De La Rosa Hit Hard

Game Date: August 3, 2006
Game Score: Twins 8, Royals 2 / Box Score
WP: Radke (10-8), LP: De La Rosa (1-1)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 38-70

That was hardly the performance we were looking for from Jorge De La Rosa. He was wild (4 walks in 1.1 innings) as could be and that was all the Twins needed to jump on him early. Bell lifted De La Rosa in the second inning and after the smoke had cleared, he’d given up five earned runs—putting the Royals in a 6-0 hole. Conversely, Radke gave up just four hits in eight innings and only issued one walk, and he left little chance for the Royals to mount a comeback.

Not a lot to be positive about in this one. David DeJesus was 2-for-4 on the night and an RBI and he has his average back up to .300. And Todd Wellemeyer pitched well (except for three walks he issued) in long relief after De La Rosa faltered. Wellemeyer threw 4.1 innings and didn’t give up any earned runs. His ERA is down to 3.65.

The Royals are 7-14 since the break, which is a bit of a disappointment. They’ve played some great teams during that stretch though, including the Tigers, the Red Sox, and the White Sox. They’ve also played a couple of teams that are above .500 (the Angels and the Rangers). We just don’t match up yet with teams at the top of their divisions, but that’s really not much of a consolation for losing. Unfortunately, the Royals have a brutal schedule from here on out, but let’s hope they play a little better ball than their current .333 winning percentage since the break.

Tonight, Mark Redman (7-6, 5.40) goes against Johan Santana (12-5, 3.11). The Royals hit Santana hard (4 ER in 5.2 IP) on July 3—the last time they saw him. You might remember that game—the one where Burgos uncorked two wild pitches and blew the save. Such chances to beat Santana don’t come along often. He’s 9-3 in his career against the Royals with a 3.74 ERA. Redman is 0-3 with a 6.14 ERA against the Twins.