Mitch Spence was recalled from AAA for a start tonight, and it did not go very well as the Royals lost 7-3 to the Nationals.
The game was full of grounders on both sides (yes there were a few liners too) that were just on the cusp of finding a glove. A few of them squeaked through for hits, yes, but the key hits that kind of summarized the game for me were just out of reach of Royals defenders.
In the third inning, Nasim Nuñez singled (after a groundout from the previous guy). James Wood hit a line
drive double that bounced just as it got to the outfield grass. Perez was holding Nuñez on first because they were afraid of him stealing. Saying Nuñez is a “light” hitter is an understatement (a 50 wRC+), but he’s second in MLB in stolen bases. He was gonna steal for sure. As a result, Perez was not in position to catch Wood’s line drive, which probably would have been caught easily had Perez not been holding Nuñez at the base.
All the song and dance was not necessary anyway as Wood’s line drive brought Nuñez to third. Curtis Mead then hit a little liner to Nick Loftin, who *was* well-positioned to catch it. Loftin took a few steps back and leaped…but the ball bounced off the top of his glove. If the 5’11” Loftin were instead 6’0”, I think this is an out, which would have ended the inning.
Alas, both runners came around to score (before a groundout ended the inning).
In the fifth inning, Spence loaded the bases on a grounder single, another grounder single, and a walk with no outs. Luis García Jr flared a liner to left field, which Isaac Collins was not actually close to catching.
Unfortunately, Collins flubbed the bounce and two runners scored. That put the Nationals ahead 4-3, a lead they never gave up. At least one runner would have scored on the play anyway, but this just adds insult to injury.
Q subbed out Spence for Mason Black, who got two non-groundball outs. That brought up Dylan Crews, who entered the night hitting under the Mendoza line. On a 3-2 count, Black threw a slider that did absolutely zero sliding. Crews hit a line drive rocket over the left field fence that would make SpaceX blush. That ball seemed like it was still rising when it hit the seats. The ball probably had a rapid, unscheduled disassembly when it landed. I can’t say for sure but it seemed like that was the only truly barreled ball the entire game. With that homer, the Nationals took a 7-3 lead.
The only Royals offense once the Nationals were ahead that far was a double from Nick Loftin in the ninth inning, again a grounder just out of reach of the third baseman. But one hit isn’t enough when the deficit is four runs.
I should note how the Royals scored, since they did briefly hold a lead. In the fourth inning, Starling Marte reached out a grounder that was deflected off the Nats pitcher. Loftin walked. Carter Jensen hit a routine-looking grounder to the second baseman, who misplayed it off his glove (notice the theme?).
Marte scored to give the Royals their first run. In the fifth, Bobby and Jac had back-to-back hits. With the infield in, Maikel Garcia managed to squeak a grounder through the right side of the infield to score both guys.
And that was it. Spence did not get an out in the 5th inning and finished with 4 innings pitched and 6 runs given up on 7 hits. The Royals as a pitching staff struck out only 3 guys and walked 4.
In the game as a whole, there were 20 groundouts against 9 flyouts. The Nats managed to add 10 strikeouts to the grounder parade. It’s pretty hard to win when you can’t get the ball off the ground.
The Royals are now 29-44 and are fighting the Angels and Tigers for worst in the AL. Only the Rockies and Giants in the NL are comparable. For God’s sake even the *Marlins* and the *Pirates* were both 36-36 going into the night. The Sacramento Athletics were 35-36. A bunch of perennial losers are upstaging the Royals by doing…whatever it is they normally do before they start trading players. The Nationals are 38-35 and are just barely out of the third NL Wild Card slot.
The two teams play again tomorrow at 5:45pm US Central.
