Royals Lose Third Straight

Zack Greinke fell victim to the long ball tonight and the Royals lost again to drop to 1 and 6 on the current homestand. Casey Blake and Ben Broussard went back to back in the second inning and that was all the Indians needed. The Royals only managed 3 hits.

Looking at the line up tonight left me scratching my head. Hitting behind Sweeney was Eli Marrero with an average below .150 and then John Buck whose average is even lower. Why would any manager pitch to Mike Sweeney when the guys behind him aren't hitting?

And in another odd move, Pena brought in Mike MacDougal to pitch the ninth inning with the Royals down 5-1. If the guy needs a little work, then why not let him throw in the bullpen? The Royals don't have any off days this week and one would think that MacDougal will need to come in with the game on the line in one of those games. Hopefully, it's not tomorrow. He did only throw 10 pitches, so maybe he could be used if needed.

Ruben Gotay made a great play tonight by going to his right and flipping a ball with his glove hand to Angel Berroa who was moving towards first base. Berroa caught the ball barehanded and threw the runner out at first. The play made webgems on Baseball Tonight, but what they didn't show was the error that Gotay made.

I have mixed emotions about the webgem segment on Baseball Tonight. I'm all for showing spectacular defensive plays and home runs…but why doesn't a number two hitter who slapped a ball to the right side to advance a runner ever get any credit? I know it isn't as sexy, but I'd love to see these plays on Baseball Tonight on a segment they could call "Doing the Little Things." Little things win games more often than flashy plays.

Tomorrow afternoon at 1:10, Denny Bautista (1-1, 5.56) goes against Scott Elarton (0-0, 6.30).