If you needed more evidence that it’s no longer April, the Royals gave it to you tonight. Coming into May, the Royals were 1-5 in one-run games. So far in May, they’re 2-0 in those games and in all games. For most of the game, that didn’t seem possible.
Had the Mariners won, Emerson Hancock would be the story of this game. I’m not sure he shouldn’t still be. On the night the Mariners retired Randy Johnson’s number in a pre-game ceremony, Hancock pitched seven one-run innings with a whopping 14 strikeouts. That’s not only the most of his career; it’s the most of anyone in MLB so far this year. In case you were wondering, Hancock has never been a strikeout pitcher before. But the high heat was working for him tonight. You can refer to the game thread for a representation of how Hancock has looked this season; here’s the TJ Stats summary for Hancock tonight:
Oh yeah, he didn’t walk any either.
On the other side, Seth Lugo gave up a run within three batters. Julio Rodríguez continued his scorching hot May with a one-out, automatic double to the opposite field. Josh Naylor smashed a single to centerfield.
The Royals roared right back in the third inning. Kyle Isbel led off and snuck a double down the first base line, then Maikel Garcia drove him home with a double into the right-center gap. Unfortunately, the Royals stranded him there.
The Mariners stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the second after Vinnie Pasquantino and Seth Lugo each had brain farts on defense. In the bottom of the fifth, the Mariners had some good luck to load the bases against Lugo again. With one out, Leo Rivas had a clean single to right. J.P. Crawford snuck one past a diving Bobby into left, and Julio grounded one that Bobby grabbed on the dive but couldn’t get to Michael Massey in time to get an out. With the bases loaded and Josh Naylor at the plate, Lugo threw a wild pitch to allow Rivas to score. Lugo struck out Naylor but walked Randy Arozarena to reload the bases. Then, on a 2-2 pitch, Randy decided to take off for second. Perhaps he lost track of the count? Regardless, the Royals managed to tag him out before Crawford could score from third.
In the top of the sixth, the Royals put two runners on with no outs and failed to advance either runner. You’d be forgiven if you assumed the game was over then. But it wasn’t.
Lugo ended up only giving up two runs in six innings for the team’s 16th quality start – tied with the Mariners for fourth-most in baseball. He struck out six, walked a pair, and gave up seven hits. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. Luinder Avila looked absolutely deadly pitching the seventh and eighth innings. He allowed no runners and earned a strikeout. Matt Strahm pitched a clean ninth.
But the only reason Strahm pitched the ninth was because of what happened in the top of the inning against the Mariners’ stud closer, Andres Muñoz. Salvador Perez led off the inning and flipped a single into right. Lane Thomas came in to pinch run and was immediately awarded second base on a balk. Carter Jensen – who won April Royals player of the month, but is also 0 for his last 15 with 7 strikeouts – struck out. Jac Caglianone came to the plate with a chance to tie the game. We know what he did the last time Lugo started. Could he do it again?
That was hit at 108.9 MPH off the bat of Jac Caglianone, and the defensive maven J-Rod had it skip past him, allowing Jac to arrive at third still with only one out. Unfortunately, the Royals couldn’t score him, so it was up to Strahm to get the game into extras.
In the top of the tenth, the Royals engaged in more shenanigans. Kyle Isbel led off with Massey at second. Isbel tried and failed to get the bunt down twice. On the second attempt, Massey got a little far from second, and Mitch Garver attempted a backpick. Massey turned his blunder into an opportunity by not panicking. Instead, he took off for third and made it a stolen base. Which was fortunate because Isbel struck out on the next pitch.
Maikel came up and, after taking a couple of big hacks, shortened his swing and got the ball just deep enough to score Massey.
In the bottom of the tenth, Lucas Erceg came out to earn his ninth save and looked like his 2024 self again. He struck out a pair – one on a slider in the zone and the other on a sinker up and away from a lefty – and got a 1-2-3 inning. Don’t look now, but Lucas has gone six straight appearances without allowing an earned run. Over that span, he’s walked 4, but he’s struck out 8 and only given up 1 hit. If Lights Out Lucas is back in business, that changes a lot of what’s possible for the Royals this year.
No matter what happens next, the Royals have guaranteed a .500 road trip with tonight’s victory. Still, they get a shot to earn a winning road trip and their second sweep of the season when they close out the series and the road trip with a late afternoon match tomorrow. Kris Bubic (3.74 ERA) will go against Luis Castillo (6.35 ERA). The game will start at 3:10 Royals time.
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