Keller can’t dodge Brooklyn bombs; Royals lose 13-3

If you wanted to understand how badly the Royals lost this game without looking at the score, I could tell you how Mookie Betts had three hits in the first three innings, including a lead-off home run. I could tell you about how Brad Keller didn’t get his first out until his eighth batter faced. I could tell you about how my family was apologizing to me that I had to watch the rest of the game before the sixth batter had reached base. I could tell you that the Dodgers were making substitutions by the fifth inning and by the sixth inning the Royals announcers couldn’t find anything more interesting to do than discuss whether Royals reliever Scott Barlow or Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford had the better “flow.”

I could tell you that the final pitchers of record were Nicky Lopez and Hanser Alberto.

I could spend the rest of this recap talking about how soundly the Dodgers beat the Royals in this game. But the Royals finally did the one thing I’ve been asking them to do all year and let the kids play. I don’t feel like dwelling on the negative now.

Instead, let’s talk about some of the positives we can take from this game.

• Brent Rooker, in his Royals debut, reached base in every plate appearance and drove in the final run with an RBI double.
• Nate Eaton extended his on-base streak when he starts to 10 games.
• Nick Pratto, facing a tough lefty, whacked an opposite-field double.
• Michael Massey, facing the same tough lefty, whacked an opposite-field 2-RBI triple - the first triple of his major league career.
• (h/t RoyalDUF) In total, Royals rookies had five of the ten hits and two of the three RBIs.
• No one got hurt

Maybe it isn’t much - especially on a night when the team across the parking lot played their first pre-season game - but it was more than nothing to me. I can’t say I enjoyed watching this game, but it wasn’t nearly the same torture that their losses earlier in the season were.

The Royals will attempt to avoid the sweep tomorrow. In their favor, Brady Singer will take the mound while on the best streak of his major league career. Unfortunately, the Dodgers will counter with Tyler Anderson, a left-hander with a 13-1 record and a 2.72 ERA.