Yankees drop Royals 6-3 in finale

Is there anything more 2018 Royals than “starting Burch Smith every five days?”

The Royals lost again. They lost another series. They hit three home runs, but they lost to the Yankees, 6-3.

Burch Smith predictably got rocked at Yankee Stadium, giving up five runs in four innings. But had it not been for a home run saving catch, it would have been eight runs, so Smith was worse than his line. 4.0 innings, 5 hits, 5 runs, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks, 90 pitches.

The best moment of the day was when Brett Phillips, making his Royals debut, robbed a three-run home run in the fourth inning with a spectacular catch at the wall. At the plate, he was 0-for-2 with a HBP.

Kansas City got three runs, with one coming in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings each. Salvador Perez hit his 18th home run of the year to put the Royals on the scoreboard. That’s the most of any catcher this year in baseball, and he didn’t make his season debut until April 24. He’s had a really nice start to the second half; his average is up to .237, so he’s increased his trade value a bit...

Hunter Dozier (5) and Rosell Herrera (1) were the other two Royals to homer. For Herrera, it was his first major league big fly.

The Yankees started J.A. Happ, their recent trade acquisition, and he got through six innings by allowing just one run. Add him to the list of mediocre players the Royals can’t figure out how to hit.

Alcides Escobar is so atrocious that I can’t even put it into words anymore. His OPS is below .520, which would make 2018 Escobar the single worst hitter in the last 24 years of professional baseball. They keep throwing him out there every single day because the front office is totally inept. Escobar predictably went 0-for-4 to drop his average down to .196, including a hilarious strikeout against Aroldis Chapman to end the game.

And here’s the crazy thing with Escobar: they hit him SEVENTH. They’re hitting him AHEAD of actual baseball players! I know that one of them is Drew Butera and he’s just as inept, but still! Not only are they giving Escobar a roster spot, they’re not even hitting him at the bottom of the order!

The Royals are 32-73. That bright start to the second half has been erased, as they’re back to the 41 games under .500 that they were at the break.

Up next they’ll play three in Chicago after getting an off day tomorrow. Clear your calendars for that series.