Royals Pound Garcia

Game Date: June 8, 2007
Royals 8, Phillies 4 / Box Score
WP: Elarton (2-2), LP: Garcia (1-5), SV: Dotel (3)
Royal Home Runs: Grudzielanek (3), Sweeney (7)
Royals Record: 23-39

Freddy Garcia isn't throwing as hard as he used to. Add a sore shoulder to the mix and you have the makings of a break out game for the Royals lethargic offense. It was hard to tell the difference between Garcia's fastball and change up last night. There's about a four mph difference and his change up really doesn't move much. He still has a big loopy curve ball, but to the naked eye, he appears to have two pitches...one that goes 87 and one that goes 69. From there, you can pretty much figure out what he's going to throw based on the count.

The Royals had no problem doing just that. They pounded him for six earned runs on seven hits and Garcia was gone before the second inning was over. Not before Mark Grudzielanek turned on a pitch and hit it half way up the foul pole in left field. And not before Mike Sweeney smoked a line drive over the left field wall. Even though the Phillies struck first, they couldn't score often enough to keep up with the Royals.

But Scott Elarton is still a concern. He's throwing too many pitches (94 in just five innings last night) and he's struggling with his command. His control wasn't bad enough that he missed often, but it was bad enough that he left a lot of curve balls and a few fastballs up in the zone and he gave up three home runs as a result. I was impressed with his change up. He kept it down and had Phillie hitters off balance when he threw it--especially Chase Utley (who struck out three times against Elarton). Let's hope that Elarton can shake the rust off and improve.

The bullpen did a great job. The combination of Joel Peralta, David Riske, Jimmy Gobble, Joakim Soria, and Octavio Dotel kept the Phillies in check, not allowing any runs over the final four innings. Gobble had a huge strike out in the seventh inning with runners at second and third with two outs and Chase Utley up at the plate. I loved the intensity of Gobble's stare as he walked off the mound.

Tonight, Gil Meche (3-5, 3.00) goes up against Jon Lieber (2-4, 4.30). Meche is 2-0 in his career against the Phillies with a 1.93 ERA. Lieber is 2-2 against the Royals with a 4.32 ERA.