Royal Reflections

Game Date: September 12, 2006
Game Score: Royals 5, Indians 3 / Box Score
WP: Hernandez (6–9), LP: Sowers (7–4), SV: Nelson (7)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 55-90

The Royals jumped on Jeremy Sowers in the first inning tonight and they didn’t look back. Esteban German doubled to lead off the game. Mark Grudzielanek singled to center to drive in German and the Royals were up 1–0. Then David DeJesus walked. Emil Brown and Ryan Shealy followed with strikeouts, but John Buck got a big two-out single that drove in Grudzielanek. 

Cleveland scored a run in the bottom of the second. And then, in a rather bizzare sight, after Runelvys struck out Ryan Garko to end the third inning, he pointed at John Buck in the dugout and then threw a punch at him. Before it turned into an all-out brawl, Angel Berroa and other players broke it up. No report yet on what happened, but you have to assume that Buck either said something to Hernandez or that he kept calling pitches that Hernandez didn’t feel comfortable throwing. If Buck said something, then the altercation is between the two of them. But if Hernandez simply got upset with the game that Buck was calling, his actions were outrageous. I suspect we’ll find out more tomorrow.

The Royals scored two more runs in the top of the fourth inning, and oddly, Hernandez and Buck both came back out for the bottom of the fourth inning. The Indians picked up another run that inning to make it 4–2 Royals. Both teams scored one more run before it was over. The bullpen got it done tonight for the Royals. Hernandez only made it five innings (he threw 95 pitches, giving up three earned runs, eight hits, three walks, and had one strike out). Dohmann, Gobble, Peralta, and Nelson pitched the final four innings and gave up only two hits and runs. Nelson picked up his seventh save.

The magic number is now eight. If the Royals can win eight of their remaining seventeen games, they’ll avoid a one hundred loss season. And while that’s hardly anything to brag about, one hundred losses looked like a certainty earlier this season.

Tomorrow night, Jorge De La Rosa (2–2, 5.57) goes against Jake Westbrook (12–9, 4.22). De La Rosa is 0–0 in his career against the Indians with a 9.64 ERA. Westbrook is 5–2 against the Royals with a 2.14 ERA.