Baseball is a weird sport. Not because of the result of this game. The Royals lost 6-2 and that was pretty predictable. But I’m old enough to remember when Joey Gallo was a mediocre third-baseman. Now, suddenly, he’s an above average centerfielder. And man, he’s walking in nearly 20% of his plate appearances. What must it be like to have a guy who can do that on your team?
Anyway, yeah, predictable game. Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer to get the scoring started in the fourth inning off of Homer Bailey. The Rangers scored two more runs before Bailey was pulled and they never looked back. Gallo later left the game with oblique tightness. Martín Maldonado later left because of forearm tightness. But it was, all in all, a pretty uneventful game.
The lone bright spot might have been Brian Flynn’s performance. He pitched four innings to close out the game, struck out three, and only allowed one earned run. Adalberto Mondesi extended his lead over the rest of the league in stolen bases when he swiped third without a throw. He now has 21. No Royals walked. Only Whit Merrifield had more than one hit.
Yes, this game was thoroughly predictable. But from the Rangers’ perspective it was the good kind of predictable. Much like this summer’s excellent Ryan Reynolds vehicle Pokémon Detective Pikachu. Nothing in that movie will jump out and surprise you but it’s a lot of fun. Definitely more fun than watching the Royals play baseball, right now. Plus movie theaters are air conditioned. I’m not saying you should go see movies instead of watching Royals games. But I’m not saying you wouldn’t be making a better choice if you did that, either. Especially if you choose to see a masterpiece like Pokémon Detective Pikachu.