Keller dominates Braves en route to Royals sweep

Yesterday, I was cutting a potato and I sliced a big gash in my left middle finger. Per the doctor, I was “remarkably fortunate” to avoid stitches. My finger is currently bandaged up in a super-thick wad of gauze, making it difficult to type. Therefor, this is going to be a very to-the-point recap.

Brad Keller dominated the Atlanta Braves to lift the Royals to a 2-0 win, and a 2-0 sweep in the series. It was a defensive struggle, which made for an excellent pitcher’s dual.

All of the offense came in the second inning, and it came in weird ways. Jorge Soler walked. Bubba Starling hit a double, putting men on the corners. Two outs later, Meibrys Viloria hit a bouncing ball to first, but it went through Freddie Freeman’s legs, resulting in Starling coming in to score. Then Brad Keller ripped an RBI single to help his own cause, making it 2-0.

Both pitchers locked in after that. The Braves’ Julio Teheran threw six innings of two-run ball, but neither run was earned. He was undone by his defense. But Keller was a step ahead of him, as he twirled seven innings of shutout ball to lower his ERA below 4.0. He only allowed four hits and he struck out three. With the win, he is now 7-9 on the year.

Keller was pulled really early after just 88 pitches, but it was no matter. Jake Diekman worked around a leadoff hit to escape the eighth. He struck out a dude with an absolutely nasty sweeping curve for his first out.

Ian Kennedy got the ninth inning and made it less of an adventure than last night. He’s up to 19 saves on the year as his time in Kansas City (maybe) winds to its end.

The Royals are 39-64. They are 2-0 lifetime in Sun Trust Park.

Up next: they come home for a seven-game homestand, beginning with four against the Cleveland Indians.