The Royals did it again. Another scoreless event today at Kauffman Stadium, as the Twins clip the wings that have been keeping the Royals flying high early this season. Going into this game, with a worked over lineup, 6 out of the 9 batters on that list have an average above .310, with one of them (Butler) well over that with .372. That does not seem to translate to wins, though, for the club, as they lose another to the Minnesota twins, despite a good pitching outing from Tomko.
The Royals managed 5 hits scattered about by 5 different hitters. They just can not get anything going against these Twins, no matter what they try. Changing the lineup doesn’t work. Playing in a dome, or outside doesn’t seem to matter. So what is it that keeps the Royals from scoring against their AL Central foe? Who knows. I do know that if it weren’t for the Twins, the Royals would be the talk of baseball right now. With a record better than the one they have now.
Tomko was solid again, which is a very positive sign. He went 6 innings and gave up 6 hits. He gave up a one-run homer off the bat of Kubel in the 2nd inning, with 2-outs. He coasted for the remainder of his stay in this game until the 7th inning. In a “highlight reel” play in the 4th inning, Tomko took a bullet off his left calf, but still had the concentration to backhand toss the ball to Gload, at first, for the out. He pitched to 3 batters, had noone out when he was relieved by a solid bullpen. Three pitchers combined to give up no runs after that and close out the game without any further damage.
Even though Tomko and crew held the Twins to 2 runs in this one, the offense has remained silent, for the second game straight. Trey Hillman had this to say after the game, in his post game press conference; “We had some opportunities we should have taken advantage of … We need to put more hits on the board. We didn’t square up pitches that we have the ability to square up. We’ve got more ability in our bats than we’ve shown in the last couple of nights. We’ve got a couple of guys that are searching a little bit. It’s a combination of that to go along with seeing some pretty good pitching.”
The Royals drop another game to the pesky Minnesota Twins, and watch their record fall again, to 6-5. The second game in a row that they were held without scoring a run. This is no time for alarm, but something’s got to give. Tomorrow is a new day, and today will be the past. Everyday is the opportunity to start fresh, and that is exactly what the Royals need, a fresh start.