I always think of the last 62 games as the downhill slope of the season. Especially in years where the Royals are clearly non-competitive. After 100 games were played, the Royals managed to win only 39. I think the good news is that they are only guaranteed 24 more wins to avoid the 100 loss mark caused by the nearly two month long stretch of 500 ball play. Either way, this season has been pretty disappointing for everyone, it will be a relief to reach the off-season, where the Royals will continue to do nothing to improve the team, but at least the season is that much. Won’t get hot.
Salvador Perez made his comeback last night, blasting a three-run home run in the team’s fourth straight loss. Tonight, Bobby Witt Jr. returned to the lineup as the designated hitter and forced Perez to catch his first major league game in more than a month. This essentially leaves the Royals’ lineup in full force – though Nick Prieto gets a day off. One could even say that the lineup is on very full force.
Despite this, Jonathan Hesley will take the mound for the Royals as they look for their first win against the Yankees this season in their sixth attempt. This will be Hesley’s first since the All-Star break, which will actually be his first in three weeks. Checking his past appearance statistics makes it clear why: He gave the Guardian six runs in 1.1 innings back on July 9.
Or, ya know, it’s because he was on IL.
The Royals will have an uphill battle if they want to win it as Yankees break-out star Nestor Cortés Jr. will take the mound to New York. Cortés’ last poor start was on July 8, but there have been two great performances since then. Also, he pitched against Casey once earlier this year. He played five innings in a win where he conceded two runs, earning only one. He didn’t run any and only hit three, but he dropped eight hits.
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