Kansas City Royals lose series opener as Rays bloody Brad Keller in the fourth inning

Brad Keller was the Kansas City Royals’ most reliable starting pitcher in the first half of the season, and he couldn’t have had a more strange start to the post-All-Star break portion of the schedule.

Keller left the game looking as though he’d been roughed up in an alley thanks to the nose bleed he experienced in the fourth inning. On top of that, Keller struggled to throw the ball where he wanted all night, and he allowed five runs (four earned) on four hits, five walks, a hit batter and a pair of wild pitches in four innings.

The Royals and Keller were dealt a 7-3 loss by the Tampa Bay Rays in front of an announced 22,119 in the first game of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night. Keller had won four of his last five starts before the break.

“That was the most bizarre thing that I think I could say ever happened to me on the mound,” Keller said of the bloody nose.

From almost the beginning of the game, Keller knew he was in for a tough outing because he wasn’t able to throw his fastball where he wanted.

Too often that meant the ball cutting completely across home plate or being left up where hitters could more easily put the barrel of their bats on it. And of course, there were the five walks in four innings.

“I didn’t really have much command of anything,” Keller said. “I just tried to compete, get as many outs as I could. I started to get a little bit better feel of my slider, but my fastball command was really bad. Like I said, I just tried to get as many outs as I could.”

Keller gave up one unearned run in the third inning after center fielder Michael A. Taylor’s bobble on a ball hit on the ground allowed Rays outfielder Brett Phillips, a former Royal, to advance from first base to third base (instead of second base) on the play.

The Rays pushed the run across on a groundout to first baseman Nick Pratto with runners on first and third with one out. Pratto fielded and stepped on first instead of trying to turn a double play or throw out the runner at the plate.

The Royals (36-57) pulled even in the bottom half of the inning when Andrew Benintendi swatted a two-out RBI single to right field, his second hit of the day. Nicky Lopez, who singled and stole second base to move into scoring position, scored on the play to tie the score 1-1.

However, the Rays (52-41) took control of the game with a four-run fourth, an inning interrupted by Keller’s nose bleed. Three of the Rays’ runs came after Royals manager Mike Matheny and head trainer Kyle Turner came to the mound to try to stop the literal bleeding.

“Just some random bloody nose,” Keller said of the incident. “I don’t know. I haven’t had a bloody nose in like five years. I threw one pitch, I checked my nose and was like I shouldn’t be sniffling. Blood was coming out, so I called them out there.”

Keller had already given up a run in the inning on a Francisco Mejia RBI single when the game stopped with Phillips at the plate and a 3-1 count.

When play resumed, Keller threw ball four to Phillips.

“I think it was the first time,” Phillips said of batting against a pitcher with tissue of gauze in his nose. “And I’m glad he threw me a ball because I’m not gonna lie, my eyes were looking at his nose.”

With a wad of gauze jammed in his nostril, Keller then gave up a bases-loaded three-run double to Yandy Diaz.

The Rays had grabbed a 5-1 lead, and Keller did not return for the fifth inning. He threw 85 pitches.

“He had a tough time getting any kind of rhythm,” Matheny said. “Starting the first four innings off putting guys on base is just going to make it tougher. He was trying to make the adjustments he needed to make. He just couldn’t find it. It’s just amazing that he kept us it in as long as he did without really having location with his fastball.”

The Royals got a pair of runs in the seventh after back-to-back singles by MJ Melendez and Bobby Witt Jr. started the inning. With runners on second and third after a Witt stolen base, Benitnendi’s RBI groundout drove in a run, and Hunter Dozier’s sacrifice fly made it 5-3.

Royals relievers Amir Garrett, Dylan Coleman, Wyatt Mills and Joel Payamps threw scoreless innings.

Josh Staumont allowed the final two runs of the night on a walk and three hits in the eighth inning.

Benintendi went 2 for 4 with a walk and two RBIs, while Pratto (2 for 4) smacked two doubles for the Royals in the loss.

Lopez (2 for 4, run scored) and Melendez (2 for 5, run scored) each also had two hits.

The Royals collected 12 hits, but were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine men on base.

“That’s that time when we talk about missing the big hit,” Matheny said. “I saw some good at-bats all the way around, but we just couldn’t get the ones right on top of each other to keep that rally going.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 10:40 PM.