Royals POSTCAST: Kansas City Royals STUMPED By Miami Marlins to Open Second Half of MLB Season

Royals POSTCAST: Kansas City Royals STUMPED By Miami Marlins to Open Second Half of MLB Season

[Music] This is the Royals Post Cast, your instant game reaction for the Kansas City Royals, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Welcome in to the Royals post here on the Locked On Network. Your team every day. I’m your host, Chance Lebo. I’m here to bring you reactions to every single Royals game. the rest of the way. You can follow me on Twitter, Chance Lebo. It’s right by my name tag here on the video. And if you are not here live, if you can’t make the show live, don’t worry. These episodes are updated, uploaded for you to listen to at your leisure on demand anytime you want to listen to them. You can listen to the first one we did. You can listen to the last one we did. That is how this show goes. So appreciate you guys who are here live and thank you for making Locked on Royals and or the Royals postcast your first listen every day. Before we get started, remember to subscribe to the channel if you are here and turn on our notifications so that you get a alert whenever we go live. Thank you guys so much for joining the show. Feel free to join the live chat and I’ll do my best to get to your comments because obviously that sucked. That game sucked. Then it was really fun. Then it was a lot of fun. Then the game sucked and it was over. So, not a fun loss at all to open up the second half of the season. It’s not where I wanted to be coming to you live here on YouTube. It’s not where I’m sure many of you wanted to be there live. Um, but yeah, that was uh that was real. That was fun, but it wasn’t real fun at the end. Um, so we are uh we are going to head right into it. Let’s get it started. Here is what you’ll be talking about. This is what you’ll be talking about. It’s hard to have just one, isn’t it? I mean, this was a game with a lot of things that you probably are going to have your uh your mind on. We’ll start out with the most recent thing. I was going to talk about Seth Lugo’s outing and kind of tell you guys to pump the brakes a little bit, but let’s talk about that 10th inning. Had a lot of fun for that 10th inning. You get Adam Frasier with an RBI double proving that he I don’t know if I’d say proving it’s a oneame sample set and he had a chance to win them a ball game. Um Adam Frasier has a great pinch hit double. The reason that the Royals got him was to be a bench bat to be a pinch hitter in those situations. I was someone I didn’t tweet it out because I was uh I was busy at work today. But when their lineup got released and it was John Raven left and not Adam Frasier, I was a little bit shocked and a little bit upset. But there’s a reason Matt Cotero gets paid a lot more money than I do. Um, exponentially more money than I do. Um, and it’s because he teed it up perfectly today in the lineup. Um, really did a good job today at getting the right guys in a position to succeed. And I felt pretty happy with what the offense gave them today. I mean, Sandy Alcantara, if you were to just pull away the curtain and just look at him as an overall pitcher, he’s not an easy guy to hit. I mean, he’s got a big RA this year coming back from an injury. just doesn’t have the same kind of stuff he did when he was a literal Sai Young winner a couple of seasons ago. But instead, the Royals were able to tag him pretty well. I mean, they got after him today. John Rave hitting fast balls. Uh the offense as a whole, I mean, getting four runs there in the fourth is kind of a big deal. When’s the last time the Royals scored four runs in a game on the road? I mean, or four runs in an inning on the road. So, obviously getting that start there in the fourth inning was a big deal for them. The offense getting going. I mean, I I turn around, I’m making dinner, I turn around and John Ra is in the dugout and the Royals have three on the board and I’m trying to do the math like what actually happened because God knows I don’t like John Rave. Um, so I I was a little bit uh I don’t want to say shocked that they were able to hit Sandy that well, but eight hits off Alcantara, two walks. I mean, that’s more than enough out of six innings of work. And I thought the ABS looked solid. I thought they did just fine um as a as a unit, as a cohesive unit. Now, the top half of the lineup has to be much much better than what we saw today. I mean, I was preparing to kind of talk about how poor the top half of the offense was. Top third, really. I mean, when you get one hit out of Bobby, India, and Vinnie in four strikeouts out of those three, you’re not going to have a very, very successful day. Credit the Royals, credit the bottom twothirds of the lineup for being able to handle the pressure and be able to carry the offense today. something. I mean, I don’t think we have an opportunity to say that all season that the bottom twothirds of the lineup has done anything of the sort, but instead today, they uh they really really did a good job today. Um bottom bottom half of the order did their jobs. Mikel Garcia um I was listening to Jack’s show yesterday when he was talking about guys that might take a step back and might have a good second half and he said Mikel Garcia is a guy step back. I was in that boat. He was the first guy that came to mind for me when he was talking about guys that might take a step back. Um, but today Mikel Garcia working all three sides of the field. That was a great day for Mikel at the plate. But obviously the bullpen decisions. I know a lot of people are uh in the chat. I know we’ve already seen some people saying we need to get rid of Estz, move ig to closer. Estz is overrated. Um, I don’t know if I’d say he’s overrated, but he is very uh I mean the Royals have a conundrum on their hands similar to what they did I don’t want to say in 2014. I’m saying similar to 2014. Wade Davis was the best pitcher in that bullpen bar none. Wade Davis was their eighth inning guy. Greg Holland was their ninth inning guy. And Greg Holland, I mean, you had to hold your breath when Greg Holland took them out in the ninth inning with a one-run lead because his command wasn’t spectacular. if he didn’t have his best stuff that night, it was not a sure thing that it would get done. And so the Royals have I don’t want to call it a similar conundrum, but one along, you know, it’s a rung below on the ladder with the Royals had to deal with in 2014 where they had an elite setup guy and Wade Davis. Hell, you could even say two elite setup guys and Davis and Herrera and a closer that was, you know, a little bit a little bit worrisome at times, inconsistent, didn’t have his best stuff. Um, I I think Estz is just fine. He’s better than the alternative. I like Estz a lot more in the ninth than I would in the eighth because I I don’t know. I I just like the way that Quero uses Lucas Ersk. You don’t want I just like using him in the most high lever situation because he’s proved time and time again that that is where he’s at his best. Matro probably didn’t know that the game was going to go to the ninth inning or else he proh to the 10th inning or else he might have used uh Lucas Ersg or you had to get to the 10th inning. So you use Lucas Ersg in the ninth inning. So, I’m fine with how they use the two guys in the back end of that bullpen. Guys, at this time last year, we were discussing whether John Shriber or James MacArthur should be the closer. So, we can just pump the brakes on, you know, get rid of Estz. He is a heck of a lot better than the alternative option is, which is I mean, who do you even want in that back nine of that bullpen? Because I like Lucas Ersk. I like him a lot. I think he’s the best reliever in this bullpen. Carlos Estz, a blown save tonight. He’s not had a good couple of weeks, but that sometimes happens to relief pitchers. I think that he he was welldeserved all-star, but I think tonight he left a few balls in the middle of the plate, got a little bit I don’t want to say cocky, but he definitely trusted his stuff a little bit too much tonight and he paid the price for it as the Royals lose. Final score of eight-7 against the Miami Marlins. Starting out the second half in a bad loss. Bad loss any way you slice it. That was not ideal for the beloved Kansas City Royals. All right, when we come back, we will talk a little bit about Seth Lugo’s outing. I know a lot of people are worried about his trade value. I’ll tell you why it doesn’t matter that much. Why Seth Lugo’s outing tonight was more encouraging than what many people believe it would be. That’s all coming up next here on the Royals Post. Summer sports are in full swing. And whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game even more exciting. You’re already following the action. Why not make it a little more thrilling? With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburnt at the beach. I’ve been using FanDuel to track my favorite matchups, and the app keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet. It’s easy to use, fast to pay out, and makes even regular season games feel like mustwatch events. New to FanDuel? New customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started. I was not exactly happy with how Seth Lugo pitched today. He was fine. I mean, I think that the one thing that you can be encouraged by, if you’re the Red Sox or if you’re the Blue Jays or the Dodgers or a team that is likely going to be in the Seth Lugo market, you can be encouraged by the fact that he had a really bad first two innings. I mean, a really bad first two innings and the guy went six. Not that’s not common in Major League Baseball except for guys that you’re just throwing out there to throw out there like a Jordan Liles. Jordan Lyles will get tagged for eight innings, but by God, he’s going to make his way into the sixth. Seth Lugo settled in after a rough first two innings. He settled in, was able to pitch just fine the rest of the way. The final four innings went swimmingly, and I think that’s why a team like the Red Sox who kind of have to I I I don’t like the Red Sox pitching staff. They don’t have a lot of innings eaters. At the end of the day, that’s all Seth Lugo is g He it’s not all he’s going to be, but at the end of the day, he’s a innings eater on steroids is what Seth Lugo is. So, I was fine with how he looked today. Um, obviously not the start you wanted, but for him to get through six, no walks, didn’t really play for strikeouts, pitched to contact, big ballpark, let your guys go make plays, I mean, Kyle Isel lolly gagging to a fly ball, a routine fly ball, and giving up on it. Um, a couple balls just left right over the middle of the plate. you just can’t have happen. Um, that would be my biggest gripe of the day with the Royals. Um, but also my biggest gripe, and I tweeted this out, Vinnie Pascantino and Mikel Garcia with probably the two worst at bats of the season before Adam Frasier’s pinch hit double to to give the Royals the lead. Um, the two worst at bats of the season, you have runners on second and third. really you absolutely a necessity to score at least one of them and to get the second one is even more important if you want to win the game. Um and at the end of the day Vinnie pops out which he’s been doing quite a lot recently. I know he had a hit streak come to a close today but he’s been much more inconsistent hitting popups with runners that you know I get it he’s trying to hit put a ball in the air. He’s trying to get a ball the other way to score a runner but he had a couple of those at bats in the Mets series too. I mean it it the first inning of the Mets game one Vinnie had the exact same thing happen to him. Mike Hill another bad at bat with runners in scoring position. Mike Hill had a horrible at bat in the 10th. I mean to let a I I get it. You might not be sitting slider. You have an approach. I’m not going to be like you should have swung at that pitch. It might not have been what he was sitting on. But for him to have that kind of at bat with runners on second and third need it one out. Just put a ball in the air. put a ball on the right side of the infield and were in the clear and he strikes out. I mean, those guys and it’s night and day difference from what we saw last year from the Royals who were the elite of the elite with hitting and with hitting with runners in scoring position. Now, they have guys like Vinnie and Mike who just can’t seem to have an approach to plate. They’re not guessing right. They’re not having a good enough approach to plate. They’re not seeing the pitches well enough. That’s been a big difference for the Royals this season is that hitting with runners on base has become a a problem for them in a big big way. And so tonight they got bailed out by Adam Frasier, but at the end of the day they still took the loss. Um I I I was very upset with Mike and Vinnie and I was more than more than willing and more than prepared to come onto this show and rip them, excuse me, to shreds if Adam Frasier doesn’t hit a two-run double to give them the lead. And even then, they still deserve their fair share of criticism because those were the two worst at bats of the season was in the tenth inning. Second and third, less than two outs. Get a ball in the air or a ball on the right side of the infield and somebody’s crossing home plate. So, I was not happy with the top half of the lineup. Jonathan India didn’t have a good day. Bobby Jr. had one hit to extend his road hitting streak, but it was a chopper to the pitcher um that he just or a chopper to the right side that he beat the pitcher the bag. I mean, that’s just what you’re going to get from the Royals is a a lot of inconsistency. So, um, we’re going to get to some comments here. Um, yeah, this is obviously not a not an ideal situation for the Royals to be in, but Misery loves company. We’ve got a lot of comments today. Um, Bolan said, “I was there when Bobby Jr. let Seth Lugo hang our season over the plate and John Rae stood alone in defiance.” That’s a good comment there. I a lot of people were talking about Rave in Miami. Everybody loves a good Miami rave. That was a That was a good one. Um David saying he takes back his bad mouthing of the Frasier trade. I was I was pro- Frasier trade. Um that’s what you bring in Adam Frasier for. But yeah, um not not the result at the end of the day that they wanted to get to. Um um Adam saying, “If that game doesn’t sum up the season, I don’t know what does.” Agreed, Adam. That was that was just another another bad one for the Royals. Um, yeah, if you guys have any questions, I know Jack usually does a mailback Friday, but if you guys have any questions or anything, but yeah, I know a lot of people calling for Estz’s head. I’m fine with him staying in the ninth inning. He’s the best. I I don’t want to say he’s the best ninth inning guy, but I’m fine with the way they use Lucas Ersig, but it was uh Yeah, somebody’s saying it was the Raven Sters show tonight. Yeah, Kyle Sters is really really hot right now. Um I I think that the the price of the brick is going up there with Kyle Sters um by day because he had three homers against the uh I think he had three homers against the Orioles um on Sunday. So yeah, the price of the brick is going up there. Um Gary Boyd Estz has been pretty horrible in the 10th inning. Um yeah, uh offense has to do a better job of not getting them to the 10th inning. Um it’s one of those things where you know if you don’t want to lose a game in the 10th inning, win it in the first nine and the Royals weren’t able to do that tonight. Um, uh, somebody saying Vinnie should have focused on something other than tweeting. I’m okay with them taking some relaxed time. I mean, the All-Star break is too short anyways for those guys. They need a they need some relaxation time. Um, uh, Jaylen Sangro had three pitchers capable of getting saves in the clutch. It’s kind of the same this year. Yeah, they’ve got three guys that you can really trust and everybody else is a coin flip at, uh, at this point. Um, uh, somebody said, “We need a true closer. for Estz as a contact pitcher. I disagree. Um I think he’s fine. Um yeah, people saying the Royals aren’t going to get sters. Yeah, I I think that that’s kind of a pipe dream now. Um but I think if they were to trade a Blake Mitchell to get him, I’d be fine with it. But uh um um Lugo back to being bad. Lugo was fine for the final four innings. So I I’m I’m fine with how Lugo pitched in the final four innings. Um, uh, yeah, I I was fine with how Lugo threw today. Um, obviously you didn’t want the first two innings to go as they did, but I I just thought that he was I was uh I was fine with how he pitched the final four innings. He bounced back really well. Um, but yeah, I wouldn’t give up the top prospects anymore. I I certainly wouldn’t give up the top prospects anymore for uh anybody really. I think that they need to kind of clutch their pearls and maybe they give Lugo up or if they keep him they have a confidence that they can resign him. But uh yeah, I was I mean John Rae I’ve talked so much crap on Sean John Raeve tonight or not tonight. Um I I knew he I knew at some point he would bounce out of his slump and I didn’t know it was going to be like this. I mean two homers tonight in a pitcher friendly ballpark. I mean good for him. I I’m happy for him. I I really am. I’m not going to wish ill on anybody um in at all especially players that on the team that I cheer for. But, um, yeah, this was a this is a really bad showing for the top half of the offense. A lot of people calling for Kyle Sters. Um, like I said, that’s going to be really expensive and I don’t think that he’s the uh the answer. Although, I think he would be a solid bat to have. I just don’t think it’s going to happen. Um, um, yeah, I’m there are a lot of comments here and I’m probably not going to be able to get to all of them. I’ve got to I’ve got to get going tomorrow. Um, I’m going to do my best to give you guys a Royals postcast tomorrow. I am going to be at a family reunion in a place in the middle of nowhere. Um, I’m going to try to be doing it for my grandma’s uh office space in her in her house. I’m going to try to give you guys a Royals postcast tomorrow. If connection fails, like Jack happened to Jack uh the Monday that he filled in for me, then so be it. But I’m going to do my best to give you guys a Royals postcast tomorrow um around six o’clock. Hopefully they give us something to uh to cheer about, but tonight obviously not the result that we wanted to see. Um I appreciate you guys for tuning in. Thank you guys for making Locked on Royals podcast or the Royals Postcast your first listen of the day. Don’t forget to hit like on the video, subscribe to the channel if you are new. And be sure to tune in tomorrow for our Royals Postcast when they return to action against the Miami Marlins. I’m Chance Lebo. This has been the Royals Postcast, part of the Locked on Podcast.

Chance Liebau reacts to the first game between the Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins. We discuss John Rave’s big day at the plate, Adam Frazier’s clutch two-run double, and the bullpen decisions going forward.

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