You’d probably expect more losers in a game like this, but even though it’s hard for one player to win a game, just one or two can lose one.
File this one under, “The other guys get paid, too.”
Omar Narváez and Rafael Devers were the big heroes in this one for the Red Sox. Devers, obviously, is expected to play hero most nights. Narváez is somewhat new to the role, but, as the first sentence says, the other guys get paid, too. Still, when Narváez earned a one-out walk in the fifth inning, you could say I had a bad feeling about this.
Winners
Vinnie Pasquantino and Hunter Renfroe each got a pair of hits on the night. All singles, but both hitters have struggled at the plate for much of the season – though Vinnie has done better lately. Garret Crochet is a tough guy for anyone to face, so getting hits off of him is meaningful, no matter what kinds of hits they are.
Taylor Clarke appeared in his fourth game and had another scoreless outing. Despite not lighting up anyone’s expectations in Omaha, he has yet to allow a run since rejoining the big league squad. He was the only pitcher to not allow a run all night for Kansas City.
Losers
Cole Ragans, in what was supposed to be a matchup between pitchers who should receive Cy Young Award votes at the end of the season, did not look the part. He struck out eight, but also allowed seven hits and four runs in only five innings to raise his season ERA to 4.20. At some point he’s going to have to get better at consistently finishing off hitters. We’ve seen him do it; we even saw him do it tonight when he fanned his final two batters in the fifth inning on seven total pitches. But the fifth inning went off the rails when he couldn’t finish off Narváez, allowing the number eight hitter to take a walk after fouling off four pitches.
If you’re looking for good news, his ERA went up, but his FIP and xFIP went down. Ragans continues not to walk many guys or give up any home runs, but at some point he’s going to have to figure out the lower body injury stuff and the foul ball stuff to evolve into his final form.
Angel Zerpa was asked to wear this one a bit. He gave up three runs in the seventh and then two more in the eighth before being pulled for Chris Stratton. With Stratton only allowing one run in his two innings, Zerpa and Stratton now have the same ERA. The differences between them are that Zerpa has options and Stratton has at least been striking guys out in garbage time. I fully expect Angel to be on his way to Omaha before tomorrow’s game with Evan Sisk recalled now that the waiting period following his demotion has expired.
I, Jeremy Greco, noted before the game that the Red Sox had put two lefties at the top of their lineup to face Cole Ragans, who had dominated the team last season. I wondered at the wisdom of such a move and suggested the Red Sox might pay for their hubris. Instead, Jarren Duran and Devers combined to go six-for-nine with three runs scored, four RBIs, and a walk. Egg on my face, for sure.
You’d think in a game where the team only scored one run, there would be a lot more losers, but only Freddie Fermin and Drew Waters were held entirely hitless. The Royals just continued their struggles with actually scoring the runners they managed to get on base. If you’re a pessimist, you probably believe that eventually the Royals will stop getting baserunners again. If you’re an optimist, you have to think that eventually they’ll have to score some of those guys.
Tomorrow’s game will see Seth Lugo face off against Lucas Giolito. Giolito will be making his third start of the year and has yet to look good. But the Royals have consistently been the cure for such pitchers early this season. Lugo has been fantastic this year, but struggled in both of his starts against the Red Sox last season. In fact, they represent two of his five worst starts all year. So who knows what will happen.
The game will start at 1:10 CDT and will be available on both FDSNKC and the Royals Radio Network. Expect to see a lot of pink in honor of Mother’s Day. Speaking of which, Happy Mother’s Day a few hours ahead of time for all you moms out there. Here’s hoping the Royals bring you home a game and series victory.
P.S. I had originally planned to do more Star Wars stuff in this recap in honor of the Royals celebrating Star Wars day a week late, but the game was such a bummer and it’s so late that I didn’t have the heart to follow through. I hope you’ll forgive me.