Royals Even the Series

With Minnesota playing so well, I suspect that most baseball fans expected the Twins to steamroll the Royals this week. We handed them the game on Monday, but behind a strong outing by Jimmy Gobble, the Royals won 7-2 last night. We’ve evened the series and given ourselves a chance to win a second straight series against a good ball club.

Gobble gave up two runs in 5.0 IP. He only threw 73 pitches and said he felt like he could have gone longer, but Bell took him out—probably because Gobble has already appeared in 32 games this season. I like seeing Gobble in the rotation. We drafted him to be a starter, but he’s pitching so well in long relief this season that it was probably difficult for Bell to move him. But with our rotation in continual need of help, Gobble got the call. Hopefully he’ll settle in there for the remainder of the season. He’s 3-1 now with a 3.66 ERA.

Peralta and Dessens pitched well in relief. Dessens picked up his second save of the season. Thankfully, Bell didn’t turn to Burgos again.

David DeJesus was 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks. He’s doing an incredible job of setting the table for the guys behind him. There’s talk of moving Gathright into the leadoff spot once he’s developed. As quick as he is, I just can’t see the guy ever developing into a leadoff hitter. He doesn’t seem to understand the concept of just slapping the ball on the ground to the left side and speeding down the first base line. Maybe that’ll change.

The Royals have won 10 of their last 16 games and they look like a different team since Moore took over. Having DeJesus healthy has certainly helped. How much better would this line up look with a healthy Sweeney. Yeah, I know, it’s a bit of a stretch, but why not dream a little, huh?

Tonight, the Royals send Brandon Duckworth (1-1, 5.57) against Brad Radke (7-7, 5.11).

Berroa Walk Watch (the quest for double digits): 7 walks in 76 games.