Royals Lose Close Game

I’m glad to see the series in Cincinnati come to an end. We don’t have the pitching it takes to stay in games there. The Royals put up a good fight tonight—coming back from a 5-2 deficit, but after rallying to tie the game in the eighth, the Reds came back and scored a run in the bottom of the eighth and the run held up.

Bobby Keppel had another poor outing. He only lasted 2.1 IP and he gave up 4 ER and 5 hits. His ERA has climbed to 5.50 after several bad outings in a row. You have to wonder if his shot at the rotation is almost gone at this point. He showed a lot of promise in his first two starts of the season, but it’s been all downhill for him ever since.

Jeremy Affeldt was solid out of the pen—going 3.2 IP and giving no earned runs. Wellemeyer had good stuff in relief of Affeldt. Dessens struggled, as did Jimmy Gobble.

The Royals are on to St. Louis where they will take on the Cardinals this weekend in a three game series. Tomorrow night, Brandon Duckworth (1-1, 4.96) goes against former Royal Jeff Suppan (6-4, 5.09).