Thursday, June 19, 2008

Game 73: Kansas City @ St. Louis

Game Date: June 19, 2008 
Royals 4, Cardinals 1 / Box Score
WP: Greinke (6-4), LP: Thompson (1-2), SV: Soria (18)
Royal Home Runs: Teahen (7)
Royals Record: 31-42

The formula seems to be working. You take one starting pitcher, have him pitch seven effective innings, add a long ball or two, and throw in a dash of good bullpen work, and you have a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

How sweet is that?

Zack Greinke had pinpoint control today and he went after guys. He ended up with seven strikeouts and he gave up just two hits--one of them was a big fly to Rick Ankiel in the fourth inning. But it didn't seem to bother him in the least. He threw 112 pitches in seven innings, but I was hoping Hillman would send him back out for the eighth. I knew he wouldn't since Greinke's spot was due up first, but I still wanted to see it.

Mark Teahen was the star of the show on offense. He went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. He missed the cycle by a double. He gave the Royals some insurance with a two run home run to right field in the eighth inning. Ironically, Dick Kaegel sort of called Teahen's big game. He wrote an article for the Royals website recently called "Teahen may be on the verge of a surge." Teahen is finally driving the ball, so that's a good indication that better things may be in store for him after getting off to a slow start.

The Royals initially took the lead in the fourth inning on a Mark Grudzielanek double that drove in Jose Guillen. And, during the same inning, Mark Teahen singled in Grudzielanek.

So, the Royals pushed their winning streak to five games and now they head home to begin a new three-game series against the San Francisco Giants over the weekend. Tomorrow night, Luke Hochevar (4-5, 4.66) will go up against Matt Cain (3-5, 4.39). Neither pitcher has ever faced the opposing team before.

No comments:

 
Clicky Web Analytics