Another nightmare in Chicago for the Royals. Tonight, unlike many losses at the Cell, the Royals never really looked to be in the game, as the offense sputtered along ineptly, waiting for the Sox to score on Greinke so that he could take the loss. Greinke wasn't bad tonight, and aside from the nominal loss and 5 runs allowed towards the end, the encouraging thing was his ability to put hitters away, notching 8 strikeouts, his highest single game total of the season. Unfortunately, all the White Sox singles seemed to come in the same two innings, which, again is either luckiness or clutchness from the Go-Go-Sox. Who knows at this point... all it means to us is that the Royals went down again.
Offensively, it was another terrible day at the ballpark for our Royals, as Berroa-DeJesus paced the club with a nice 0-7 effort at the top of the order. Other than T-long's meaningless homer, the Royals managed only three singles and a walk in the game, so clearly, they weren't gonna win tonight.
Is the Bell-Hire-Luster finally wearing off? It seems so, since the end of the Dodger series the Royals are 1-4, and safely back at 20 games below .500. Amazingly, the Royals still have a 3-game lead on the Rockies in the Worst Team Standings, which looks to be a three-way battle involving the Devil Rays all season.
In other news, the College World Series rolls along... Did you know that the Royals have a AAA affiliate in Omaha? Yep, although they like to send players from AA straight to the big club, leaving Omaha for players like Calvin Pickering, whom they have pointlessly given up on. Small ball is back at the college game however, thanks to Texas' insistence on bunting at every single opportunity. Be sure to read loyal reader Mr. Weatherstone's epic post on the College World Series before you head off to bed. Lots of good points.