Royals Rumblings - News for October 7, 2024

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Jazz was out.

The Royals responded to the controversial safe call on Jazz Chisholm.

“I feel like you guys know me,” Massey said. “I don’t speak my mind too much on a lot of stuff, so I wanted to make sure I had the facts before I did. Like I said, if that’s something that is not going to be overturned, I’m not sure what (will) other than the obvious calls of guys out by two feet. Then, you know, there is no point in challenging.”

Jazz thought he was safe.

“No, I knew I was in there,” Chisholm said. “That’s what we were talking about at second base, actually. He was like, ‘I think I put down a good tag.’ I said, ‘You did put down a good tag. That doesn’t mean I’m out.’ It was a lot of fun going back and forth, but I knew I had it, and I knew they couldn’t overturn it. So I was just ready to go, get Dugie up there and score a run.”

Anne Rogers writes that the Royals knew they issued too many walks.

“We pride ourselves on making them earn their way on base,” starter Michael Wacha said, “and we didn’t do that. We’ve got to get them back in the zone and fill it up and make quality pitches in the zone.”

Melanie Martinez-Lopez writes that the Royals got some good at-bats in against Yankees starter Gerrit Cole.

“You could just see it on Cole’s face that he was getting frustrated with Yuli,” Melendez recalled. “He was taking the balls and fouling off the strikes, fouling off some tough pitches. And I think he’s the reason why I ended up having the outcome that I had was probably because of what he was able to do in that one at-bat.”

Jaylon Thompson writes about Lucas Erceg’s emergence as an ace reliever.

“Everything we heard about him from the people in Oakland, and all the intel we tried to dig up, was his competitiveness is what stood out,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He has not backed down from any of those challenges.” The primary one: Close out games without blowing leads.

“You don’t know how he is going to respond in those moments where he is the closer,” Picollo said. “But I think what he has gone through over the last two months gives us a lot of confidence that we do have a closer.”

Bill Ladson at MLB.com writes about Tommy Pham’s addition to the team.

“He’s a great worker, tireless worker,” Quatraro said. “He’s constantly trying to figure out what he needs to do to improve. And for a guy that’s played as long as he has, that’s not always the norm — his willingness to make some changes and listen to suggestions. He plays extremely hard all the time. I think our guys respect that.”

Craig Brown recaps Game One of the series.

So when we look back to assess the “whys” and “what-happeneds” of this Game One defeat, there is plenty to unpack. Yes, the whiffed replay is one factor. So is the fact the Royals couldn’t get the damn leadoff hitter out consistently. Want to set your opponent up for success? Put the leadoff man on. Then there was the fateful fifth inning where the Royals issued not one, but two, bases-loaded walks. Or how about the fact the Royals pitchers surrendered eight walks total? Or how about the send home of Perez in the second that perhaps prevented a bigger inning?

Yes, this game was impacted by a dumb video review, but there were some missed opportunities and gift-wrapped runs. To lean on one factor and only one as the reason for this Game One defeat minimizes the impact of the others. And there were plenty of reasons the Royals, despite scoring five runs, fell short.

How you can watch the Royals and Chiefs game tonight at the same time.

Rachael Millanta at Kings of Kauffman looks at the silver lining from Game 1.

Royals broadcaster Jake Eisenberg talks about being along for the playoff ride.

Nick Castellanos ties up the NLDS with a walk-off hit for the Phillies.

Padres/Dodgers Game 2 gets delayed after fans throw things on the field in an eventual San Diego win.

The Guardians shut out the Tigers in Game 1.

The Dodgers think Yoshinobu Yamamoto was tipping his pitches.

Some fans think Devin Williams was tipping his pitches before giving up the series-winning home run to Pete Alonso.

Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove needs Tommy John surgery.

Clayton Kershaw has a setback in rehab and will not return this year.

Where the Guardians found hidden value.

Where do the Brewers go next after a heartbreaking Wild Card loss?