matheny said of the bullpen’s performance. “Holly coming in and getting a big out. He stayed sharp.”
Holland came in with two outs and two on and got the final out of the fifth inning.
The Royals tied the score, 2-2, in the fifth just as the rain started coming down on the ballpark. Alex Gordon singled and Lopez smacked a line-drive up the middle to bring him in before the nine-minute rain delay halted action.
However, the tarp was never fully rolled out onto the field which enabled the game to restart quickly when the heavy rain passed through.
When play resumed, Brett Phillips walked to give the Royals two men on base, and Twins outfielder Jake Cave made what looked like a game-altering play in left field. Cave made a leaping catch at the wall that robbed Whit Merrifield of what might have been a three-run homer and left the game tied until McBroom’s blast in the sixth.
Holland returned after the fifth and got three ground-ball outs. Staumont pumped 100 mph heat in the seventh before slipping on the wet mound and having his back tighten up, which forced him to give way to Barlow for 1 1/3 innings.
Rosenthal retired the side in the ninth, including a strikeout of Twins slugger Nelson Cruz to finish the game.
“It was awesome seeing Greg come out, throwing strikes, getting the ball on the ground, letting his defense do the work,” Barlow said. “Same with Josh, throwing bullets once again. He’s really fun to watch. His intensity. His presence on the mound. I think everybody is feeding off of that. Then Rosie coming in and shutting the door. I thought it was all together a full team win tonight.”
Roster moves
Prior to Friday night’s game, the Royals reinstated Jorge Lopez from the Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency List and designated him for assignment.
Lopez, a starter turned reliever who was acquired along with Brett Phillips from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Mike Moustakas trade, has shown flashes of brilliance and has been lauded by teammates as having possibly the best raw “stuff” of any pitcher on the staff. However, he’d constantly battled inconsistency.
The Royals also reinstated right-handed relief pitcher Chance Adams from the injured list and optioned him to the alternate training site. Pitchers Glenn Sparkman (forearm strain) and Mike Montgomery (lat strain) were moved to the 45-day IL.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 10:29 PM.
