The Royals scored three runs on Saturday....against Minnesota....in two games. I could probably stop this game summary right there and call it a night.
Luke Hochevar was simply not good, striking out no one in six innings of work during which Luke gave up three home runs and five runs total. Truth is though, it didn't really matter as the Royals' offense was non-existent in eight of the nine innings of Saturday night's contest.
Trailing 2-0, Billy Butler led off the second with a monster home run, followed by a Frenchy single. Eric Hosmer, who can't catch a break and may not be having enough quality at-bats to deserve many, flied out to deep left, but Salvador Perez followed with a double. Second and third, one out, down one against a pitcher who had spent the last 26 days in the minors.
Who else could you possibly want up in that situation than Jarrod Dyson?
Sarcasm aside, Dyson had a hell of an at-bat. He fouled off the first three pitches, a fastball, curve and slider. Then took two four seamers for balls, before fouling off a slider, two two-seam fastballs and a curveball. Cole De Vries unloaded the only changeup of the at-bat for a ball before Dyson swung through a slider for strike three. Eleven pitches all told, which was followed by an Alcides Escobar three pitch strikeout and effectively ended the Royals' offensive output for the night.
The team that was going to survive on offense and a great bullpen managed just three more hits all evening. By the way, that eleven pitch at-bat by Dyson was one pitch more than the total pitches seen by Royals' hitters in the 8th inning and just two less than the total seen in the 7th.
Dismal.
Untimely.
So horribly, half-expected.