Did MJ Melendez make right baserunning call in Kansas City Royals loss to Cardinals?
The Kansas City Royals ran into a determined Miles Mikolas on Tuesday night. The St. Louis Cardinals veteran set a career-high with 10 strikeouts at Busch Stadium.
The Royals had few chances in the 2-1 loss. KC scattered five hits in the I-70 series finale after collecting 16 hits Monday night. Mikolas was in full command over eight innings of work and relied heavily on his sinker, slider and curveball.
Mikolas generated 14 swings and 13 called strikes on his sinker. The velocity was also elevated on the sinker as it topped 94.8 mph.
In the fourth inning, the Royals had an early scoring opportunity. Michael Massey singled with two outs as MJ Melendez, who has been trending up, attempted to score from second base. However, Melendez was thrown out at the plate as the Cardinals shut down the threat.
“He made a perfect throw and I knew the throw was going to beat me as Massey hit it hard,” Melendez said of making his decision. “I tried to dodge it but at the end of the day he made a good throw and a good play at the plate.”
The play came at a critical juncture. Melendez tried to run on Cardinals outfielder Brendan Donovan, who is a former Gold Glove defender. Donovan recorded his second outfield assist on the play.
After the game, Royals manager Matt Quatraro said he was OK with the aggressiveness on the base path.
“One-hundred percent,” Quatraro said. “The way that game is going, you can kind of feel it wasn’t going to be a high-scoring game. We have to take a chance there with two outs.”
Melendez said he wasn’t given a stop sign by Royals third base coach Vance Wilson. He said his mentality was to go on contact after seeing Massey’s single land in the outfield.
Quatraro agreed. He said the initial look was that Melendez had a green light. He didn’t see a stop sign either from his viewpoint.
“I don’t think he (Wilson) actually waved or stopped,” Quatraro said. “I think he runs with them and he is telling them to go.”
St. Louis took advantage in the sixth.
Paul Goldschmidt singled off Royals reliever Carlos Hernandez. He scored two batters later as Nolan Arenado laced a double into the center-field gap. Later, the Cardinals added an insurance run as Nolan Gorman hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
The Royals squandered another strong start from Zack Greinke. The veteran didn’t allow a run over five innings of work. He allowed two hits, issued one walk and struck out six batters.
“I’ve had some solid result games, but I feel like this might be the best I’ve pitched against them,” Greinke said about facing the Cardinals. “I think last year, I did really good against them, too. ... Their lineup is always tough. Even when I don’t give up runs, their at-bats are usually so good where today it was pretty good all the way around.”
Here’s a look back at Tuesday’s game...
Cardinals defensive play quells KC’s rally
The Royals had an early scoring opportunity in the fourth inning. After Salvador Perez led off the inning with a single he switched places with MJ Melendez on a fielder’s choice.
Melendez advanced to second on a wild pitch and became just the second batter to reach scoring position. He attempted to score after Michael Massey singled to right field.
Melendez rounded third base as Cardinals outfielder Brendan Donovan loaded up to throw.
The throw beat Melendez to the plate. He attempted to jump over the outstretched arms of Cardinals veteran catcher Willson Contreras. It was to no avail as Melendez was tagged out to end the scoring threat.
“We’ve got to take a chance to score there every time,” Quatraro said. “He made good throw and a good tag. MJ did a good job trying to evade it, but Contreras got him as he was jumping over.”
Vinnie Pasquantino’s double leads to late run
Vinnie Pasquantino continued to heat up at the plate. He went 3-for-5 against the Cardinals on Monday night and followed that up with a big double in the ninth inning. He laced a line drive off Giovanny Gallegos to bring the tying run to the plate.
He later scored on a fielder’s choice by Bobby Witt Jr. In the process, Witt Jr. also collected his 17th stolen base on the season.
What’s next: The Royals have two off days before beginning a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
This story was originally published May 30, 2023 at 9:19 PM.
