Royals heard fans cheering over the weekend at The K, just not the ones they wanted
When Bobby Witt Jr. struck out to end the Royals’ 5-4 loss to the Braves on Sunday, cheers erupted at Kauffman Stadium.
A significant chunk of the 22,040 at the game were cheering for the Braves, who had plenty of support in their sweep of the weekend series.
That fact wasn’t lost on Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino.
“It got real loud there with Braves fans there at the end,” Pasquantino said Sunday. “It’s disappointing at home but that’s on us. So if we put a better product together on the field more people will come in Royal blue. So get back to the drawing board and get back out here tomorrow night against Texas.”
The Royals open a three-game series Monday against the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium. Through 10 games at home, the Royals have won just once.
It’s the Royals worst home start since 2018 when they also were 1-9 through 10 games. The 2018 Royals finished with a 58-104 record. This year’s team has lost six straight at The K, scoring 14 total runs in that span.
That 1-9 home mark includes sweeps by the Twins and Braves. The Royals’ lone victory so far at The K has come during a four-game series against the Blue Jays. The three opponents who have played at Kauffman Stadium have a combined record of 32-16 this season.
But Royals manager Matt Quatraro said the perceived quality of a foe means little.
“Home, road, it doesn’t make any difference,” Quatraro said Sunday. “I mean, we’d much rather be 9-1 than 1-9 but you’ve got to play the teams that are on your schedule when you play them. You don’t get to pick and choose that. And quite frankly, it’s the big leagues every night so it doesn’t matter if it’s those teams or if it’s somebody that people consider to be a lesser opponent.
“Because if you take those people lightly, you’re going to be 1-9 against them too. So we’re not in a position where it matters who we’re playing on the other side of the field, it matters what we do.”
Pasquantino wasn’t surprised by the large number of Braves fans at Kauffman Stadium this weekend. And he believes Royals fans will travel in big numbers too — if the team turns around its fortunes.
“The Braves are known for having a good traveling fan base,” Pasquantino said. “I mean it’s a really special fan base and to be honest, that’s something we think that we can have here in Kansas City. But that’s on us. We’ve got to show the fans that we’re worth coming to watch.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 9:01 AM.
