KC Royals’ hottest pitcher no help vs. Astros, while Salvy vows to play through injury
The Kansas City Royals’ best pitcher in May fell back with a thud as a losing streak continued through early June.
Brady Singer was shelled for seven runs in five innings — that included three home runs allowed — as the Houston Astros blasted their way to a 10-3 victory over KC on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
This was only the latest in a Royals season that continues to circle the drain. KC lost its fifth game in a row and now has dropped 12 of 14. The team’s 16-34 record also remains the worst in baseball.
Singer — the Royals’ best story during a 9-20 May — had allowed just three runs over 19 2/3 innings in his last three starts. That included two shutouts following a stint in Triple-A Omaha where he developed his change-up and regained stamina to start.
Houston, though, had him figured out early on Friday.
The Astros connected on three home runs — all against Singer sinkers — while grabbing a 7-0 lead that led to Singer’s departure in the sixth.
Royals manager Mike Matheny remained encouraged by Singer’s stuff Friday despite the end result, saying “he had everything that he needed, good life.”
“Anything that he got just anywhere near the plate, they were finding a barrel,” Matheny said.
Singer acknowledged he had good feel and movement on his sinker, which led to him trusting it more than some other starts.
“I feel like I was attacking the zone, threw a lot of strikes,” Singer said. “I think I just made some bad pitches at bad times they did some damage on.”
The ensuing sixth inning would only get worse for KC. Reliever Ronald Bolaños was wild, allowing three hits and walking in a pair of runs before Matheny came out to get him. Frustrations from the 22,516 at Kauffman Stadium boiled over then, with some boos raining down as the Royals trailed 10-0.
A glimmer of the future came right after that, as rookie Bobby Witt Jr. turned on a José Urquidy pitch in the bottom of the inning and crushed it to the fountains in left field — the 443-foot blast registering as the longest of his professional career.
The Royals also could be facing a lingering issue with one of their best players. Salvador Perez, who was originally scheduled to play catcher Friday, was switched before the game to designated hitter because of a lingering thumb injury. Perez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, while on a few swings appearing to take his left hand off the bat on his swing’s follow-through.
Perez previously went on the IL with that same thumb injury in mid-May.
After the game, Matheny said Perez was “still fighting” through the ailment. When asked if he was concerned long-term about the thumb, Matheny said the Royals “trust the medical team and what they’re seeing, the hand specialists that are watching real close. Just the confidence and the strength to go along with the swing, and once again, confidence is the key ingredient when it comes to good hitters getting on a good roll. Just a couple of things go his way, and we know what Salvy does when he gets going.”
Perez classified his thumb as “pretty good” but then a few seconds later as “sore a little bit sometimes” afterward before promising to be in the lineup again Saturday.
“I don’t want to let my teammates down. I’m part of this team,” Perez said. “We fight together and we win together.”
Matheny said before the game that Kris Bubic — on the team’s taxi squad — was expected to start Saturday’s game against Houston. The team previously had not designated a starter.
The 16-34 record marks the Royals’ third-worst start in franchise history.
“Just keep pushing. Keep working hard,” Singer said of the team’s mindset through the current losing streak. “We’re all busting our butts as much as we can, but just keep going. The tide is going to turn.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 10:42 PM.
