Reporting from the K: April 21st (Baltimore)

[Kevin O'Brien]

I figure that after attending in-person games, I would share a recap of my experience as a fan at Kauffman Stadium. They aren't worth a note or an article, but I want to be able to express what the game was like from the seat of a fan. I may not post this at every game I attend, but I will try to do so when I can post the topic before the game the next day.

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Result: KC 6, BAL 5 (Walkoff)

WP: Lucas Erceg (1-1)

LP: Ryan Helsely (0-2)

Kansas City improves to 8-16 and snaps an eight-game losing streak.

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Highlights

The Royals snapped an eight-game losing streak and seemed to be locked in after a gut-punch of a loss on Monday. While the Royals were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position tonight and stranded eight runners, they did have some clutch hits throughout the night, something that evaded them in their last road trip and in game one of the series.

Michael Masey, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Bobby Witt Jr. all had big sacrifice flies. Maikel Garcia had a huge RBI single that drove in Kyle Isbel, who had three hits himself on Tuesday against the Orioles. Carter Jensen and Massey had two hits, with both players collecting doubles. Massey also added a home run, only adding to his big day at the plate.

 

The biggest highlight of the game was Garcia scoring on a wild pitch by Orioles closer Ryan Helsley. In the crowd, I thought Helsely initially hesitated. When watching the replay of the play, however, it was a premium baserunning play by Garcia who got halfway down on his secondary and didn't hesitate after seeing the ball get away from Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. 

 

The Royals' baserunning really was a key in their victory tonight.

They tagged up and smartly advanced in some long fly balls, and they also had some opportunistic stolen bases. Garcia was particularly good tonight, with not just the play in the bottom of the ninth, but also a steal of third in the bottom of the fifth that helped him score on a sacrifice fly by Vinnie, which tied the game. For as maligned as the baserunning is this year, it was nice to see them in prime form.

On the pitching end, Kris Bubic made a big mistake against Coby Mayo, giving up a three-run bomb in the second that gave Baltimore an early lead. Honestly, the vibes in Kauffman Stadium weren't great after that homer. To Bubic's credit, he grinded out six total innings and didn't allow a run after that homer. He gave up five hits, walked three, and struck out three in his quality start. 

Nick Mears and Lucas Erceg pitched out of the bullpen for the Royals and did fine in a combined two innings of work. They allowed no hits and no runs. Erceg allowed a walk, and neither the Royals closer nor Mears struck out a batter. The lack of strikeouts and chase are concerns from this pair, but it was nice to see them hold a disciplined Orioles lineup in check in their respective appearances tonight. The velocity and stuff looked good from both of them, even if the command wasn't quite there for either guy. 

It was also a beautiful night for baseball, though it got a bit windy, especially once the sun set. 

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Lowlights

The bullpen remains a problem, as Matt Strahm was the latest Royals reliever to blow a lead.

The stuff wasn't great from Strahm tonight; he posted only 100 TJ Stuff+, according to his TJ Stats summary below. He also struggled to generate whiff, and his changeup got hit hard.

His fastball wasn't all that impressive either. While it had a 100 TJ Stuff+, 55 grade, and 60% chase, it also failed to generate a whiff, and it was the pitch that was launched by Rutschman to give the Orioles the lead again in the 8th inning.

 

After so many blown saves and leads by the bullpen, it seemed like this was the dagger that would clinch loss number nine for the Royals. Thankfully, Massey and the Royals hitters had a different plan, much to the enjoyment of the 15,164 in attendance.

On the hitting side, Jac Caglianone and Isaac Collins went a combined 0-for-8 with five strikeouts. With the other seven hitters in the lineup, you could find some positives in their overall games. Cags and Collins? Not a single one, unfortunately. They not only went hitless, but they also failed to come through in the clutch on multiple occasions. 

With Cags, Royals fans can live with the growing pains (though Cags' body language wasn't that great to witness). As for Collins, I'm growing less optimistic about his outlook. His .519 OPS in 67 PA is bad enough. However, his Statcast profile is brutal, as illustrated below via TJ Stats.

With two home runs tonight and a .978 OPS in 68 at-bats, John Rave is proving that he may be too good for Omaha and deserves a call-up to Kansas City. 

 

Collins has all of his Minor League options remaining, so this wouldn't be an issue for the Royals, though it would be a major blow to Collins' confidence, especially after his strong rookie season in Milwaukee in 2025. 

A downside of the game was that the "boo birds" were out again today at the K. A good number of fans booed manager Matt Quatraro during the pregame introductions. There were boos when Strahm struggled in the 8th, especially after he allowed that go-ahead home run. Booing typically isn't the MO with Royals fans, but it's been such a frustrating start to the year that it's understandable.

Hopefully, after this win, the Royals can get on a winning streak (or positive stretch of play) and help silence these Royals critics in the stands. 

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Scorebook from the Game