Gil Meche did not have his regular “good stuff” today as he gave up some costly runs to lose the lead (for good) in the 5th inning. Trey Hillman decided to intentionally walk Markakis and pitch to Aubrey Huff. That decision turned out to be the wrong one. With one man on and two outs, in a 2-2 tie, that decision has every right to be questioned. Huff blew one out of the park, for a 3-run shot, and took this game to a 2-5 deficit for the Royals.
There was some offense today, unlike the previous game, as the they were able to push 4 runners home. But that was not enough. They started out strong, and took the lead early with a Gordon homer in the 1st, with 1 man on and 1 out. Then late in the game they rattled a couple more runs off the bullpen, to get to 4 runs. But the damage was already done.
One of the bright spots was the reliever, Yasuhiko Yabuta, who entered the game in the 8th inning, and pitched 2 innings off shutout baseball. He allowed only 2 hits, striking out 2 in his service. Nice job.
This is the second lose for the squad in as many days. Things are really going to go south fast if they have problems developing in the rotation. Again, tomorrow is a new day, and this series still has two games left. The best the Royals can hope for, now, is a split.