Kansas City Royals’ bullpen falters as the Cardinals break game open late
The Kansas City Royals appeared poised to make the contest a down-to-the-wire thriller, but that changed quickly after starting pitcher Brad Keller exited the game and turned it over to the bullpen.
A one-run game turned into a blowout. Though the Royals rallied in the ninth and scored three runs, they dropped the second game of the three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-4, in front of an announced 35,784 on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.
The loss put a damper on history-making night for Royals All-Star infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield, who set the franchise record for consecutive games played. Merrifield on Friday had tied Alcides Escobar’s record of 421 consecutive games.
“It’s a mentality that you’ve got to want to show up and play every day, so I’m proud of that,” Merrifield said. “At this level, you just never know who is going to show up to watch you play that day.
“I know me personally, I made a trip when I was a junior in high school to Yankee Stadium to see Derek Jeter, who was my idol growing up. I just know how bummed I would have been if he wasn’t in the lineup that day. I still think about that, not that I’m anywhere near the level of Jeter. But I see some 15 jerseys every once in a while. You never know who is making a trip to see me for the first time, and I want to be out there playing.”
In the seventh inning, the first time Merrifield came to the plate after the game had surpassed the five-inning threshold to be deemed “official,” the crowd gave him an ovation as the Royals displayed a graphic on the Crown Vision video board recognizing Merrifield’s record-setting night.
The graphic featured a black and white image of Merrifield from behind with the jersey number 15 and his last name across the back of his jersey completely visible. He had his arms straight out to his sides reminiscent of a LeBron James billboard in Cleveland. The graphic read in capital letters “WE ARE ALL WHITNESSES.”
“That was special,” Merrifield said. “That was really cool, and it was a moment that I’ll always have with me. That was fun to have. My wife and brother are here. They got to see it as well. It was a special moment.”
The Royals (49-66) will try to avoid a series sweep on Sunday afternoon.
Saturday night’s win clinched the I-70 season series for the Cardinals (60-56). The Royals last won the season series with their cross-state rivals in 2016.
Royals center fielder Michael A. Taylor went 3 for 4 with an RBI on Saturday. Merrifield went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. Nicky Lopez and Hanser Alberto had two hits apiece, and they both scored as part of the ninth-inning rally.
Keller allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out eight. The final two runs charged to him scored after he left the game.
“I think that’s the best my fastball has been in a while,” Keller said. “It’s a big adjustment from my last start against these guys where I think I might have thrown one fastball for a strike.
“So today, I feel like it was the exact opposite where I didn’t really have my best slider, but I had a really good fastball, four-seam and sinker. I was able to use both to both sides. I’d much rather take a game like today with better fastball command and a better fastball than last start where I basically relied on a slider and a changeup the whole time.”
The Cardinals built up their lead against Royals relievers Josh Staumont (two runs in 1/3 inning) and Greg Holland (three runs in one inning).
Taylor drove in the first run of the game in the fourth inning with a one-out RBI single into center field, his second hit of the day off Cardinals starting pitcher Jon Lester.
The Cardinals bounced back in the top of the fifth and loaded the bases with one out thanks to a fielding error by third baseman Emmanuel Rivera, a single by Lars Nootbaar, and an infield single by Edmundo Sosa.
Sosa’s roller got under the glove of Lopez, charging from his shortstop position, and second baseman Alberto nearly gloved it while keeping a foot on second base to get the force out. However, Alberto’s foot came off the bag a split second before he scooped up the ball. Video review confirmed as much.
“A tough challenge to lose, but it would have been a big one to get,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “But we put ourselves in a bind with a couple plays that we will typically make. He came back in the sixth really good though, getting two strikeouts and a flyout in a very efficient inning. He did a nice job of keeping us right there.”
The next batter, Tommy Edman, singled on a ground ball through the infield into left field that drove in a pair of runs and put the Cardinals ahead 2-1.
It remained a one-run game when Keller turned it over to the bullpen with two outs in the seventh and men on first and third base and six-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt about to step in the batter’s box.
Matheny called upon Staumont first out of the bullpen.
“Confidence is at an all-time high right there,” Keller said. “Our bullpen has been doing their thing all season long. It’s just unfortunate how that worked out, but it’s baseball. It happens. I had all the confidence in the world that Josh was going to get out of that with no issue. Like I said, baseball happens. It’s just one of those things, one of those games where you’ve just got to look forward to the next day.”
Staumont uncorked a wild pitch, a curveball in the dirt that catcher Salvador Perez blocked. While the lead runner couldn’t score on the play, it allowed the trail runner to advance into scoring position.
Staumont gave up a line-drive single up the middle to Goldschmidt that drove in both runs. Then the next batter, Nolan Arenado, pulled a 2-2 curveball down the left-field line for a two-run home run. Arenado’s 24th homer of the season gave the Cardinals a 6-1 advantage.
“Josh has done a nice job for us,” Matheny said. “Take a good shot at trying to keep it where it is, and trust our offense to do something against the bullpen when they make that change.”
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 9-1 in the top of the ninth with three runs against Holland.
Alberto and Lopez each belted one-out singles in the ninth against Cardinals daunting left-handed reliever Andrew Miller. Merrifield followed with a two-run double, and he scored on Carlos Santana’s RBI single.
Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera retired Perez and Andrew Benintendi to end the game.
This story was originally published August 14, 2021 at 10:14 PM.
