It’s rare that a player who drives in all of his team’s runs accepts the blame for a loss, but that’s what the Kansas City Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino did on Wednesday.
Pasquantino, who has been red-hot at the plate, delivered a three-run home run in the top of the first inning against Texas Rangers opener Caleb Boushley. But the Kansas City bats went cold from there, and disaster struck in the top of the ninth inning.
With the game tied at three, the Rangers forced a two-out walk, then Corey Seager chopped a two-hop ground ball right to Pasquantino, who was holding the runner on first. The lefty fielder couldn’t make the play cleanly on his forehand, and also couldn’t scramble to the ball in time to get Seager steaming up the line.
An infield hit and a bases-clearing double later, the Rangers had themselves a 6-3 lead that would last the final three outs. It broke a five-game winning streak for the Royals, and Pasquantino felt horrible about how it unfolded.
“Just not good enough,” Pasquantino said postgame, per Robert Falkoff of MLB.com. “The play has to get made. Nothing happened other than me not catching it. Lost this game. I mean, pretty simple. Make that play, you’ve got a chance to head into the bottom of the ninth there (tied). Direct cause and effect was me not catching that ball.”
The loss prevented Kansas City from climbing within 1 1/2 games of the slumping Seattle Mariners for the third and final American League wild card spot. They now trail the Mariners by 2 1/2, the Boston Red Sox by three, and the New York Yankees by 4 1/2. All they’d need to do is catch one of those teams (while holding off the teams behind them).
Shaking off a tough loss is always a strong indication of what a team is made of, and the Royals will have that chance in the series finale with the Rangers at 1:10 CT on Thursday afternoon.
“Quick turnaround,” Pasquantino said, per Falkoff. “We just have to attack what’s in front of us.”
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