Game 40 vs. Cleveland

Final Fireworks Friday. Final dollar dog night. The days are growing shorter now, with the sun setting not too long after the game started.

Which was five minutes late thanks to the induction of George Toma into the Royals Hall of Fame. On the plus side, it was nice to see the franchise extending the man a little respect. I was disappointed when we missed the ceremony’s originally-scheduled date a few weeks ago, so I’m glad we were there to see it happen. Several players from back in the day showed up for the pre-game ceremony, so that was fun as well.

On the other hand, the ceremony itself was more than a little half-assed. They spent a chunk of money putting up big wall-sized photos of Toma. But then David Glass forgot part of his speech, leading to one of the most epic embarrassed silences I’ve ever seen. Then Toma himself gave a long, rambling speech. Though I wouldn’t begrudge the man his moment, for my taste he could have spent a great deal less time dwelling on the details of caring for football stadiums.

The game itself was a typical Royals-style victory. We took a small lead early on, which was nice because at least it was a lead. But we never pulled so far ahead that we could sit back in our seats and get comfortable.

At least some of the farmhands played like they wanted to stay in the majors. Irving Falu got a little too aggressive on the basepaths in the second, running into an 8-4-3 run-down (though Brayan Pena scored on the play). Falu had a better time fielding, making several good stops. David Lough also made a great diving catch in left.

We also got to see a fair amount of squirrel ball. Weak popouts seemed to be the order of the day. Both sides also did some batter hitting. It started with a harsh plunk to Alcides Escobar’s forearm. Shin-Soo Choo was the next victim. Both of those were likely to have been accidental. But in the eighth Scott Maine struck Lough squarely and deliberately, drawing a warning from the umpire to both benches. I can’t remember the last time I saw that.

Fortunately it came too late to make any difference in the outcome. Cleveland played like the worst team in the league (an “honor” they’re currently swapping back and forth with Minnesota), and we played like a team marginally better than that.

The box score:

INDIANS (3) AT ROYALS (6)

INDIANS              AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Shin-Soo Choo         4  1  1  0  Jarrod Dyson          3  1  1  0  
Jason Kipnis          5  0  1  0  Alcides Escobar       3  0  1  0  
Asdrubal Cabrera      4  1  2  0  Mike Moustakas        3  1  1  2  
Carlos Santana        3  0  1  2  Billy Butler          3  0  1  0  
Michael Brantley      3  0  1  1  Jeff Francoeur        4  2  1  0  
Travis Hafner         3  0  0  0  Eric Hosmer           3  0  0  1  
 Matt LaPorta         1  0  1  0  Brayan Pena           4  1  2  2  
Casey Kotchman        3  0  2  0  David Lough           3  0  1  0  
 Russ Canzler         1  0  0  0  Irving Falu           4  1  2  1  
Lonnie Chisenhall     4  0  0  0                                    
Ezequiel Carrera      4  1  1  0                                    
TOTALS               35  3 10  3  TOTALS               30  6 10  6

INDIANS                       001 000 200 -- 3  
ROYALS                        021 010 02x -- 6  

LOB--INDIANS 9, ROYALS 6. 2B--Asdrubal Cabrera, Brayan Pena.
HBP--Shin-Soo Choo, Alcides Escobar, David Lough. SACF--Eric
Hosmer, Mike Moustakas. SACB--Asdrubal Cabrera. SB--Alcides
Escobar.

 INDIANS                         IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Justin Masterson                  6    7    4    4    2    3    0
Joe Smith                         1    0    0    0    0    1    0
Cody Allen                    0 1-3    2    2    2    0    0    0
Scott Maine                   0 2-3    1    0    0    0    0    0
 ROYALS                     
Luis Mendoza                      6    8    2    2    2    3    0
Tim Collins                       1    1    1    1    0    1    0
Francisley Bueno                  1    1    0    0    0    1    0
Greg Holland                      1    0    0    0    0    1    0

WP--Justin Masterson. SO--Asdrubal Cabrera (2), Shin-Soo
Choo, Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, Russ Canzler, Billy
Butler (2), Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer. BB--Michael
Brantley, Carlos Santana, Billy Butler, Jarrod Dyson.

LOCATION: The K

CONDITION: Dry

WEATHER: Clear, Cool

Buck: W (domestic violence shelter worker)
Guard: USN
Anthem: Meh

Umpires
H: Cederstrom
1: Barksdale
2: Rippinger
3: Johnson

Time: 7:15
Temp: 75

Game 39 vs. Chicago

Here’s today’s great puzzlement: how hard is it to get telephones to work? At one point between innings Robin “Ow! Ow! Ow!” Ventura, home plate umpire Tim Timmons, Ned Yost and one of the cops on the field appeared to be having a great conversation about some serious topic. Fizzy Rocks was in the booth, so the radio was no help on the subject. But in his post-game press conference Yost revealed that the phone between the White Sox dugout and bullpen died.

Really, isn’t the telephone a technology we’ve had for some time now? So typical of the Royals organization that they can’t even make the phones work.

Fortunately the team fared a bit better than the technology. We were up against Chris Sale, the ace of Chicago’s first place staff and a solid contender for the Cy Young. But all the good pitching in the world doesn’t win a game if your team doesn’t score. And the Sox didn’t.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. Chicago stranded eight runners in scoring position, half of them at third base. But it must have been Bruce Chen’s lucky night. As Yost later observed, he kept pitching himself into trouble and then pitching himself back out of it.

We weren’t exactly stellar at the plate. Indeed, Sale struck out the side in the second. But we caught a few breaks here and there. Alcides Escobar pulled off a Baltimore Chop in the third, not something you see everyday. We only scored once in that inning, but we added another two in the seventh thanks in part to Eric Hosmer stretching a single to a double by simply failing to stop running.

It was nice to see us play aggressively against a team that should want victories way worse than we do. Funny how often we seem to slip into the role of September Spoiler for the AL Central.

The box score:

WHITE SOX (0) AT ROYALS (3)

WHITE SOX            AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Alejandro De Aza      5  0  4  0  Jason Bourgeois       4  1  1  0  
Kevin Youkilis        5  0  0  0  Alcides Escobar       3  1  3  0  
Adam Dunn             3  0  0  0  Alex Gordon           3  0  2  2  
Paul Konerko          3  0  1  0  Billy Butler          3  0  0  1  
Alex Rios             4  0  3  0  Salvador Perez        4  0  1  0  
Dayan Viciedo         3  0  0  0  Mike Moustakas        4  0  1  0  
 Dewayne Wise         1  0  1  0  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  0  0  
Alexei Ramirez        4  0  0  0  Eric Hosmer           4  1  1  0  
Tyler Flowers         3  0  0  0  Johnny Giavotella     3  0  0  0  
 Orlando Hudson       1  0  0  0                                    
Gordon Beckham        2  0  0  0                                    
 A.J. Pierzynski      1  0  0  0                                    
TOTALS               35  0  9  0  TOTALS               32  3  9  3

WHITE SOX                     000 000 000 -- 0  
ROYALS                        001 000 20x -- 3  

LOB--WHITE SOX 11, ROYALS 8. ERR--Alexei Ramirez. 2B--Alex
Rios, Paul Konerko, Alejandro De Aza, Alex Gordon, Eric
Hosmer, Mike Moustakas. 3B--Alejandro De Aza. SACF--Billy
Butler. SB--Alcides Escobar.

 WHITE SOX                       IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Chris Sale                    6 2-3    8    3    3    2    8    0
Nate Jones                    0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Brian Omogrosso               0 2-3    1    0    0    0    0    0
Donnie Veal                   0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
 ROYALS                     
Bruce Chen                    6 2-3    5    0    0    3    4    0
Kelvin Herrera                1 1-3    3    0    0    0    2    0
Greg Holland                      1    1    0    0    0    1    0

SO--Kevin Youkilis (2), A.J. Pierzynski, Alexei Ramirez,
Tyler Flowers (2), Dayan Viciedo, Jeff Francoeur, Billy
Butler, Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas (2), Johnny
Giavotella, Salvador Perez. BB--Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko,
Gordon Beckham, Alex Gordon, Alcides Escobar.

LOCATION: The K

CONDITION: Dry

WEATHER: Cool, Dry

Buck: W+ (disaster area pet rescue)
Guard: USN
Anthem: Please wear pants that fit

Umpires:
H: Timmons
1: Foster
2: Cooper
3: Kellogg

Time: 7:10
Temp: 79

Game 38 vs. Los Angeles

This was one of those games that got off to a strange start and then stuck with “weird” as a theme right through to the end.

In the first inning Erick Aybar hit a long fly that looked a great deal like Alex Gordon snagged it with a diving catch just over the foul line. But third base umpire Ted Barrett ruled that it was neither a foul nor a catch, leaving Aybar safe at second. Naturally he later came around to score when a screaming Torii Hunter grounder took an awkward hop off the mound. And in the next inning the Angels added three more with a home run off the unlikely bat of Mark Trumbo.

LA mounted a couple more attempts at offense, but mostly they just struck out a lot. The only other interesting top of an inning came in the fifth. Albert Pujols hit a clean double to center, but when he saw Jason Bourgeois struggling to field the ball he tried stretching it to three. Bad move.

We were no less peculiar. The first couple of innings went fine (we even scored in the second), and it was hard to complain about Tony Abreu’s lead-off homer in the third. Billy Butler led off the fourth with a double but looked like he might end up stranded as the next two batters struck out swinging. Then Jeff Francoeur hit a tough one to short. Aybar threw it well wide of the first base bag, so far off that Butler scored all the way from second.

From there on the Royals had trouble getting anything done. In the late innings Mike Scioscia started playing the stupid lefty-righty match-up thing, all the more aggravating because it worked for him. We got a brief glimmer of hope in the bottom of the ninth when Mike Moustakas singled and gave way to pinch runner Jarrod Dyson. Though the speedy runner had second stolen cleanly on the very next pitch, he overslid the bag. One more pop-out and the game was over.

The weather is turning cool now. Not just a fluke chill providing welcome relief from the summer heat. Autumn may not officially start until next week, but it felt like it was in the ballpark for real this afternoon.

The box score:

ANGELS (4) AT ROYALS (3)

ANGELS               AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Mike Trout            3  0  0  0  Jason Bourgeois       4  0  1  0  
Erick Aybar           4  1  3  0  Alcides Escobar       4  0  0  0  
Albert Pujols         4  0  1  0  Alex Gordon           3  0  0  0  
Torii Hunter          4  0  1  1  Billy Butler          4  1  1  0  
Howard Kendrick       4  0  0  0  Salvador Perez        4  1  1  0  
Vernon Wells          4  1  2  0  Mike Moustakas        4  0  1  0  
Alberto Callaspo      4  1  1  0  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  1  1  
Mark Trumbo           4  1  1  3  Eric Hosmer           3  0  0  0  
Bobby Wilson          3  0  0  0  Tony Abreu            2  1  1  1  
TOTALS               34  4  9  4  TOTALS               32  3  6  2

ANGELS                        130 000 000 -- 4  
ROYALS                        011 100 000 -- 3  

LOB--ANGELS 5, ROYALS 4. ERR--Erick Aybar, Eric Hosmer.
2B--Erick Aybar, Albert Pujols, Billy Butler, Salvador
Perez. HR--Mark Trumbo, Tony Abreu.

 ANGELS                          IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Dan Haren                     5 2-3    5    3    2    1    5    1
Nick Maronde                  0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Garrett Richards              1 1-3    0    0    0    1    0    0
Scott Downs                   0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Jordan Walden                 0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Kevin Jepsen                      1    1    0    0    0    0    0
 ROYALS                     
Will Smith                        5    7    4    4    2    2    1
Louis Coleman                     1    1    0    0    0    2    0
Aaron Crow                        1    1    0    0    0    1    0
Kelvin Herrera                    1    0    0    0    0    2    0
Greg Holland                      1    0    0    0    0    1    0

WP--Aaron Crow. BALK--Dan Haren. SO--Howard Kendrick (2),
Torii Hunter (2), Mark Trumbo (3), Mike Trout, Alex Gordon,
Tony Abreu, Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez.
BB--Bobby Wilson, Mike Trout, Alex Gordon, Tony Abreu.

LOCATION: The K

CONDITION: Dry

WEATHER: Cloudy, Cool

Buck: B (high school athlete)
Guard: Job Corps JROTC
Anthem: Feedback City

Umpires
H: Fagan
1: Mr. Pine Tar
2: Reyburn
3: Barrett

Time: 1:12 (listed on the scoreboard as 6:12)
Temp: 70

Game 37 vs. Los Angeles

A night for slugging, though not necessarily from the most obvious spots. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Southern California in North America in the Western Hemisphere on the Planet Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy are in distant third place in the AL West, but if they were in the Central they’d have a significant lead over the White Sox.

Still, the vistors’ fan base appeared to be there less for the team and more for a specific player. Though it’s hard to tell the difference between Angels and Cardinals jerseys from the back, the big red 5 was unmistakable. But anyone hoping for a display of awesome hitting prowess from Albert Pujols was in for a disappointment. He went 0 for 3 with three fly-outs, an intentional walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Royals fans fared a little better. For some time now Billy Butler had been sitting on his 99th career home run, but in his first at bat of the game (leading off the second) he elected to sit no longer. The ball cleared the left field wall by a mile, the scoreboard announced the milestone and the crowd went nuts.

Indeed, most everyone seemed to be having a good night at the plate. Or the pitchers were having a bad night on the mound, depending on your perspective. Thus the theme of the game was substitutions. Seven pitchers for the Angels. Six for us. And Mike Sciosca actually managed to play no less than four guys in the number nine spot in the order, even odder considering that Chris Iannetta played the first seven innings and he was the catcher (not a spot where you usually see a lot of swapping going on).

Unfortunately we won the contest to see who could cough it up worst, losing yet another crazy game by a relatively slim margin.

The box score:

ANGELS (9) AT ROYALS (7)

ANGELS               AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Mike Trout            6  1  2  0  Jason Bourgeois       3  1  2  1  
Erick Aybar           5  1  4  1   David Lough          0  0  0  0  
Albert Pujols         3  0  0  0  Alcides Escobar       5  0  1  1  
Torii Hunter          3  1  1  1  Alex Gordon           4  1  0  0  
Howard Kendrick       5  1  1  2  Billy Butler          4  2  1  1  
Vernon Wells          4  2  0  0  Salvador Perez        4  0  0  0  
Mark Trumbo           5  1  1  0  Mike Moustakas        3  1  1  2  
Alberto Callaspo      4  0  1  2  Jeff Francoeur        4  1  2  2  
Chris Iannetta        3  1  1  0  Eric Hosmer           4  0  0  0  
 Kendrys Morales      1  1  1  2  Johnny Giavotella     4  1  1  0  
 Bobby Wilson         0  0  0  0                                    
 Kole Calhoun         1  0  0  1                                    
TOTALS               40  9 12  9  TOTALS               35  7  8  7

ANGELS                        000 400 131 -- 9  
ROYALS                        021 003 100 -- 7  

LOB--ANGELS 10, ROYALS 5. ERR--Jason Bourgeois. 2B--Erick
Aybar, Howard Kendrick, Jeff Francoeur, Johnny Giavotella.
HR--Kendrys Morales, Jeff Francoeur, Billy Butler, Mike
Moustakas. HBP--Vernon Wells, Albert Pujols. SACF--Mike
Moustakas. SB--Alcides Escobar, Jason Bourgeois (2).

 ANGELS                          IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
C.J. Wilson                       5    4    4    4    2    5    2
Garrett Richards              1 1-3    3    3    3    0    0    1
Nick Maronde                  0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Jordan Walden                 0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Kevin Jepsen                  0 2-3    1    0    0    0    0    0
Scott Downs                   0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Ernesto Frieri                    1    0    0    0    1    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Bruce Chen                    6 1-3    7    5    5    1    5    0
Louis Coleman                 0 2-3    1    0    0    1    2    0
Aaron Crow                    0 2-3    1    1    1    0    1    0
Tim Collins                       0    3    2    2    0    0    1
Jeremy Jeffress               0 2-3    0    1    0    2    2    0
Vin Mazzaro                   0 2-3    0    0    0    0    0    0

WP--Ernesto Frieri, Bruce Chen. SO--Howard Kendrick (3),
Torii Hunter, Chris Iannetta, Alberto Callaspo, Mark Trumbo
(2), Mike Trout (2), Billy Butler, Alcides Escobar (2),
Jason Bourgeois, Mike Moustakas, Johnny Giavotella.
BB--Torii Hunter (2), Albert Pujols, Alberto Callaspo, Alex
Gordon, Jason Bourgeois, David Lough.

LOCATION: The K

CONDITION: Dry

WEATHER: Clear, Cool

Buck: W- (KUMC hematologist, good job but I’m guessing it pays pretty well)
Guard: Firemen
Anthem: Doris Stoneburger

Umpires
H: Reyburn
1: Barrett
2: Fagan
3: Mr. Pine Tar

Time: 7:10
Temp: 68 

Game 36 vs. Texas

Not exactly a repeat of yesterday’s pitchers’ duel. Both teams sent a starter and three relievers to the mound, and with all the mid-inning substitutions it seemed like a lot more.

The Rangers scored three in the first off a home run by Adrian Beltre. But after that the Royals dug in and held the visitors scoreless for five. Sadly, we didn’t fare much better. In the first Billy Butler doubled in Alcides Escobar, so at least we got over the “at least it wasn’t a shut-out” fairly early. But we couldn’t do any more damage until a pair of doubles earned us another run in the sixth.

Feeling us at their heels, Texas went back to work. Michael Young led off the seventh with a home run, and they scored two more before the inning ended. At least Alex Gordon made a great catch to turn a sure double into a sac fly.

We didn’t just give up without a fight. The Rangers tried the suddenly-strangely-popular move of walking Jeff Francoeur to pitch to Eric Hosmer, which in this case ended up costing them. Both teams scored again in the eighth, and despite mounting a last-ditch effort in the bottom of the ninth we came up short.

The box score:

RANGERS (7) AT ROYALS (6)

RANGERS              AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Ian Kinsler           4  1  2  1  David Lough           3  0  0  1  
Elvis Andrus          4  0  1  1  Alcides Escobar       5  1  1  1  
Josh Hamilton         3  1  1  0  Alex Gordon           5  0  0  0  
Adrian Beltre         4  2  2  3  Billy Butler          4  2  3  1  
Nelson Cruz           4  0  1  1  Salvador Perez        3  0  1  1  
Michael Young         4  1  1  1  Mike Moustakas        4  0  0  1  
David Murphy          4  0  0  0  Jeff Francoeur        3  1  0  0  
Geovany Soto          2  1  0  0  Eric Hosmer           3  1  2  0  
Mike Olt              2  0  0  0  Johnny Giavotella     4  0  1  0  
 Mitch Moreland       2  1  1  0  *Jarrod Dyson         0  1  0  0  
TOTALS               33  7  9  7  TOTALS               34  6  8  5

RANGERS                       300 000 310 -- 7  
ROYALS                        100 001 211 -- 6  

LOB--RANGERS 3, ROYALS 6. 2B--Ian Kinsler, Mitch Moreland,
Billy Butler (3), Salvador Perez. 3B--Adrian Beltre.
HR--Adrian Beltre, Michael Young. SACF--Ian Kinsler, David
Lough. SB--Eric Hosmer (2).

 RANGERS                         IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Ryan Dempster                     6    4    2    2    2    8    0
Alexi Ogando                      1    1    2    2    1    0    0
Mike Adams                        1    1    1    1    1    0    0
Joe Nathan                        1    2    1    1    0    0    0
 ROYALS                     
Everett Teaford               4 1-3    3    3    3    2    5    1
Vin Mazzaro                       2    3    3    3    1    0    1
Aaron Crow                    0 2-3    1    0    0    0    0    0
Jeremy Jeffress                   2    2    1    1    0    0    0

WP--Mike Adams, Alexi Ogando. SO--Geovany Soto, Elvis Andrus
(2), Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Alex Gordon (2), Alcides
Escobar, David Lough, Mike Moustakas, Johnny Giavotella (2),
Salvador Perez. BB--Geovany Soto (2), Josh Hamilton, Jeff
Francoeur, David Lough, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez.

LOCATION: The K

CONDITION: Dry

WEATHER: Hot, Clear

Buck: W- (a nurse doing her job)
Guard: Job Corps JROTC
Anthem: Country duet

Umpires
H: Culbreth
1: Johnson
2: Cederstrom
3: Barksdale

Time: 7:10
Temp: 91

Game 35 vs. Texas

And now the days grow short. A couple of games against Texas, a couple with Los Angeles, and a final three with the AL Central.

This one seemed like bad luck at the outset. The Rangers are the best team in the American League, so farmhand Jeremy Guthrie wasn’t likely to pose much of a threat to them. Indeed, the game started predictably enough. Elvis Andrus hit a solo shot in the first, and in the second Geovany Soto drew a two-out walk and came around to score on a double by Mitch Moreland (though Moreland was tagged out trying to stretch it to a triple).

It also looked like one of those nights on offense as well. In the bottom of the second we got two runners in scoring position with just one out before going down on a pair of strikeouts.

But then things took a turn for the better. Lorenzo Cain reached on an error and then came around to score on a double by Alcides Escobar, who in turn got batted over by Alex Gordon and sacrificed in by Billy Butler. Tied with the best team in the league!

The Rangers seemed poised to pay us back in kind, but then Ian Kinsler got tagged out at the plate. And that was pretty much it for Texas.

We added three insurance runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, including home runs by Gordon and Johnny Giavotella. Kelvin Herrera stuttered a bit in the top of the ninth, but Ned Yost wised up faster than he usually does and brought in closer Greg Holland to seal the deal.

The box score:

RANGERS (3) AT ROYALS (6)

RANGERS              AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Ian Kinsler           3  0  1  0  Lorenzo Cain          4  1  1  0  
Elvis Andrus          3  1  1  1  Alcides Escobar       4  2  1  1  
Josh Hamilton         4  1  2  0  Alex Gordon           4  1  2  2  
Adrian Beltre         4  0  1  0  Billy Butler          3  1  1  1  
Nelson Cruz           4  0  0  0  Salvador Perez        4  0  1  1  
Michael Young         3  0  1  1  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  2  0  
David Murphy          4  0  0  0  Mike Moustakas        4  0  1  0  
Geovany Soto          2  1  0  0  Tony Abreu            4  0  1  0  
Mitch Moreland        3  0  1  1  Johnny Giavotella     4  1  1  1  
TOTALS               30  3  7  3  TOTALS               35  6 11  6

RANGERS                       110 000 001 -- 3  
ROYALS                        002 031 00x -- 6  

LOB--RANGERS 4, ROYALS 6. ERR--Ian Kinsler, Billy Butler.
2B--Ian Kinsler, Mitch Moreland, Alcides Escobar, Mike
Moustakas, Salvador Perez. HR--Elvis Andrus, Alex Gordon,
Johnny Giavotella. SACF--Michael Young, Billy Butler.
SACB--Elvis Andrus.

 RANGERS                         IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Matt Harrison                 4 2-3    8    5    3    0    3    1
Roy Oswalt                    2 1-3    1    1    1    0    4    1
Mark Lowe                         1    2    0    0    0    0    0
 ROYALS                     
Jeremy Guthrie                    7    5    2    2    2    5    1
Kelvin Herrera                    1    2    1    1    0    1    0
Greg Holland                      1    0    0    0    0    1    0

BALK--Mark Lowe. SO--Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz
(2), Josh Hamilton (2), Mitch Moreland, Jeff Francoeur, Alex
Gordon, Tony Abreu, Lorenzo Cain (2), Mike Moustakas, Johnny
Giavotella. BB--Geovany Soto, Ian Kinsler.

LOCATION: The K

CONDITION: Dry

WEATHER: Clear, Hot

Buck: W- (missionary)
Guard: JROTC
Anthem: Choir (not bad)

Umpires
H: Barksdale
1: Culbreth
2: Johnson
3: Cederstrom

Time: 7:11
Temp: 92 (felt hotter)

Game 34 vs. Minnesota

At last. At long, painful, gut-wrenching, toe-curling, seat-edge-sitting last. Our final home game against the Twins, and by some miracle straight from a corn field somewhere in Iowa, we managed to pull it off.

The pitching match-up was Luis Mendoza vs. Esmerling Vasquez, so not exactly a battle of aces (not that either staff can really be said to have an ace at this point). Still, we showed early signs of life in the first. Alex Gordon showed some hustle getting a tough one in from left, holding Jamey Carroll to a single. Sure, Carroll came around to score thanks to a double and a grounder, but it’s the thought that counts.

Things looked less hopeful in the top of the second when Chris Parmelee hit a lead-off shot over the left field wall. But Mendoza got the next three Twins in a row, the third a 3-1 ground out that caught Pedro Florimon sliding headlong into first. I remain convinced that particular move angers the Baseball Gods.

And so it must have. The Royals scored three playing small ball in the bottom of the inning. The highlight (other than the scoring, of course) was rookie David Lough just barely stretching a single into a double. Gutsy if it works and stupid if it doesn’t.

With Minnesota apparently desperate for the sweep and the Royals apparently desperate to avoid getting swept, the crazy ball commenced in the middle innings. Before the sixth was half over, both sides had tried and failed to execute a sac bunt with a runner in scoring position.

The Twins scored twice in the sixth (and might have gotten more if their bunt thing hadn’t failed). But then we pulled ahead again in the bottom of the inning and tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Toward the end Ned Yost was swapping pitchers so fast even Tony LaRussa would have been impressed. But finally Greg Holland was able to start the ninth and seal the deal with three straight swinging strikeouts.

At the end of the season I’ll have more to say about our inability to beat the Twins at home. For now let’s just breathe a sigh of relief.

The box score:

TWINS (4) AT ROYALS (6)

TWINS                AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Ben Revere            5  0  1  0  David Lough           5  1  2  0  
Jamey Carroll         4  1  2  0  Alcides Escobar       5  0  0  0  
Joe Mauer             4  0  3  0  Alex Gordon           3  0  0  0  
Justin Morneau        4  1  1  1  Billy Butler          4  0  1  1  
Ryan Doumit           4  1  0  0  Salvador Perez        3  2  1  0  
Chris Parmelee        4  1  2  1  Mike Moustakas        4  1  2  0  
Matt Carson           3  0  0  0  Lorenzo Cain          3  1  1  1  
Alexi Casilla         4  0  2  2  Eric Hosmer           2  1  1  1  
Pedro Florimon        3  0  0  0  Tony Abreu            4  0  3  3  
 Trevor Plouffe       1  0  0  0                                    
TOTALS               36  4 11  4  TOTALS               33  6 11  6

TWINS                         110 002 000 -- 4  
ROYALS                        030 011 01x -- 6  

LOB--TWINS 6, ROYALS 8. 2B--Joe Mauer, Lorenzo Cain, David
Lough, Eric Hosmer. HR--Chris Parmelee. SACF--Eric Hosmer.
SB--Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas.

 TWINS                           IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Esmerling Vasquez             5 2-3    7    5    5    3    2    0
Tyler Robertson                   1    1    0    0    0    0    0
Alex Burnett                  0 2-3    3    1    1    1    2    0
Brian Duensing                0 2-3    0    0    0    0    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Luis Mendoza                      5    7    2    2    0    3    1
Tim Collins                       1    3    2    2    1    2    0
Francisley Bueno              1 2-3    1    0    0    0    1    0
Aaron Crow                    0 1-3    0    0    0    0    1    0
Greg Holland                      1    0    0    0    0    3    0

SO--Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Alexi Casilla, Ryan Doumit,
Matt Carson, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon, Ben Revere,
Chris Parmelee (2), Billy Butler (2), Tony Abreu, Alcides
Escobar, Eric Hosmer. BB--Matt Carson, Alex Gordon, Lorenzo
Cain, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez.

LOCATION: The K
CONDITION: Dry
WEATHER: Warm, Clear

Buck seat: W Pharmacy prof & meds for the poor
Guard: Job Corps JROTC (sat in front of us for awhile)
Anthem: Vibrato is not a substitute for hitting the notes

Umpires
H: Schreiber
1: Everett
2: Diaz
3: Welke

Time: 1:13
Temp: 86

Game 33 vs. Minnesota

Though I stand by my remarks in the previous post about loving doubleheaders in general, this game severely stretched the limits.

Trouble started before the game did. The crowd started to shuffle in toward the end of the first game, bringing a wave of extra-stupid Twins fans (assuming that what follows the Twins deserves to be called “fans” rather than just Circlemeberts). They were vaguely offset by the arrival of the home town crowd, including one bunch that – doubtless in honor of the antler giveaway – brought a sign with a picture of a moose and a picture of tacos. That would easily win Rebus of the Year Award if such an honor actually existed.

Worse was a bit of franchise-typical disappointment. The Royals were supposed to induct George Toma into the team’s Hall of Fame. Actually, this was supposed to happen yesterday, but the rain started early in the afternoon and drowned the festivities well before they got underway (hence the doubleheader today). As the rain was still coming down fairly hard before the start of game one, I figured they’d occupy the dead space between games by giving Toma his due.

Nope. Nothing. Not even a second anthem or a Buck Seat occupant or anything. They didn’t even make the game two lineups available until the last second, leaving me scrambling to get iScore set up before the game started.

All that would have been okay (except the Toma deal, and I assume they’ll do his ceremony during a later game), but oh Baseball Gods was the game awful. Or to be more precise, our starting pitcher dug us a hole that even a better team would have struggled to get out of.

We’ve all gotten used to The Luke Inning, so when he gave up four runs in the top of the first we were able to console ourselves with his past record of coughing it up for one frame and then settling down to a more professional level for the rest of the game.

The grand slam by Joe Mauer in the top of the second killed that hope in a hurry. Three batters later Hochevar was gone, his pitch count a measly 63.

And here’s the real crying shame of it: we came almost all the way back and nearly won anyway. Everett Teaford threw solid long relief, combining with his teammates in the bullpen to hold the Twins scoreless for the whole rest of the game. On offense we went to work on them. In his MLB debut, David Lough hit a couple of singles and scored a couple of times. Billy Butler went three for four with a walk. Salvador Perez went four for five. And more directly to the point, we managed to score seven runs, one shy of what we needed.

Free baseball is still a pretty good deal, but it would have been nice to at least split the doubleheader.

The box score:

TWINS (8) AT ROYALS (7)

TWINS                AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Ben Revere            4  2  1  0  D Lough               5  2  2  0  
Alexi Casilla         5  1  2  0  Alcides Escobar       5  1  1  0  
Joe Mauer             3  1  1  4  Alex Gordon           5  0  2  1  
Justin Morneau        4  0  1  0  Billy Butler          4  3  3  1  
Josh Willingham       3  1  1  0  Salvador Perez        5  1  4  1  
Chris Parmelee        3  1  1  3  Mike Moustakas        5  0  2  2  
Trevor Plouffe        4  0  0  0  Lorenzo Cain          4  0  0  0  
Drew Butera           3  1  0  0  Eric Hosmer           4  0  1  2  
Pedro Florimon        4  1  2  0  Tony Abreu            4  0  0  0  
TOTALS               33  8  9  7  TOTALS               41  7 15  7

TWINS                         440 000 000 -- 8  
ROYALS                        201 200 200 -- 7  

LOB--TWINS 3, ROYALS 9. 2B--Pedro Florimon, Billy Butler,
Mike Moustakas. HR--Joe Mauer, Chris Parmelee.

 TWINS                           IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Liam Hendriks                 3 2-3   11    5    5    0    5    0
Anthony Swarzak               2 2-3    1    2    2    1    2    0
Tyler Robertson               0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Casey Fien                    0 1-3    1    0    0    1    0    0
Kyle Waldrop                      1    1    0    0    0    0    0
Glen Perkins                      1    1    0    0    0    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Luke Hochevar                 1 2-3    6    8    8    4    3    2
Everett Teaford               5 1-3    3    0    0    0    0    0
Kelvin Herrera                    2    0    0    0    1    2    0

WP--Liam Hendriks, Luke Hochevar. SO--Justin Morneau, Alexi
Casilla, Drew Butera, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon, Alex
Gordon (2), Tony Abreu, Lorenzo Cain (2), Eric Hosmer, Mike
Moustakas (2). BB--Josh Willingham, Joe Mauer, Drew Butera,
Ben Revere, Chris Parmelee, Billy Butler, Lorenzo Cain.

LOCATION: The K
CONDITION: Damp
WEATHER: Cloudy, Cool

No Buck Seat, guard or anthem

Umpires:
H: Welke
1: Schreiber
2: Everett
3: Ripperger

Time: 6:42
Temp: 77

Game 32 vs. Minnesota

I love the ballpark when it rains. I love rain in general, but at the K it’s especially sweet. The rain reduces the crowd and deadens the din from the pregame nonsense. It cools the air. The delays it causes are perfect for reading a book or just staring into space for a little while. And though it may sound like my usual, cynical crap, the Royals are less likely to lose when they aren’t playing.

I also love a doubleheader. It’s twice the baseball for the same price. The crowd never seems to know just how to react, with a lot of people coming in way late in game one or leaving way early in game two. It’s fun to see two games back to back, and if the first one doesn’t go well then there’s always the second.

Sadly, the first one didn’t go well. The Twins scored once in the first and twice in the fifth. They managed at least one base runner in every inning except the last two. That makes it sound somewhat more dismal than it actually was. Will Smith pitched a good game, and Mike Moustakas made a couple of dramatic diving stops. If we’d put any offense together, we might have won this one.

But of course we didn’t. A single here, a single there. Moustakas came around to score on a string of singles in the seventh, but that was it.

At least we got Moostakas antlers out of it. The antlers themselves were kinda cool, not the cheap foam things I’d been expecting.

The box score:

TWINS (3) AT ROYALS (1)

TWINS                AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Darin Mastroianni     4  1  1  0  Lorenzo Cain          4  0  1  0  
Jamey Carroll         4  0  3  0  Alcides Escobar       4  0  0  0  
Josh Willingham       3  1  0  0  Alex Gordon           3  0  1  0  
Justin Morneau        2  0  1  2  Billy Butler          4  0  1  0  
Ryan Doumit           4  0  1  1  Mike Moustakas        4  1  1  0  
Chris Parmelee        4  0  2  0  Brayan Pena           4  0  1  0  
Trevor Plouffe        4  0  1  0  Jeff Francoeur        3  0  0  0  
Matt Carson           4  0  0  0  Eric Hosmer           4  0  1  0  
Pedro Florimon        4  1  1  0  Johnny Giavotella     3  0  1  1  
TOTALS               33  3 10  3  TOTALS               33  1  7  1

TWINS                         100 020 000 -- 3  
ROYALS                        000 000 100 -- 1  

LOB--TWINS 8, ROYALS 7. 2B--Justin Morneau, Chris Parmelee.
HBP--Jeff Francoeur. SACF--Justin Morneau. SACB--Jamey
Carroll. SB--Josh Willingham.

 TWINS                           IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Cole De Vries                 6 2-3    7    1    1    0    3    0
Alex Burnett                  0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Jared Burton                      1    0    0    0    1    0    0
Glen Perkins                      1    0    0    0    0    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Will Smith                        6    9    3    3    1    4    0
Vin Mazzaro                       3    1    0    0    2    2    0

SO--Justin Morneau, Ryan Doumit (2), Matt Carson, Chris
Parmelee, Darin Mastroianni, Jeff Francoeur, Alcides
Escobar, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas. BB--Josh Willingham,
Justin Morneau, Darin Mastroianni, Alex Gordon.

LOCATION: The K
CONDITION: Damp
WEATHER: Raining

Buck seat: Nobody
Guard: None
Anthem: Okay

Umpires
H: Diaz
1: Ripperger
2: Schrieber
3: Everitt

Time: 3:31
Temp: 77 

Game 31 vs. Detroit

This was more the game I was expecting two days ago: occasional offensive threats but little scoring.

The Tigers moved Miguel Cabrera as far as third base in the first, but two lead-off strikeouts meant a fielder’s choice by Delmon Young killed the scoring opportunity. Aside from a single here and a walk there, that’s about all either team managed to accomplish for another four innings.

In the bottom of the fifth the Royals finally put some hitting and running together. Mike Moustakas led off with a double, and Jeff Francoeur briefly emerged from an epic hitting slump to advance the runner to third with a single. A wild pitch, a walk, a fielder’s choice, and at least we managed to score one.

In the next inning Alex Gordon led off with a home run to right center (or center right if you prefer). Billy Butler doubled and advanced to third on a single by Salvador Perez. And then things got interesting. Darin Downs, fresh from the Detroit bullpen, sank a wild pitch that went all the way to the backstop. Butler tried steal home and was gunned down at the plate. In his post-game press conference, Ned Yost said the ball made an unusual ricochet off the backstop and that a more typical trajectory would have given Butler plenty of time to score. Personally, I’m more inclined to think that any play dependent on Butler’s speed on the basepaths is more likely to be a case of either gutsy offense or plain stupidity depending on how charitable you’re feeling.

With first base open, the Tigers opted to intentionally walk Francoeur and pitch to Eric Hosmer. Apparently this is a trick more and more teams are trying against us. It’s sad to think that Hosmer is so terrible at the plate that he’s a better risk than Frenchy. But the strategy does appear to be working.

In the eighth three singles brought Prince Fielder across the plate, leaving us all thankful for Gordon’s insurance homer a couple of innings earlier. The Tigers threatened again in the ninth but couldn’t quite pull it off. We swept them, which made me feel a little bad. They’re in a close race with Chicago, and of course we’re in a close race with nobody.

A quick technical note: I left my glasses at home, so I couldn’t see the fine details of the iScore system. For the most part it wasn’t a problem, but somehow I managed to record Tim Collins as our starting pitcher instead of Jeremy Guthrie. That was a real shame, too, because Guthrie threw a great game and deserved proper recognition in the box score.

The box score:

TIGERS (1) AT ROYALS (2)

TIGERS               AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Austin Jackson        5  0  0  0  Lorenzo Cain          3  0  1  0  
Andy Dirks            5  0  2  0  Alcides Escobar       4  0  0  0  
Miguel Cabrera        5  0  2  0  Alex Gordon           4  1  2  1  
Prince Fielder        4  1  3  0  Billy Butler          4  0  2  0  
Delmon Young          4  0  1  0  Salvador Perez        4  0  1  0  
Brennan Boesch        3  0  0  0  Mike Moustakas        4  1  1  0  
 Jeff Baker           1  0  0  0  Jeff Francoeur        2  0  1  0  
Jhonny Peralta        4  0  2  1  Eric Hosmer           2  0  1  0  
Omar Infante          4  0  1  0  Johnny Giavotella     3  0  0  1  
Gerald Laird          3  0  1  0                                    
TOTALS               38  1 12  1  TOTALS               30  2  9  2

TIGERS                        000 000 010 -- 1  
ROYALS                        000 011 00x -- 2  

LOB--TIGERS 11, ROYALS 7. ERR--Salvador Perez. 2B--Prince
Fielder, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas. HR--Alex Gordon.

 TIGERS                          IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Rick Porcello                     5    8    2    2    2    4    1
Darin Downs                       1    0    0    0    1    0    0
Brayan Villarreal                 2    1    0    0    0    2    0
 ROYALS                     
iScore error on pitcher records
Aaron Crow                    0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Kelvin Herrera                    1    1    0    0    1    0    0

WP--Rick Porcello, Darin Downs. SO--Jeff Baker, Austin
Jackson (2), Andy Dirks, Jeff Francoeur, Billy Butler, Alex
Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez.
BB--Gerald Laird, Jeff Francoeur, Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer.

LOCATION: The K
CONDITION: Dry
WEATHER: Hot, Clear

Buck seat: W- (Charity executive)
Guard: Leavenworth JROTC (mostly girls)
Anthem: Just sing it

Umpires
H: Gonzalez
1: Gibson
2: Cuzzi
3: Barrett

Time: 7:11
Temp: 97

Game 30 vs. Detroit

Predicting the outcomes of games is a good way to hear the Baseball Gods laugh. I remember remarking on the way to the ballpark that with Justin Verlander on the mound, we would most likely lose but at least get to see a well-pitched game. Neither prediction proved true.

The Tigers went right to work on Luis Mendoza in the first, scoring three on a single, a double and a home run. But then miracle of miracles, we got all three runs back in the bottom of the inning. Perhaps Verlander was suffering some temporary thing? Nope. In the bottom of the second we scored another four, playing solid station-to-station offense and batting around the order.

Alas, Detroit cut our lead to one run in the top of the third. After that things calmed down a bit, with both pitchers throwing shut-out ball for a couple of innings.

We widened the lead a smidge in the sixth as Jarrod Dyson drew an unlikely lead-off walk. Alcides Escobar grounded into what looked for all the world like a double play, but the umpire ruled Dyson safe at second. An intentional walk to Billy Butler turned out to be a mistake when Salvador Perez doubled in Dyson. And that was it for Verlander, sad victim of whatever voodoo curse Amy put on him.

The Tigers scored one in the seventh and one in the eighth (the latter a solo shot by Jhonny “Wrong H” Peralta. So the bottom of the eighth found us tied.

Not for long. Billy Butler singled, and no sooner did I mutter “pinch for him” then out came Lorenzo Cain to do just that. Cain stole second and scored on a double by Mike Moustakas.

If a four-run lead isn’t safe at the K, then the one-run lead we took to the top of the ninth was yet another edge-of-our-seats moment. Greg Holland, who now serves as our closer, announced his intention to keep things interesting by walking lead-off batter Austin Jackson. The runner advanced to second on a ground-out by Andy Dirks and then took third on a wild pitch. The Royals opted to intentionally walk Prince Fielder and try their luck with Delmon Young.

And that’s when things got interesting, assuming a bunch of football-ass nonsense can be called “interesting.” Young smacked a long foul to right, and out trotted Jim Leyland to claim it was actually a home run. Now, first base ump Tim Barrett had clearly been looking right at it, and in that location the foul pole helps make it an easy call. But no, we had to do the replay thing.

This points out a significant difference between the replay appeal in the NFL and the way our wonderful sport handles it: in football, there’s a penalty for appealing a call that turns out to have been right to begin with (the appellant loses a time out or some such). But here Leyland has no reason to not disrupt the flow of the game and ice our pitcher with some frivolous nonsense. If he’d been penalized an out for his bogus challenge, odds are he would have stayed in the dugout.

In any event, the outcome was the same. The call was upheld, and Young flew out to left on the next pitch. One more crazy game on the books.

The box score:

TIGERS (8) AT ROYALS (9)

TIGERS               AB  R  H BI  ROYALS               AB  R  H BI
Austin Jackson        3  3  3  0  Jarrod Dyson          3  2  1  0  
Andy Dirks            5  1  1  1  Alcides Escobar       5  1  2  1  
Miguel Cabrera        5  1  2  1  Alex Gordon           5  2  2  2  
Prince Fielder        3  1  1  2  Billy Butler          4  1  3  2  
Delmon Young          5  1  1  2  Salvador Perez        5  1  2  1  
Alex Avila            4  0  1  1  Mike Moustakas        5  0  3  3  
Jhonny Peralta        4  1  1  1  Jeff Francoeur        4  0  0  0  
Omar Infante          4  0  0  0  Eric Hosmer           4  0  0  0  
Quintin Berry         4  0  0  0  Johnny Giavotella     4  1  2  0  
                                  *Lorenzo Cain         0  1  0  0  
TOTALS               37  8 10  8  TOTALS               39  9 15  9

TIGERS                        303 000 110 -- 8  
ROYALS                        340 001 01x -- 9  

LOB--TIGERS 6, ROYALS 11. 2B--Prince Fielder, Andy Dirks,
Alex Gordon (2), Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez (2).
HR--Jhonny Peralta, Delmon Young. SB--Austin Jackson,
Lorenzo Cain.

 TIGERS                          IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Justin Verlander              5 2-3   12    8    8    3    6    0
Darin Downs                   0 1-3    0    0    0    0    0    0
Brayan Villarreal             1 2-3    2    1    1    1    2    0
Phil Coke                     0 1-3    1    0    0    1    1    0
 ROYALS                     
Luis Mendoza                      5    7    6    6    1    4    1
Kelvin Herrera                1 2-3    2    1    1    0    2    0
Tim Collins                       0    0    0    0    1    0    0
Aaron Crow                    1 1-3    1    1    1    0    3    1
Greg Holland                      1    0    0    0    2    1    0

WP--Brayan Villarreal, Greg Holland, Kelvin Herrera.
SO--Jhonny Peralta, Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young (2), Alex
Avila (3), Quintin Berry (2), Andy Dirks, Jeff Francoeur
(2), Billy Butler, Alex Gordon (2), Alcides Escobar, Jarrod
Dyson, Eric Hosmer (2). BB--Prince Fielder (2), Austin
Jackson (2), Jeff Francoeur, Billy Butler, Jarrod Dyson (2),
Eric Hosmer.

LOCATION: The K

CONDITION: Dry

WEATHER: Warm, Clear

Buck seat: W (charity eye care)
Guard: Navy
Anthem: Ponderous

Umpires:

H: Cuzzi
1: Barrett
2: Gonzalez
3: Gibson

Time: 7:10
Temp: 94