Royals Win a Bizarre Game

Game Date: June 24, 2009
Kansas City @ Houston
Royals 4, Astros 3 / Box Score
WP: Soria (2-0), LP: Fulchino (2-3), SV: Bale (1)
KC Home Runs: Pena (1), Olivo (11)
Royals Record: 31-39 / Record in June 8-12

So much to talk about in this one:

• Dave Owen got Mitch Maier thrown out at home in the third inning by waving him home on an attempted inside the park home run. There was no reason for it since Maier was leading off the inning. Granted, Luke Hocehvar was up next, but David DeJesus flew out to center after that. Owen’s track record of getting guys thrown out at home this season is not good. Maybe it’s time to move him to first base and give Rusty a shot at third, huh?
  
  
• Luke Hochevar looked incredibly sharp. His breaking stuff had a ton of movement and he kept the ball down for the most part. He eventually gave up a two-run home run to Darin Erstad, but that was after Alberto Callaspo didn’t field a double-play ball cleanly and wound up only getting one out.
  
  
• With the Royals trailing 2-1 in the ninth and a guy on first with one out, Mike Jacobs launched a ball to left field that wrapped around one of those crazy outfield walls in Houston and deflected into Jason Michaels’ glove. He made it look like he caught the ball but after the umpires had a discussion they determined that the ball had indeed deflected off the wall. Good job by the umpires getting the call correct. But it bugged me that Jacobs wasn’t on second base. He couldn’t have been running hard and as a consequence he kept the double play in order for Houston. Thankfully, DeJesus picked him up by singling in a run to tie the game.
  
  
• In the Royals’ half of the tenth, Pudge Rodriguez apparently accused Brayan Pena of peeking back to see where he was set up and Pena went on to hit a solo home run. If Pena did indeed do it, you really can’t defend that sort of thing. It just shouldn’t be done. I couldn’t tell on the replay if he was guilty or not, but Pudge sure seemed to think so. Trey Hillman removed Pena from that game before the bottom half of the inning—did he do so to keep the situation from escalating since Rodriguez was leading off the next inning?
  
  
• In the bottom half of the inning, Rodriguez raced home after a single and Jose Guillen had a chance to throw him out, but for some reason Miguel Olivo came way up the right field line and left the plate wide open for Rodriguez. Sure enough, Rodriguez slid in safely to tie the game again. Both Olivo and John Buck continue to do this and I really don’t understand why. Neither have shown a lack of desire to take a hit in the past so you have to wonder if this isn’t something the Royals are teaching catchers, but if that’s the case, the obvious answer is why?
  
  
• And since I’m asking a lot of questions: What is the deal with Joakim Soria? He blew another save and he still doesn’t look right. He has a good ERA (2.16), but you don’t feel secure when he’s in the game like we did when he entered games last season.
  
  
• In a bizarre twist of events, Miguel Olivo crushed a ball over the left center field wall in the top of the eleventh and that run held up when John Bale retired the Astros 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning for Bale’s first save.

Lots of craziness in this one. But a win is a win. Now let’s hope the Royals can complete the sweep tomorrow. Brian Bannister (5-4, 3.89) will go up against Brian Moehler (4-4, 6.43). Bannister has never faced the Astros. Moehler is 2-1 against the Royals in his career with a 4.62 ERA in 39.0 IP.