Royals relegated to grinding out wins once assumed

Even amid a slump threatening to morph from a nuisance into something more distressing, the Royals had retained traces of the mojo that buoyed them the last two seasons.

None more so than in closer Wade Davis, who remained known as impregnable even through the Royals’ 5-13 span entering their 4-2, 13-inning victory over Atlanta on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.

He hadn’t allowed a run in 12 appearances after leading Major League Baseball last season with a 0.94 ERA.

Less visible as he might have been during the recent stretch that rarely required his niche (he last had a save opportunity on May 1), fans could be consoled knowing that bedrock element of the winning formula still was essentially perfect and just waiting to be engaged.

So when Davis walked through the bullpen gate and across the warning track to the grass to begin jogging in for the ninth with the Royals leading 2-0, it was a foregone conclusion it was over.

Then Davis actually reverted to flesh-and-blood.

He surrendered his first two runs of the season on as many hits (three) as he had allowed in his first 12 appearances combined.

That enabled the Braves to tie it.

And instead of the two-time reigning American League champions taking another halting rehabilitative step in this puzzling season, they were staring at a potentially crushing defeat.

“You hate to say it,” manager Ned Yost said, “but it’s real demoralizing when you lose a game in the ninth inning.”

What Yost ultimately could call “good medicine for us” was cobbled together by a club-record tying nine pitchers and improbably finished by a two-run homer by Kendrys Morales, who entering the day was hitting .150 batting left-handed, as he was when he hit the game-winner.

Cobbling and grinding out the win was what this day reinforced right now about the Royals.

Nothing is automatic. Nothing can be assumed.

Few in the lineup have been producing regularly. Other than Edinson Volquez and Ian Kennedy, the rotation has been a roulette wheel. The defense that distinguished the Royals has suffered hiccups.

On Friday night, even Alex Gordon’s 188-game errorless streak came to an end.

And now this.

“Nothing is easy,” Yost said.

But salvaged as it might have been, Sunday’s outcome against the 9-27 Braves ultimately was more encouraging than discouraging for the Royals, 18-19, who in the process won their first series since April 24.

Because right now it’s just about finding ways to win even while so much seems off-kilter.

On Sunday, that meant a crack in the last bastion of the stuff that had defined them the last two years, Davis.

Paralleling the Royals’ fortunes in 2015, even in the rare instances something went awry a year ago it ultimately assumed the form of gold: Davis suffered his only blown save on July 12 … but got the win when the Royals rallied in the next inning to beat Toronto 11-10.

Naturally, Davis was relieved Sunday that the Royals were victorious anyway. But he also was left shaking his head.

“It stinks,” Davis said adding that he felt great and most regretted the walk he’d given out.

More than anything else, Davis’ day was merely a reminder of the old Tony La Russa stance about “men, not machines.”

And Davis obviously is entitled to an enormous amount of slack after the incredible standard he’s set.

It’s also not as if this suddenly changes the currency of Davis, who surely is out of rhythm (his fifth appearance since April 22) and wasn’t exactly lit up by the Braves.

Two hits were tame enough that Yost reasonably enough called them “bloopers.”

The third might have been routine for first baseman Eric Hosmer had Hosmer not been playing in looking for a bunt.

“It was just one of those days,” Yost said, “when nothing went right for him.”

Yet it still turned out right for the Royals.

“I didn’t do my job,” Davis said, “but everybody did a good job stepping up and carrying (the) weight.”

There’s no way to know where this is all going for the Royals, who have virtually every key player but Ben Zobrist back from last season but somehow are in flux.

But unless and until many return to the form we knew them for in 2014 and 2015, there will be a lot more days like Sunday.

Days that even the things you count on most don’t quite hold up and demand others to intervene.

In this case, it was eight other pitchers and a slumping designated hitter and a resurgent shortstop (Alcides Escobar with four hits, two runs and a couple key defensive plays).

It’s not the trademark magic right now. But it’s the only bridge forward for a team striving to find the elusive charm that once fueled it.

This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Royals relegated to grinding out wins once assumed."