In a lot of sports, the best players can impose their will on the game and, well, will their team to victory. But that’s not the case in baseball. Today was a clear example that baseball stars can only do so much, as Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits, a walk, and a stolen base—but his Kansas City Royals still lost 6-4 to the Washington Nationals.
One such hit happened in the fifth inning, a rare (for Kansas City) two-out base hit on a really nice opposite field line drive single to score Tyler Tolbert.
Cutting the lead in half, it was a needed bit of offense, as old friend Foster Griffin had held the Royals scoreless for most of the game.
The Royals scored again two innings later to tie the game at three with Isaac Collins swatting another crucial two-out single to left field. It was a nice job coming back, tied together with a nice start by the ever-reliable Michael Wacha. While Wacha did give up seven hits in his six innings, he only walked one and avoided giving up any home runs.
Ah, but then the Royals bullpen entered the game, and that home run came. Against Daniel Lynch IV, Curtis Mead smacked his 11th home run of the year on a really terrible middle-middle slider. With two men on base, it was a three-run blast that put the Nationals firmly ahead.
To be fair to the Royals, they almost had something going in the ninth inning. Lane Thomas led off with a solo home run, and Witt worked his walk. But Jac Caglianone capped off a 0-4 day with a ground ball double play ball. Collins then struck out swinging, and that was that.
Both teams left a decent chunk of batters on base (the Nationals eight, the Royals nine), and both teams had 10 hits and four walks. However, the Nationals had four extra base hits—including a pair of triples and a home run—while the Royals only had two. That’s really becoming the story of the last bit of the season: Kansas City now ranks 26th in total home runs hit, and this despite bringing in the fences at home.
The Royals have won 29 of their 74 games, and are on pace for 99 losses. Things would be dire except they apparently are not and everyone’s doing a great job. So it goes.
