Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium is one of the biggest days in Kansas City each year, with the event selling out and drawing 39,393 fans according to the team.
However, this season, some fans were left with a bad taste in their mouth after the Royals squandered a 3-0 lead with baserunning blunders and defensive miscues.
Kansas City Royals outfielder Dairon Blanco (44) is caught in a rundown © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
The frustration started in the top of the fourth inning, when Guardians DH Kyle Manzardo slashed a Cole Ragans slider down the right field line. Royals right fielder Hunter Renfroe jogged over and misplayed the bounce, allowing the ball to get away from him and Manzardo to take third without a throw.
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Another blunder from a Royals outfielder came in the bottom of the eighth, but this time on the basepaths.
With runners on the corners and two outs, third baseman Jonathan India bounced one to third baseman Jose Ramirez, who threw home and caught Dairon Blanco in a rundown, where he was eventually tagged out. As the first rundown ensued, center fielder Kyle Isbel drifted off second and was caught in a rundown of his own. He was also tagged out.
The frustration compounded in extra innings, when Renfroe was once again the player in the spotlight.
When Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan lined a ball towards the right-center field gap, it seemed Renfroe was going to range over and snag it, but the ball soard just out of his reach and Kwan reached second with an RBI double.
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Fans immediately took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to voice their frustration.
One user said, “1 game in and I’d be okay if I never saw Hunter Renfroe play another game this year.”
Another added, “Hunter Renfroe’s arm really makes you miss Alex Gordon.”
Renfroe wasn’t the only player subject to criticism from fans, as Kyle Isbel caught flak for his play during the rundown.
“Kyle Isbel isn’t good enough to do that on the bases,” Royals writer David Lesky tweeted. “Woof.”
Another user replied to Lesky, saying, “Game 1 and we already made the most brain dead play of the year!”
“One of three below [average] outfielders they trot out,” Another commented.
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Luckily, Thursday was just game 1 of 162, so Kansas City will have plenty of time to try and fix their problems and get on the same page before this can become a bigger problem and frustrate fans even more.
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