SERIES RESULTS: 2-1 Royals
THE GOOD
“New” first baseman Nick Markakis came up huge in the second game of the series, notching a multi-hit effort including a walk-off single in the 10th inning. Markakis, a Gold Glove right fielder, was starting at first base because of the injury to last year’s MLB home run king Chris Davis, who is now on the 15-day DL. Markakis continues to be a model of consistency this season, as he finished the series hitting .300 with an OBP of .360, although he has yet to go yard this year.
Left fielder David Lough had a tough series offensively recording only one hit in eleven at-bats. However, he makes the “Good” portion of this article simply because of a few key plays. His ability to bunt successfully in the second game that led to the game winning-run was important in the tenth inning, as was this catch:
GIF c/o our own Gordon Dixon
Seriously, that may have been the catch of the year, and must have felt good to make against his former team.
The starting pitching in the series was much improved, as while no starter was especially impressive, Ubaldo Jimenez, Wei-Yen Chen, and Miguel Gonzalez all performed respectably, and kept the team in the games despite none of them earning wins. The Royals’ offense has been pedestrian this season, but it was still nice to see the starters pitch well.
THE BAD
Right handed reliever Evan Meek has struggled substantially recently, and it continued into the Kansas City series. In two games, Meek worked one inning and allowed a whopping six hits and four earned runs without recording a strikeout. Meek’s ERA on the season sits at an unsatisfactory 7.20, but he did not allow his first run of the season until last week, so it has been a rough stretch for him of late.
There are plenty of colorful words to describe first baseman Chris Davis’ injury, but “disappointing” is chief among them. The team MVP from last season strained his left oblique in the game on Friday night. The left-handed slugger was in obvious pain after hitting a fly ball in the third inning, and came out shortly after that point. He was placed on the disabled list before Sunday’s game.
Gold glove center fielder Adam Jones committed a rare defensive miscue early on Sunday and set an ugly tone for what was ultimately an ugly 9-3 loss. Jones’ defensive style is to catch balls in a relaxed fashion with only one hand, and it has drawn criticism in the past. In the first at-bat of the game, Jones dropped a relatively routine fly ball from Kansas City’s leadoff man Aoki that led to the Royals’ first run of the game.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The Orioles struggled against the Royals, and are back at .500 heading into the final week of April. The Royals’ starting pitching did a tremendous job keeping the Orioles’ opposing hitters on their toes, and the Orioles scored only six runs in the entire series. The Royals are expected to be competitive this season, and the Orioles will face them again in May in Kansas City. The loss of Davis is the most significant takeaway from this series.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orioles host the Pittsburgh Pirates for a two-game series on Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening. The Pirates were baseball’s surprise team last season as they won 94 games to register their first winning season after 20 previous losing seasons. Center fielder Andrew McCutchen is the reigning NL MVP, but his Pirates have struggled early this season, with a 10-16 record. The Orioles will likely be starting Chris Tillman and Bud Norris against the Pirates, who will counter with Charlie Morton and Brandon Cumpton.
