Game 19 vs. Tampa Bay

Yes, this is actually from Friday rather than today. Still, it’s a fun picture.

This game was the exact polar opposite of last Friday. It was a low-pressure situation with almost no visiting team fans in the stands. We played great. They didn’t. With the breeze, the weather was even comfortable.

Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas combined a couple of doubles to put us on the board in the bottom of the first. We went quietly in the second, but then Rays pitcher Alex Cobb gave up a big inning in the third. Alcides Escobar led off with a bunt single, and after six more singles we had a six run lead.

We tacked on another station-to-station run in the fourth, and struggling-at-the-plate Eric Hosmer hit one into the promotional gimmick seats in the eighth. But that turned out to be all we needed. Actually. the run in the first was technically all we needed, as Tampa didn’t manage to score at all.

Luke Hochevar picked up a 113 pitch, complete game shut out. He was moving the ball all over the place, throwing combinations the Rays seemed unable to follow. In the middle innings he went on a real strikeout tear, finishing with a total of eight (five of them looking). Only once did a Ray make it past second, and even that was a stolen base.

Needless to say, he was the Player of the Game. Of course it didn’t hurt that he got some solid defensive support. In particular, the Play of the Game was a double play in the seventh that eliminated a lead-off runner. Escobar did a good job of jumping out of the way of a take-out slide (we don’t see those all that much anymore), and Hosmer did a good job of scooping out the somewhat wild throw.

Overall this was a great way to end the first half of the season. From here we go on the road for awhile, providing time to get the stadium ready for the All Star Game.

The box score:

RAYS (0) AT ROYALS (8)

RAYS                 AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Desmond Jennings      4  0  0  0  Alex Gordon           4  2  3  0  
Carlos Pena           3  0  0  0  Yuniesky Betancourt   3  1  1  3  
B.J. Upton            4  0  1  0  Mike Moustakas        4  0  1  1  
Hideki Matsui         4  0  0  0  Billy Butler          4  0  1  0  
Ben Zobrist           3  0  1  0  Jeff Francoeur        4  1  1  1  
 Will Rhymes          1  0  0  0  Eric Hosmer           4  2  2  2  
Brooks Conrad         4  0  1  0  Salvador Perez        4  0  1  1  
Sean Rodriguez        3  0  1  0  Jarrod Dyson          4  0  0  0  
Jose Molina           3  0  1  0  Alcides Escobar       3  2  3  0  
Elliot Johnson        3  0  2  0                                    
TOTALS               32  0  7  0  TOTALS               34  8 13  8

RAYS                          000 000 000 -- 0  
ROYALS                        105 100 01x -- 8  

LOB--RAYS 6, ROYALS 3. ERR--Brooks Conrad. 2B--Alex Gordon,
Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas. HR--Eric Hosmer.
SACF--Yuniesky Betancourt. SB--Elliot Johnson (2), Eric
Hosmer, Mike Moustakas.

 RAYS                            IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Alex Cobb                         8   13    8    8    0    1    1
 ROYALS                     
Luke Hochevar                     9    7    0    0    1    8    0

WP--Alex Cobb. SO--Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton (2), Ben Zobrist,
Sean Rodriguez, Brooks Conrad (2), Desmond Jennings,
Salvador Perez. BB--Carlos Pena.

Buck seat: W (actual volunteer, not just a fundraiser)
Guard: AFJROTC
Anthem: Wow, you sing in public?

Umpires:
H: Tichenor
1: Vanover
2: Randazzo
3: Gordon

Time: 7:10
Temp: 89 (but felt much cooler)

Game 18 vs. St. Louis

Normally I only post photos for wins, but this is a special occasion.

During a Weekend Update bit on Saturday Night Live, Norm McDonald once redubbed Kenny G’s Christmas album “Happy birthday, Jesus. Hope you like crap.” In that spirit, happy birthday, Amy. Hope you enjoyed this ballgame.

Truth be told, it would actually have been a reasonably good game if not for the first two innings. Salvador Perez is back from the DL, and he got off to a reasonably good start. He hit a solid single in the second and might have stood a chance to score if Jarrod Dyson hadn’t grounded into a fielder’s choice. Then in the fourth he hit a two-run blast over the left field wall. I like the idea of having a catcher who isn’t a liability in the batter’s box, and I’m looking forward to watching him play.

After the home run the Royals did their usual routine, putting men on here and there but never managing the hitting and running combinations required to make it all 360 feet. We finally scored again in the bottom of the ninth. Though our run was due at least in part to defensive indifference, it would have tied the game were it not for the runs allowed by our starter, Vin Mazzaro.

So let’s talk about Mazzaro for a minute. The truly amazing thing about giving up seven runs in one and a third innings is that it isn’t even his worst appearance as a Royal. Last May he gave up 14 in two and a third, setting a franchise record for runs surrendered by a single pitcher. That’s also the most any pitcher in the modern era has given up without throwing at least three innings. Of course after his last fiasco he was chased directly back to the Storm Chasers. With our pitcher-packed DL, we may not have the luxury of reintroducing him to I-29 quite so quickly this year.

The icing on the cake: exactly one week earlier he threw six innings for a 3-2 win in St. Louis. So he saved up this particular collapse for that magic moment when our stadium was packed with crimson-clad, bandwagoning assholes.

Off the field, the Royals organization continues its high regard for fans. The public WiFi was unavailable, requiring a long, complicated series of maneuvers to get iScore up and running. And they were supposed to have a birthday message for Amy on the board, which of course didn’t happen.

As the outing’s sole bright spot, Perez was Player of the Game and his home run was the Play of the Game. Beyond that, this was a completely worthless experience other than Mom’s opportunity to see her favorite hitting coach.

The box score:

CARDINALS (11) AT ROYALS (4)

CARDINALS            AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Rafael Furcal         3  2  1  0  Alex Gordon           5  0  1  0  
 Daniel Descalso      1  0  1  0  Yuniesky Betancourt   3  1  1  0  
Jon Jay               5  2  1  0  Billy Butler          5  0  2  1  
Matt Holliday         5  1  3  0  Eric Hosmer           5  0  1  1  
Carlos Beltran        5  2  2  4  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  0  0  
Yadier Molina         5  1  2  1  Mike Moustakas        3  1  1  0  
David Freese          4  1  3  2  Salvador Perez        4  1  2  2  
Matt Carpenter        4  2  2  1  Alcides Escobar       4  0  2  0  
Tyler Greene          5  0  1  2  Jarrod Dyson          4  1  1  0  
Skip Schumaker        3  0  1  1                                    
 Shane Robinson       1  0  0  0                                    
TOTALS               41 11 17 11  TOTALS               37  4 11  4

CARDINALS                     460 100 000 -- 11 
ROYALS                        100 200 001 -- 4  

LOB--CARDINALS 10, ROYALS 9. 2B--Tyler Greene, Skip
Schumaker, Carlos Beltran (2), David Freese, Matt Carpenter.
HR--Salvador Perez. HBP--Jon Jay, Mike Moustakas. SACF--Matt
Carpenter. SB--Yadier Molina, David Freese.

 CARDINALS                       IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Joe Kelly                         6    9    3    3    0    1    1
Sam Freeman                       1    0    0    0    1    0    0
Eduardo Sanchez                   1    0    0    0    0    1    0
Fernando Salas                    1    2    1    1    1    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Vin Mazzaro                   1 1-3    6    7    7    2    2    0
Roman Colon                   4 1-3    8    4    4    2    1    0
Tim Collins                   1 1-3    1    0    0    1    2    0
Kelvin Herrera                    1    1    0    0    0    0    0
Jose Mijares                      1    1    0    0    0    3    0

WP--Roman Colon. SO--Matt Holliday, Tyler Greene, Skip
Schumaker (2), Rafael Furcal, Shane Robinson, Jon Jay (2),
Jeff Francoeur, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas. BB--Matt
Holliday, Skip Schumaker, Rafael Furcal (2), David Freese,
Yuniesky Betancourt (2).

Buck seat: W- (fundraiser, but for a decent cause)
Guard: Navy
Anthem: Just sing it, Broadway

Umpires: Didn’t get names. I think West was at first

Time: 7:09

Temp: 85

Okay, now I’m excited

Our All-Star tickets arrived today. Quite a package!

Here’s what we’ve got:

Saturday, July 7, 4:00: FanFest at the Kansas City Convention Center

Sunday, July 8, 4:00: All Star Sunday (Futures and Legends games)

Monday, July 9, 4:15: Workouts and Home Run Derby

Tuesday, July 10, 6:30: The All Star Game

We have eight tickets to the FanFest and four tickets to everything else.

Game 17 vs. Milwaukee

When Alice Cooper threw out the ceremonial first pitch, we should have known right then that we were in for a strange evening. Though it was a lot of fun to watch, this game was one of the weirdest I’ve ever seen.

The first inning was normal enough. Indeed, it was remarkable only in the absence of runs scored. We’d gone nearly a month without seeing a scoreless first.

Then in the second Jeff Francoeur struck out looking. He didn’t agree with the call (which Ned Yost later said was in fact a ball significantly inside). Unfortunately, he really really didn’t agree with the call. By the time a player has redrawn the inside of the batter’s box with his bat, an ejection is generally close at hand. So the Thursday night Frenchy Quarter would have to content themselves with Mitch Maier’s back for the rest of the game.

Both sides went quietly in the third. However, I happened to note that the Brewers were playing in extremely close at third on just about every pitch. Seriously, third baseman Aramis Ramirez spent the majority of the game with infield grass under his feet. As a defensive strategy, I get that with Jarrod Dyson and Humberto Quintero. But they played Alex Gordon and Billy Butler the same way. Do the Royals really have that big a reputation for bunting whether or not the situation calls for it?

In the top of the fourth things heated up again. Luke Hochevar hit lead-off batter Norichika Aoki. When Nyjer Morgan tried to bunt Aoki over, both Hochevar and Quintero swore to home plate umpire Dan Iassogna that the ball struck Morgan outside the box. Yost later admitted the replay showed otherwise, but in the heat of the moment he dashed out, had a red-faced screaming match with Iassogna and got ejected. As I can’t remember the last time I saw an actual ejection live and in person, the two this evening would alone have been enough to make this a strange one.

But it got even odder from there. Morgan and Aoki combined for a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play, but then Ryan Braun hit one into the Royals’ bullpen. In the bottom of the fifth we got to see the rare strikeout-wild-pitch combo, uncommon because generally major league batters – even the Royals – don’t swing at pitches so bad the catcher can’t stop them cleanly.

In the bottom of the sixth Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer, and in the top of the seventh Ramirez answered with a solo shot. Tied at two, all scoring on balls hit over the fence.

The Brewers managed some National-League-style station-to-station in the top of the eighth, combining a single and a sac bunt to put Carlos Gomez in scoring position. Yost (or Yost’s unejected proxy) decided Hochevar was done, and in came Jose Mijares. When pitch hitter Cody Ransom singled in the run, the game started to smell like doom.

In the bottom of the ninth, Maier got the game’s second strikeout-wild-pitch. Mike Moustakas grounded out to first but moved the runner to second. Then Alcides Escobar struck out, and I started packing to go. I think I would have put in a pinch hitter for Dyson (the one thing Yuniesky Betancourt might actually be good for), but no.

Right call, as it turned out. By some miracle, Brewers closer John Axford walked Dyson. And at this point the Royals did put in a pinch hitter, Brayan Pena for the hitless Quintero. With runners moving on contact, Pena hit a line drive into the left field corner. Maier scored easily, and Dyson with his excellent speed rounded third.

Then a mess of mistakes happened at once. Pena headed for second and looked for all the world as if he’d end up caught in a run-down and we’d go to extras. But when shortstop Edwin Maysonet fired to Ricky Weeks, the second baseman must have been trying to watch both Pena and Dyson at the same time. The ball struck his chest and rolled away. By the time he recovered and threw wide to home, Dyson was sliding across the plate. The game ended with much jubilation on the field.

Obviously that was the Play of the Game. The Player of the Game was Hard Luck Hochevar, who threw well and deserved something better than a no decision. This was just our second walk-off win of the season (the first was last night’s bases loaded walk to Moustakas in the bottom of the 11th) and our first three-game series sweep. Odd odd odd. Fun, but odd.

The box score:

BREWERS (3) AT ROYALS (4)

BREWERS              AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Norichika Aoki        3  0  1  0  Alex Gordon           4  1  1  0  
Nyjer Morgan          3  0  0  0  Chris Getz            4  0  1  0  
 Cody Ransom          1  0  1  1  Billy Butler          2  0  0  0  
Ryan Braun            4  1  1  1  Eric Hosmer           4  1  1  2  
Aramis Ramirez        4  1  1  1  Jeff Francoeur        1  0  0  0  
Corey Hart            4  0  1  0   Mitch Maier          3  1  0  0  
George Kottaras       3  0  1  0  Mike Moustakas        4  0  0  0  
 Martin Maldonado     0  0  0  0  Alcides Escobar       3  0  0  0  
Rickie Weeks          4  0  0  0  Jarrod Dyson          3  1  1  0  
Carlos Gomez          2  1  1  0  Humberto Quintero     3  0  0  0  
Edwin Maysonet        2  0  0  0   Brayan Pena          1  0  1  2  
TOTALS               30  3  7  3  TOTALS               32  4  5  4

BREWERS                       000 100 110 -- 3  
ROYALS                        000 002 002 -- 4  

LOB--BREWERS 4, ROYALS 6. HR--Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez,
Eric Hosmer. HBP--Norichika Aoki, Alcides Escobar.
SACB--Edwin Maysonet. SB--Carlos Gomez, Alcides Escobar.

 BREWERS                         IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Shaun Marcum                  7 2-3    4    2    2    2    5    1
Francisco Rodriguez           0 1-3    0    0    0    0    1    0
John Axford                   0 2-3    1    2    2    1    2    0
 ROYALS                     
Luke Hochevar                 7 1-3    6    3    3    1    5    2
Jose Mijares                  0 1-3    1    0    0    0    0    0
Kelvin Herrera                0 1-3    0    0    0    0    1    0
Tim Collins                       1    0    0    0    1    2    0

WP--John Axford, Shaun Marcum. SO--Ryan Braun (2), Corey
Hart, Nyjer Morgan, George Kottaras (2), Aramis Ramirez,
Rickie Weeks, Jeff Francoeur, Mitch Maier (2), Alcides
Escobar, Jarrod Dyson, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas (2).
BB--Carlos Gomez, Martin Maldonado, Billy Butler (2), Jarrod
Dyson.

Buck seat: W-- (School administrator? Really?)
Guard: K State AFROTC
Anthem: School choir (so not Alice Cooper)

Umpires:
H: Iasssogna
1: Bucknor
2: Miller
3: Scott

Time: 7:11
Temp: 87

Game 16 vs. Milwaukee

Going into this experience, I figured the highlight would be seeing Zack Greinke’s first game at the K since he went to the Brewers a year or two ago. Who would have thought that the Royals would actually provide most of the highlights?

The game got off to a roaring start. Either home plate umpire Bill Miller was calling a narrow strike zone, or Greinke was deliberately working around the edges and just not getting the calls. He ran the count full on lead-off hitter Alex Gordon, then served up what must have been the perfect hitter’s pitch. Not exactly known for his home run prowess, Gordon smacked a no-doubter over the center field fence.

Unfazed, Greinke struck out the next two batters and got Eric Hosmer (who had a less-than-sterling night at the plate) to ground out. He went on to throw six more scoreless innings. Though he gave up a hit here and there, the Royals didn’t get any serious offense together until the sixth. Chris Getz singled and Billy Butler batted him around to third (playing a solid hit and run), but both runners ended up stranded.

Sadly for the Brewers’ ace, the visitors also struggled at the plate. Luis Mendoza made his first start in awhile; he’d been in the bullpen, but thanks to injuries he’s now part of our rotation. And he was outstanding. Other than a walk in the second and a hit batter in the fourth, he was perfect through six.

Of course he was helped in no small part by some really great plays. In the top of the second Mike Moustakas made a diving stop of a hard-hit grounder by Aramis Ramirez. Then he got to his feet and threw the runner out. Then in the fourth Gordon ran down a fly ball that looked like a sure hit. He even came close to throwing out Norichika Aoki scrambling back to first. And when the next batter also hit one deep to left, Aoki considered tagging but then thought better of it. Then Getz and Alcides Escobar pulled off a tricky play on a grounder down the middle to end the inning.

Then in the seventh things got interesting. Ryan Braun led off with a hard grounder down the third base line. Moustakas fielded it, but perhaps he was a little to anxious to make the throw from deep in the corner. He didn’t get his back foot planted firmly enough, and the throw went wide. By the end of the play, Mendoza’s no hitter was gone, the Royals hung two errors on the board (one of which I missed thanks to the bigfeets standing in front of me) and Braun was at third.

Mendoza walked the next batter, and Ned Yost brought in Aaron Crow. At the time I was concerned about our starter, who was only at 74 pitches. However, he was fine. Yost wanted him to throw a short start and probably wouldn’t have left him in that long if not for the no hitter thing.

Unlike Aoki, Braun must have missed the memo about Gordon’s arm. When Taylor Green flew out to shallow left, he tagged and ran. I understand that when the visiting team is trailing by one in the late innings they have to take some risks. But the play at the plate wasn’t even all that close. Sadly, Rickie Weeks – a .170-ish hitter who gave the Royals trouble all night – doubled to end the shut out.

Greg Holland came in for the top of the eighth. He seemed to be having some kind of difficulty, because just about every pitch required a mound conference with Humberto Quintero and various infielders. Somehow he managed to get out of it.

The Brewers also brought in relief in the eighth, and it ended up costing them. Gordon led off with a single, Getz bunted him to second and Butler singled him in.

But Jonathan Broxton must have decided we hadn’t had quite enough excitement yet. Ramirez led off the ninth with a single, and the Brewers busted out the pinch runners and hitters. They made it as far as third but no farther.

As if the game itself wasn’t enough fun – and it was – we also got a rare treat. In the bottom of the second the stadium’s sound system died and didn’t come back until the top of the fourth. How wonderful the quiet was! We’ve all gotten used to ignoring the chatter and racket as best we can, so I was surprised at just how nice it was to have it gone for an inning or so.

The box score:

BREWERS (1) AT ROYALS (2)

BREWERS              AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Corey Hart            4  0  1  0  Alex Gordon           4  2  2  1  
Norichika Aoki        3  0  0  0  Chris Getz            3  0  1  0  
Ryan Braun            4  0  1  0  Billy Butler          4  0  2  1  
Aramis Ramirez        3  1  1  0  Eric Hosmer           4  0  0  0  
Taylor Green          4  0  0  0  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  2  0  
Rickie Weeks          3  0  2  1  Mike Moustakas        4  0  1  0  
Cody Ransom           3  0  0  0  Alcides Escobar       3  0  1  0  
 George Kottaras      1  0  0  0  Jarrod Dyson          3  0  0  0  
Martin Maldonado      3  0  0  0  Humberto Quintero     3  0  0  0  
 Brooks Conrad        1  0  0  0                                    
Nyjer Morgan          2  0  0  0                                    
TOTALS               31  1  5  1  TOTALS               32  2  9  2

BREWERS                       000 000 100 -- 1  
ROYALS                        100 000 01x -- 2  

LOB--BREWERS 7, ROYALS 7. ERR--Eric Hosmer. 2B--Rickie
Weeks, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas. HR--Alex Gordon.
HBP--Norichika Aoki. SACB--Chris Getz. SB--Carlos Gomez.

 BREWERS                         IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Zack Greinke                      7    6    1    1    0    8    1
Francisco Rodriguez               1    3    1    1    0    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Luis Mendoza                      6    1    1    1    2    4    0
Aaron Crow                        1    1    0    0    0    1    0
Greg Holland                      1    1    0    0    1    1    0
Jonathan Broxton                  1    2    0    0    0    2    0

SO--Corey Hart (2), George Kottaras, Cody Ransom (2), Martin
Maldonado, Taylor Green (2), Humberto Quintero, Jeff
Francoeur, Billy Butler (2), Chris Getz, Jarrod Dyson, Eric
Hosmer, Mike Moustakas (2). BB--Nyjer Morgan, Aramis
Ramirez, Rickie Weeks.

Buck seat: W-- (golf tournament organizer)
Guard: Truman library rangers
Anthem: High school choir

Umpires:
H: Miller
1: Scott
2: Iassogna
3: Bucknor

Time: 7:10
Temp: 81

Game 15 vs. Minnesota

Continuing on the subject of baseball and movies, I think the latter influences how we perceive the former. In particular, movies accustom us to certain dramatic structures that don’t reliably appear in baseball games.

For example, if games played out like action movies, the home team would always start out behind. The visitors would score – maybe even score big – in the first inning or two. Then the teams would trade a run or two back and forth here and there until the bottom of the ninth. With the game on the line, two outs and the bases loaded, a batter (maybe the team’s aging slugger, maybe a rookie fresh off the farm) hits one over the fence and the crowd rejoices.

And wouldn’t baseball be just as dull as action movies if games always ended that way? Royals fans in particular have learned to savor a more Chaplin-esque experience. Maybe the Little Fellow will get the girl in the end. More likely he won’t. But if you’ll forgive the cliché, the point is the journey rather than the destination.

On the other hand, games where everything happens in the first inning can be downright frustrating. Hollywood learned this the hard way with movies such as Three Days of the Condor and the “Windmills of Your Mind” sequence from The Thomas Crown Affair. You can’t pack all the action into the first 20 minutes.

As this game aptly demonstrated. It’s hard not to groan when Yuniesky Betancourt’s name shows up in the lineup, and it’s even harder when he’s playing short in place of defensively-competent Alcides Escobar. And it’s harder still when he starts screwing up in the top of the first inning.

Actually the game led off with a truly bizarre play. Ben Revere hit a screaming line drive directly into Felipe Paulino’s thigh. The ball rolled away, but Paulino stuck with it. He scrambled over, picked it up and threw toward first, bouncing it off Revere’s back and into right field foul ground. Revere is speedy, and he made it all the way around to third.

But hold on, stop the presses, home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez seems to have a different opinion. He ruled Revere out for defensive interference. And in truth he was well inside the baseline on his way to first, so it was a good call. Yet for a minute or two the field was confusion as Ron Gardenhire argued the call (or at least sought clarification) and the coaches and team doctor checked on Paulino.

Then the next batter (Jamey Carroll) reached on an error by Guess Who. A single by Josh Willingham moved the lead runner to third, but then Justin Morneau popped to center, too shallow to score the runner. But then out came the medical staff again. Though Paulino appeared to suffer no immediate ill effects from being hit by Revere’s line drive, he managed to injure his groin going over to third to cover on the pop-up. Out he went, and along with him a significant part of our hope for winning the game.

In came Luis Mendoza for some long relief. And like evil magic, Ryan Doumit hit a double down the middle, just beyond the reach of Guess Who. So basically if Escobar hadn’t needed a day off (and BGs know he’s earned it), we’re out of this inning twice over. Instead the score is one to nothing.

Alex Gordon led off the bottom of the first with a single. As if to demonstrate that he’s in the lineup for offense rather than defense, Betancourt hit a home run into the left field bullpen. On one hand, that partially made up for his incompetence in the top of the inning. On the other hand, the American League has a name for players who bat well but can’t field: designated hitters.

As noted, the rest of the game was fairly lackluster. Mike Moustakas turned a good double play in the fourth by stepping on third before firing to first. You don’t see that every day, particularly considering that he had to backtrack a bit to pull it off. But then in the fifth the Twins scored a couple of cheap runs (a single, a walk, a questionable hit batter and another single). That plus another in the seventh proved to be enough.

The box score:

TWINS (4) AT ROYALS (2)

TWINS                AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Ben Revere            5  2  2  0  Alex Gordon           3  1  1  0  
Jamey Carroll         4  2  1  1  Yuniesky Betancourt   4  1  1  2  
Josh Willingham       3  0  1  0  Billy Butler          4  0  1  0  
Justin Morneau        4  0  2  2  Mike Moustakas        4  0  1  0  
Ryan Doumit           4  0  2  1  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  0  0  
Trevor Plouffe        4  0  0  0  Eric Hosmer           3  0  1  0  
Brian Dozier          4  0  0  0  Johnny Giavotella     4  0  1  0  
Alexi Casilla         3  0  0  0  Jarrod Dyson          4  0  1  0  
Darin Mastroianni     4  0  1  0  Humberto Quintero     3  0  0  0  
                                   Brayan Pena          1  0  0  0  
TOTALS               35  4  9  4  TOTALS               34  2  7  2

TWINS                         100 020 100 -- 4  
ROYALS                        200 000 000 -- 2  

LOB--TWINS 7, ROYALS 7. ERR--Brian Dozier, Yuniesky
Betancourt. 2B--Ryan Doumit. 3B--Ben Revere. HR--Yuniesky
Betancourt. HBP--Josh Willingham. SB--Alexi Casilla.

 TWINS                           IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Nick Blackburn                    5    5    2    2    2    1    1
Jeff Manship                      1    1    0    0    0    0    0
Jared Burton                  1 1-3    0    0    0    0    3    0
Glen Perkins                  0 2-3    1    0    0    0    1    0
Matt Capps                        1    0    0    0    0    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Felipe Paulino                0 2-3    1    1    0    0    0    0
Luis Mendoza                      5    5    2    2    2    2    0
Kelvin Herrera                0 2-3    2    1    1    0    1    0
Jose Mijares                  0 2-3    0    0    0    0    1    0
Aaron Crow                        1    0    0    0    0    1    0
Greg Holland                      1    1    0    0    0    1    0

SO--Jamey Carroll, Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Alexi
Casilla (2), Trevor Plouffe, Humberto Quintero, Yuniesky
Betancourt, Billy Butler, Brayan Pena, Eric Hosmer, Johnny
Giavotella. BB--Jamey Carroll, Alexi Casilla, Alex Gordon,
Eric Hosmer.

Buck Seat: B (Quisenberry father of the year)
Guard: JROTC
Anthem: Sing faster

Umpires:
H: Marquez
1: Blaser (spelled correctly this time)
2: Hallion
3: Fairchild

Time: 7:10
Temp: 81 

Game 14 vs. Minnesota

There’s something about the Major League movies. After the first two came out, the Cleveland Indians went from lovable losers to consistent league champions. Ah, must have been an influx of cash either directly from Hollywood or from a fan base increased by the movies’s popularity.

How then can we explain the Twins’ upsurge in the wake of Major League 3? This sorry excuse for a sequel can’t have brought much money to much of anyone. Indeed, I’m guessing I’m one of the few people who’s even seen it. And yet after it came out, suddenly the Twins were the big cheese in the AL central.

And yet no more. Prior to last season, Joe Mauer underwent knee surgery from which he never seemed to completely recover. Though he attempted several glorious returns to the big team, a return to the DL and the minors was never far away. He seemed to think he was past it this year, but today he was out of the lineup with a “bruised thumb.” Too many shampoo ads, perhaps.

Mauer seems to be the George Brett of the Twins. When he’s out, it really breaks the team’s collective back. They finished in the basement last year, and even with our terrible home luck they’re still 2.5 games behind us in the standings. So going into this game we could at least hold out some hope.

The wind started to blow ill when Amy couldn’t make the game. She got caught up enrolling at the college and couldn’t get away in time. Even worse, the class she got will make her miss both games next week and one more in July. The price we pay for knowledge.

Royals rookie Will Smith got off to an early not-ready-for-the-majors start. The Twins scored in the top of the first off a two-run homer by Josh Willingham (the first of three Smith gave up before Ned Yost gave up and yanked him in the fifth). He also did a poor job of holding runners. Jamey Carroll and Brian Dozier stole cleanly, and Ben Revere got such a big jump that Humberto Quintero didn’t even bother throwing.

Nor was our bullpen exactly stellar. Louis Coleman and Tim Collins did okay. Aaron Crow started out well but faded fast, giving up two late inning runs that helped hold the Royals’ heads underwater. On the other hand, Jose Mijares had a reasonably good outing, striking out three of the four batters he faced.

On offense we actually had a reasonably good evening. Mike Moustakas went three for four with a home run and two doubles. We even managed to tie it briefly in fourth. Then Yost had Alcides Escobar lay down a sac bunt to move runners to second and third. After the game the a-holes on the radio were riding him about having a good batter bunt with two mediocre hitters following, but his reply made sense: he wanted to get the lead if he could. Who knew Jarrod Dyson and Quintero would both strike out looking?

So Twins starter Cole DeVries didn’t fare much better than our rookie. On the other hand, Jared Burton pitched one inning and struck out all three batters he faced. Ron Gardenhire should have left him in, as Jeff Gray started the ninth and gave up two runs (one of which was on a wild pitch). But then he brought in Matt Capps to get the final out.

The Player of the Game was Moustakas. In addition to his stellar night at the plate, he made more than one great play at third. Mooooose! The Play of the Game was either Escobar’s bunt (which was great, so stuff it radio morons) or Revere trying to stretch a single into a double, assuming the throw would try to get Carroll at the plate or maybe Denard Span at third and thus falling victim to the dreaded 9-2-6-3-8 run-down. 

The box score:

TWINS (10) AT ROYALS (7)

TWINS                AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Denard Span           4  0  0  0  Alex Gordon           4  0  0  0  
Ben Revere            5  2  3  2  Johnny Giavotella     5  1  1  0  
Josh Willingham       3  2  2  3  Billy Butler          4  1  1  0  
Justin Morneau        5  1  1  2  Mike Moustakas        4  3  3  2  
Ryan Doumit           5  0  0  0  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  2  1  
Trevor Plouffe        4  1  1  1  Eric Hosmer           3  1  1  2  
Brian Dozier          5  1  1  0  Alcides Escobar       3  0  0  0  
Alexi Casilla         4  1  1  0  Jarrod Dyson          4  1  1  0  
Jamey Carroll         3  2  3  2  Humberto Quintero     3  0  0  0  
                                   Brayan Pena          0  0  0  1  
TOTALS               38 10 12 10  TOTALS               34  7  9  6

TWINS                         210 131 020 -- 10 
ROYALS                        010 301 002 -- 7  

LOB--TWINS 6, ROYALS 4. ERR--Alexi Casilla, Alcides Escobar.
2B--Brian Dozier, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas (2). 3B--Jamey
Carroll. HR--Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Trevor
Plouffe, Mike Moustakas. SACF--Brayan Pena, Eric Hosmer.
SACB--Alcides Escobar. SB--Jamey Carroll, Brian Dozier.

 TWINS                           IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Cole DeVries                      5    7    5    5    0    4    1
Alex Burnett                      2    0    0    0    0    1    0
Jared Burton                      1    0    0    0    0    3    0
Jeff Gray                     0 2-3    2    2    2    1    0    0
Matt Capps                    0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
 ROYALS                     
Will Smith                    4 2-3    8    7    7    2    3    3
Louis Coleman                 0 2-3    0    1    1    1    1    0
Tim Collins                   0 2-3    1    0    0    2    1    0
Aaron Crow                    1 2-3    3    2    2    0    1    0
Jose Mijares                  1 1-3    0    0    0    0    3    0

WP--Jeff Gray. SO--Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau (2),
Denard Span, Ryan Doumit, Trevor Plouffe (2), Brian Dozier
(2), Humberto Quintero, Jeff Francoeur (2), Billy Butler
(2), Alcides Escobar, Jarrod Dyson, Mike Moustakas.
BB--Jamey Carroll, Josh Willingham (2), Denard Span, Trevor
Plouffe, Alex Gordon.

Buck Seat: W--- (Competed in a triathlon? Buck would be so proud)
Guard: KU Army ROTC
Anthem: Church youth choir

Umpires:
H: Hallian
1: Fairchild
2: Marquez
3: Blazer

Time: 7:11
Temp: 90

Game 13 vs. Oakland

Friday night is also a good time for a ballgame. Nobody has to go to work the next day, so we can all sit back and enjoy ourselves. Even if it happens to be Girls’ Night Out and the stadium happens to be full of people enjoying the outlandish prices of the adult beverages.

The game ... whew. We’ve been doing great on the road, but home wins have been rare enough this season that we should cherish each and every one of them. Still, we won this one solely by virtue of being slightly less terrible than the visiting team.

Felipe Paulino pitched well in May. He set some kind of weird record, like being the only Royals pitcher to throw a minimum of six scoreless innings in two consecutive games against the Yankees. Sadly, he’s been in the “no run support” pit along with the rest of the pitching staff, so his record isn’t especially great. Bartolo Colon took the mound for Oakland. It seems like an eternity since his salad days (actually more likely cheeseburger days) with Cleveland, but apparently he’s still in the majors.

The game got off to a rocky start when a grounder zipped right past Eric Hosmer. This marks the first occasion in which I disagreed with the official scorer and recorded it as an error rather than a hit. Sorry, but the ball was hit right at him. A little more concentration on his part and that’s an easy out in his glove rather than a runner on first.

Paulino didn’t let it get to him. Indeed, he got the next eight batters in a row.

In our half of the first, Colon walked Alex Gordon and then gave up a double to Yuiesky Betancourt (poor Irving Falu optioned back to Omaha). A couple more hits and we had an early 2-0 lead, not exactly a Luke-Hochevar-sized meltdown but not what one would expect from a pitcher of Colon’s experience.

He struggled a little in the second and a lot in the third. After loading the bases to start the inning, only the dumbest of luck (a fielder’s choice force at the plate and an inning-ending double play) got the A’s out unscathed.

For their part, Oakland just squandered opportunities with terrible base running. Jemile Weeks singled with two outs in the third, and when Seth Smith walked things started to look like trouble. But then Weeks took off for third before Paulino even started his delivery, and though the pitcher didn’t immediately pick up the screams from our dugout he still got the runner by a mile. Then an inning later Yoenis Cespedis got picked off at first.

I’m not sure what exactly the deal is with Oakland. They’ve got a couple of mediocre ex-Royals (Coco Crisp and Kila Ka’aihue), Brandon Inge (who used to be outstanding for the Tigers at third), some names that are vaguely familiar and some guys I’ve never heard of. Whatever their strategy with all that might be, it wasn’t working for them tonight.

In closing, I’d like to note that I wish they’d find another in-from-the-bullpen song for Jonathan Broxton. If “Iron Man” really gets him fired up, then I guess we’re stuck with it. Certainly Black Sabbath is no worse than Guns n’ Roses. It’s just that back in the day the neighborhood kids used to refer to Ronald McKay as “Chicken Man.” And sometimes Randy Burton would sing the Chicken Man song – “I am Chicken Man, Eatin’ chicken fast as I can” to the obvious tune. Ah, sweet memories of childhood that I don’t want associated with the guy being marketed as our ace closer.

The box score:

ATHLETICS (0) AT ROYALS (2)

ATHLETICS            AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Jemile Weeks          4  0  1  0  Alex Gordon           3  1  1  0  
Seth Smith            3  0  0  0  Yuniesky Betancourt   4  1  1  1  
Josh Reddick          4  0  1  0  Billy Butler          4  0  1  0  
Yoenis Cespedes       4  0  0  0  Mike Moustakas        2  0  1  1  
Kila Ka'aihue         3  0  0  0  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  1  0  
Brandon Inge          2  0  0  0  Eric Hosmer           4  0  1  0  
Coco Crisp            3  0  0  0  Alcides Escobar       3  0  1  0  
Kurt Suzuki           2  0  0  0  Jarrod Dyson          3  0  0  0  
Cliff Pennington      3  0  0  0  Humberto Quintero     3  0  1  0  
TOTALS               28  0  2  0  TOTALS               30  2  8  2

ATHLETICS                     000 000 000 -- 0  
ROYALS                        200 000 00x -- 2  

LOB--ATHLETICS 5, ROYALS 7. ERR--Eric Hosmer. 2B--Yuniesky
Betancourt, Alex Gordon.

 ATHLETICS                       IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Bartolo Colon                     7    8    2    2    2    3    0
Andrew Carignan               0 2-3    0    0    0    1    1    0
Jerry Blevins                 0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
 ROYALS                     
Felipe Paulino                    6    2    0    0    3    5    0
Kelvin Herrera                    1    0    0    0    1    1    0
Greg Holland                      1    0    0    0    0    1    0
Jonathan Broxton                  1    0    0    0    0    2    0

SO--Seth Smith, Brandon Inge, Cliff Pennington (2), Josh
Reddick (2), Jemile Weeks, Yoenis Cespedes (2), Jeff
Francoeur, Yuniesky Betancourt, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon.
BB--Kurt Suzuki, Seth Smith, Brandon Inge, Kila Ka'aihue,
Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas (2).

Buck Seat: B (So your mom had cancer? Really?)
Guard: Navy
Anthem: Eddie Money (still alive, apparently)

Umpires:

H - Everitt
1 - Schreiber
2 - Welke
3 - Diaz

Time: 7:10
Temp: 63 (plus a chilly wind at our backs)