McCoy: A Debacle At GABP As Royals Rout Reds, 13-1

By Hal McCoy

What do you think the score might be when five Kansas City Royals walk to the batter’s box three times before three members of the Cincinnati Reds order bats once?

What do you think the score might be when the
Royals’ leadoff hitter gets on base in the first five innings and the first two get on base in four of those five innings?

What do you think the score might be when 13 Royals batted in one inning?

What do you think the score might be when Kansas City’s number nine hitter, Dairon Blanco, hits two home runs, one a grand slam, and drives in seven runs in the first four innings?

Enough questions: Kansas City 13, Cincinnnati 1 Saturday night in Great American Ball Park.

All the positives the Reds accomplished during a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals have been turned into negatives by the other team from Missouri.

In the first two games of the three-game series, Kansas City whipped the Reds 7-1 and 13-1.

Adding to the mounting woes for the Reds, pitcher Hunter Greene was placed on the injured list with a sore elbow. That isn’t good news for a pitcher who has already undergone Tommy John surgery.

Greene felt soreness after his last start, but said the soreness went away then returned while he played catch before Saturday’s debacle.

Nick Krall, Director of Baseball Operations, said the move is precautionary and Greene is scheduled for an MRI.

It is becoming more and more evident that Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo may have hit a wall. His once devastating curveball has lost its bite.

He lasted only 2 1/3 innings and was ravaged and savaged for eight runs, eight hits and two walks.

The Royals came out swinging, attacking Lodolo’s first pitch time-after-time.

Kansas City’s first two hitters, Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr., greeted Lodolo with a single and a double. Both scored.

Freddy Fermin opened the second with a double and Blanco homered to make it 4-0.

Then came a seven-run third. Buck Farmer replaced Lodolo with the bases loaded. His third pitch to Blanco landed in the left field seats, a grand slam home run.

Blanco entered the game with one home run and five RBI and finished the game with two more home runs and seven more RBI.

Sam Moll gave up two more runs in the fourth and Tony Santillan was knicked for an unearned run in the fourrth when shortstop Elly De La Cruz both two grounds balls and leads MLB with 26 errors.

So the Royals, losers of 106 games last season but 68-55 so far this season, had a line score of 127-210-000 — 13-16-0.

On the flip side, the Reds were all but helpless against Michael Wacha, who lifted his career record against the reds to 14-3 over 24 starts.

Jonathan India led the Reds first with a single. But when Elly De La Cruz lined to right, India slipped trying to get back to first and was doubled-up.

The Reds didn’t have another hit until a one-out single in the fourth. Jeimer Candelario and Ty France singled with one out in the fifth, but Wacha struck out Jake Fraley and Noelvi Marte.

Wacha left after six innings with a clean work sheet of no runs, four hits, one walk and nine strikeouts.

With a 13-0 lead, Wacha was removed and the Reds finally scored against left-handed relief pitcher Angel Zerpa.

Candelario, 1 for 18 when the game began, had one of the four hits off Wacha, a single. But in the seventh he homered, his 20th, to eliminate the shutout.

With a 13-1 deficit and six pitchers used through seven innings, one might expec Reds manager David Bell to use a position player on the mound.

But Alexis Diaz worked a scoreless seventh and Jakob Junis worked a scoreless eighth.

Finally, catcher Luke Maile pitched the ninth, his eighth appearance on the mound, his first this season. And Maile would have pitched a 1-2-3 inning but third baseman Marte threw a two-out ground ball wide, a ball that was charitably called a hit. But he retired the next hitter, retiring three batters on outfield fly balls.

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