By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Royals offense was hot and snapped a five game losing streak on the road Sunday afternoon, defeating the Colorado Rockies 10-1 in Denver.
After a scoreless first inning, the Royals would hang a four spot in the second inning, the biggest hit coming from the bat of Maikel Garcia in the form of a three run home run to left center field. It was Garcia's first home run since May 17th.
From there the game went scoreless until the final three innings. Royals starter Brady Singer again looked sharp on the mound, throwing seven innings and striking out seven, giving up just one run on six hits. Singer has now given up just four runs over his last four starts, throwing a combined 24.1 innings in that stretch.
MJ Melendez would add to the scoring in the seventh inning for Kansas City, a solo home run to right field that just barely cleared the large wall at 385 feet. The Rockies would score their lone run in the bottom half, Nolan Jones singling to score Jake Cave.
After scoring two more runs in the eighth inning, a three run homer from All Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr capped the scoring. Witt Jr led all hitters on the day going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI's.
The Royals now have an off day on Monday before traveling to St. Louis on Tuesday for the first half of the I-70 series. Michael Wacha will get the start for the Royals, taking on the team that drafted him in 2012, against Andre Pallante for the Redbirds. First pitch is at 6:45pm on Tuesday with pregame at 6 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).
Four Royals heading to Arlington for the 2024 All Star Game
Four Royals were named to the American League roster for the 2024 All Star Game in Arlington, Texas. Three for the very first time.
Starting pitchers Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans along with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr were named to the All Star Game for the first times in their career. Catcher Salvador Perez is heading to the All Star Game for a ninth time.
It’s the first time since 2016 that the Royals have four All-Star representatives, and Ragans and Lugo are the first Royals pitchers to be named to an All-Star Game since Jason Vargas in 2017.
Witt and Perez were finalists to be starters for the American League but lost the fan vote to Orioles duo Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, respectively, so they were expected to be on the AL roster and were voted in by their peers on the player ballot.
Lugo, too, was virtually a lock to be an All-Star, earning his first trip in his ninth Major League season. In just his second season as a full-time starter, following years of pitching in relief for the Mets, Lugo leads the American League with a 2.21 ERA and 11 wins this year across 19 starts. He ranks first in innings (122) in baseball and has dominated hitters nearly every time he steps on the mound, logging a quality start in all but four starts this season.
Ragans was the one player who wasn’t completely expecting the selection, evidenced by the fact that he’ll have his wife bring his suit to Boston next weekend before they head to Texas. But the 26-year-old lefty whom the Royals acquired from the Rangers last year is just as deserving, with his 3.28 ERA that ranks 19th in baseball and 134 strikeouts that ranks third.