It would have been delusional to think the Royals could have kept hitting at the torrid pace they were on. While they were held in check for the second game in a row in Baltimore, my concern lies in the starting pitching.
Ian Kennedy (4-7) gave up four runs and eight hits and was pulled in the fifth inning.
”The down-and-away fastball was not working and I had to go to something else and try to get outs,” Kennedy said. ”What really hurt me was getting deep in counts.”
Kansas City failed to secure another starting pitcher at the trade deadline and they are rolling the dice on not finding backup for guys like Kennedy, Hammel and newly acquired Trevor Cahill.
The Royals had won 10 of 11, but have only scored three runs in these two games at Baltimore. That’s a concern, but if not for the home runs and big innings, the team wouldn’t have rattled off their streak.
Now it’s time for the pitching to step up and do their job. I’ve said for the last month unless the Royals add an arm to the starting rotation it will be difficult to catch Cleveland relying on Danny Duffy and Jason Vargas.