Quite fortunate that the Royals pulled out a dramatic victory last night, or else the boys in blue would be working on a losing streak now, after tonight's beatdown in Texas. Somehow, the Rangers made three errors, were caught stealing twice, grounded into two double plays, allowed six runs... and won by 5. Quite the formula.
The dream died a little bit for Jeff Francis tonight, as the Rangers hit Francis hard. Francis surrendered six runs in four innings, setting the Royals up for a boring blowout loss. Only, the Royals made it interesting with a five run fourth that briefly tied the game, a rally capped by a Brayan Pena three-run homer. (Two more hits from Gordon tonight, btw.) Pena also threw out two Rangers trying to steal... was this Pena's best career game?
That, however, was the high point. The Rangers kept scoring, beating up on Blake Wood & Nate Adcock. Other than a pointless Jeffress appearance in the ninth, at least it was such a lost cause that none of the good relievers had to be used.
The Royals are now 12-8, a game and a half behind the Indians.