Another odd baserunning play in Royals’ loss to Yankees. Did Bobby Witt make right call?
The Kansas City Royals put up a valiant effort against New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. The Royals scored two runs against the six-time MLB All-Star and nearly pulled off an improbable win.
However, Yankees duo DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton had other plans.
In the seventh inning, LeMahieu hit a go-ahead home run to give the Yankees a late lead. Stanton provided the final blow with a two-run homer in the eighth as the Yankees cruised to a 5-2 victory on Saturday.
“Any time you play and know Cole is pitching, runs are going to be at a premium,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I thought we competed well against him.”
The Royals recorded six hits but struck out 10 times against Cole. It was his second start with 10 or more strikeouts this week.
Royals first baseman Nick Pratto hit his seventh home run in the third inning, making up for a baserunning gaffe one day earlier. Meanwhile, Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia added an RBI single in the fifth.
“We had a couple of opportunities, but there is a reason he is one of the elite pitchers in recent baseball,” Quatraro said.
The run support helped Royals starter Brady Singer. The veteran tossed 98 pitches and mixed in his sinker and slider combination to both sides of the plate.
The sinker generated 16 called strikes and four whiffs. It helped Singer be deceptive and led to a solid outing. Singer allowed two runs and struck out nine batters across six innings.
“I feel like my stuff kind of came later in the game there,” Singer said. “The sinker and slider were good. The command was better than usual so I was happy with that.”
KC dropped to 28-72. The Royals have lost 26 of their 32 series so far this season.
Here are more notables from Saturday’s game:
Nick Pratto rebounds with solo homer
Pratto atoned for his baserunning blunder in Friday’s series opener. In the third inning on Saturday, he hit his seventh home run off Yankees ace Cole. The blast traveled 334 feet, had a 92.6 mph exit velocity and 35-degree launch angle.
“It felt good to step up today, especially after I felt like I let my team down yesterday,” Pratto said. “Just some mental mistakes and I don’t like when that happens. It doesn’t feel great. I’ve just got to go compete from here.”
Pratto matched his career home run output. (He also had seven in the 2022 season.) It was his first homer since July 3 against the Minnesota Twins.
He finished 1 for 2 with two walks in the game.
“He is a great pitcher. He had some good stuff today and he made a mistake with two strikes,” Pratto said of facing Cole. “I was able to catch it out front and clip it. ... That’s what we’ve got to do with mistakes.”
Pratto entered Saturday’s game with a 43.4 Sweet Spot percentage. The stat measures a batted ball, as a sweet spot, when the launch angle is between 8-32 degrees. Pratto ranks third in the majors behind Freddie Freeman and Brandon Belt in the category.
Bobby Witt Jr. thrown out following bunt single
Witt, who made a fabulous defensive snag in Friday’s game, reached safely with a bunt single in the fourth inning. He placed a well-timed bunt that trickled down the third-base line.
The Yankees tracked the baseball as it teetered the line. However, Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu touched the ball before it went foul.
Witt got aboard safely. However, he was thrown out after attempting to take second base. Cole appeared to deke Witt and threw a strike to second.
“They are aware of him,” Quatraro said. “Everybody knows he runs. He was trying to make something happen and they got him.”
The Royals ultimately came up empty. Royals outfielder MJ Melendez singled later in the frame, but it didn’t amount to any damage.
What’s next: The Royals will conclude their three-game series against the Yankees. Jordan Lyles will start Sunday afternoon against Luis Severino.
This story was originally published July 22, 2023 at 2:54 PM.
