The best way to pull this team out of the hitting funk that it has been in is to send Brian Bannister to the mound, and let him take control. That’s exactly what happened. Bannister’s presence was felt all the way into the batting lineup, and immediately, as the scoreless draught ended in the first inning, when Joey Gaithright, and his bursting speed, beat out the throw to first on his soft chopper to the shortstop. Then Esteban German bunted him over to second, and he crossed home plate on a Billy Butler two-out single, stoppingthat dreaded 26 inning scoreless draught.
Bannister pitched another gem. What can you say? He had one run (unearned) cross the plate in the first inning, and the reat of the game was lights out. He is really mixing his pitches well, and uses every pitch in his arsenal, and can throw them all for strikes. He may be the best pitcher going so far this year. His command is great, and he is really taking control of games early. Had it not been for an error by Jose Guillen to start the day off, we may be talking about a complete game shut out.
Although he did only give up 3hits, and aside from the run that scored in the first inning, Bannister never had a runner advance farther than 1st base. Now that is having complete control of the game, and it seemed contagious. The Royals never looked back after getting the lead in the second, and keeping it the remainder of the game.
This is as impressive a start to the season that I can remember. Let’s look at some of the stats that Bannister is posting so far this season. In 21 innings, Bannister has only allowed two earned runs, and only given up 10 hits total! His ERA is a very stingy 0.82! That is just what the skipper ordered to have the team bounce back, and break that three game losing streak.
Another good thing to see is the bats come back alive, after being dead for some time. The hitting came from all across the board, as the beginning, middle, and end of the lineup did their own damage throughout the game. Both Hits, and RBI’s were spread out in the lineup, making this a nice team win today.
The Royals avoided the sweep at the hands of the Twins, winning this one 5-1, on another pitching sensation from Bannister. They move their record to 7-5, and start a winning streak that will hopefully amount more than just this one, and get the team back on track. It is baseball, and this is a very streaky game at times. You cannot let the wins get you to high, or the lows get you to low.
They leave this homestand (Yankees/Twins) with an even 3-3 record. They are now off to Seattle and Anehiem, for two back-to-back shortened 2-game series, on the road. We will see if they can take this momentum with them, and grow from another solid outing from their best pitcher to date, Brian Bannister.