Royals Clinch 3 Seed With Late Rally
After a fast start, the Royals found themselves again in familiar territory - needing late-inning heroics to salvage a win and stamp their postseason ticket. With a different set of heroes every week, Ryan Elliott and Roger Acuna took care of business to seal the victory.
With Tom Herbert on the mound, the Royals knew they'd likely be in the game all day. The Sox put up one in the first, but the Royals would come out of the gate hot.
Sean Spires would lead off with an infield single, and Armando Mesa would reach on a fielder's choice/error. Ryan Elliott would single home one, and Chris Powell would knock in another with an error/dropped fly ball in left. Herbert would help his own cause with a long sac fly to right. Chris Miller would walk, followed by a Jay Wasserman rbi-single. Tracey Warren would knock in another with an rbi-double, and Spires would bat again, knocking in 2 with his second single of the inning. After 1, the Royals would lead 7-1.
After a quiet top of the second, Elliott would reach on an error to start the bottom of the inning. Roger Acuna would lace a double to left to plate Elliott, and the Royals would lead 8-1.
But the Sox would come back with 4 in the 3rd, and 1 more in the 4th to cut the lead to 8-6. The Royals would respond again in their half of the 4th. Mesa would lead off with a single and swipe second. One out later, Acuna would lace another double to plate Mesa and make it 9-7.
The Royals' bats would go cold, while the Sox kept up the pressure. After a home run would knock Herbert from the game, Chris Powell would come in and quiet things down. But the Sox would score in both the 7th and 8th to knot the game at 9.
With their playoff hopes in the balance, the Royals would need another late-inning rally. Tracey Warren would lead off the bottom of the 8th with a single, but after 2 quick outs, things appeared grim for the Royals. Armando Mesa would walk, bringing up Ryan Elliott. With a full count and on the 8th pitch he saw, Elliott would line a single up the middle to give the Royals the lead. Roger Acuna would follow suit, working the count full and on HIS 8th pitch, would blast a 3-run shot WAY out of left field to put a definitive exclamation point on the game.
Powell would work a quiet 9th for the victory, and the Royals would clinch the #3 seed and a rematch with the Sox next weekend.
Congrats to Roger Acuna - already an accomplished hitter with a long PCBL legacy, this was his first home run in baby blue!
Pitching
Tom Herbert - 5.1IP, 4ER, 4K, 12H, 2BB
Chris Powell - W, 3.2IP, 2ER, 3K, 5H
Batting
Roger Acuna - 4-5, HR, 2 2B, 2R, 6RBI
Ryan Elliott - 3-5, 4R, 2RBI
Armando Mesa - 2-4, 3R, BB, SB
Tracey Warren - 2-4, 2B, 2R, 2RBI
Sean Spires - 2-5, R, 2RBI, SB
Chris Miller - 1-3, R, BB
Jay Wasserman - 1-4, R, RBI
Tom Herbert - 0-2, RBI, BB, SACF
Spires Hits for the Cycle as Royals Offense Rolls
For just the second time in 22 seasons in the PCBL, a member of the Royals has hit for the cycle. Sean Spires had a career day, topping it off with a line drive home run out of left as he etched his name in the Royals' record book. The rest of the offense wasn't too shabby either, as they pounded out 24 runs on 19 hits, battling a strong-hitting Bombers team lineup that fought all the way to their final out. Slugger Chris Powell said it best - "It was a Bugs Bunny cartoon out there today!"
The Royals would leave 2 men in scoring position in the top of the first (led by a Ryan Elliott double), opening the door for the Bombers to strike first. Randy Casey Jr would take the mound for the Royals, but it was apparent from his first pitch that he didn't have his A-game today. 4 Bombers would cross the plate in the first to take a 4-0 lead.
The Royals would respond right away in the 2nd. Chris Powell would get hit by a pitch and move to second on a Jay Wasserman single. After a walk to Tracey Warren, Austin Simmons would ground into a fielder's choice to plate one. Sean Spires would double to clear the bases, and after Elliott would get hit by a pitch, Roger Acuna (subbing in for the injured Mike Miller) would line a single to center to knock in Spires. Elliott would score on a wild pitch, and Tom Herbert and Chris Powell would walk to load the bases, but the Bombers would stop the bleeding, with the Royals now leading 6-4.
But the Bombers seemed to have an answer all day long, and would score 4 times in their half of the second to retake the lead 8-6.
The Royals would bat arround for the second straight inning in the 3rd. Chris Miller would lead off with a single, followed by a Warren walk. Austin Simmons would reach on an rbi-infield single - his first hit as a Royal - and quickly swipe second. Spires would hit a sac fly to center to plate Warren, and Armando Mesa would double home SImmons. Acuna and Herbert would both walk, with Mesa scoring on a wild pitch. With 2 outs, Chris "Mr. Go" Powell would blast his second home run in as many games to cap the scoring for the moment, with the Royals now leading 13-8.
The Bombers would score 1 in the bottom of the 3rd, but the offensive onslaught would continue for the Royals. After 2 quick outs, Simmons and pinch hitter Chris Middleton would each walk, and Spires would waste no time knocking them both in with a 2-run triple to right center. Mesa would walk, and one run would score on Ryan Elliott's second double of the game. Acuna would walk and Herbert would single to knock in one and have another thrown out at the plate, making it a 17-9 lead.
Casey Jr would work a quiet bottom of the 4th, and the Royals would go quietly in the top of the 5th - a rare down period on the afternoon.
The Bombers would finally chase Casey Jr from the game in the bottom of the 5th, but Powell would come in and strike out a batter to get out of the jam. But the Bombers would get 3 more, and after 5 innings in the book (and 2 hours), the score would be 17-12.
The Royals would get those runs back and then some in the top of the 6th. Simmons, MIddleton and Spires would lead off with back-to-back-to-back singles (with an rbi for Spires), and Mesa would walk to load the bases. Acuna would walk to bring home another run, and Herbert would single in a pair. Powell would single in one more, before Jay Wasserman would crush his first of two inning-ending, line-drive double plays (some guys have all the luck - but those guys aren't named Wasserman today.)
Powell would work two quiet innings on the mound, and heading into the last inning, the Royals led 22-12. Luckily (depending on how you look at it), there were still 3 minutes remaining, so both teams would get one final at bat.
Spires would lead off and make the most of the opportunity. With a 1-2 count, he would line a home run deep over the left field fence to complete his cycle (more on his historic day in a bit.) Elliott would single, and move into scoring position on Acuna's 4th walk of the day. Herbert would knock in Elliott, and the Royals would lead 24-12, needing only 3 outs to guarantee a .500 season and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Hard-throwing Roger Acuna would take the mound, but the defense must have already gone home. 11 Bombers would come to the plate, and on 4 hits, a walk, and 4 errors(!!!), they would score 7 times (still with no outs) and get the Royals bullpen up and throwing in a hurry. But Acuna would settle down and do it himself, striking out 3 of the last 4 batters he faced to secure the victory.
Congrats to the Bombers - a see-saw game all day, they never gave up and showed the resolve that led them to a single-A championship last summer. We look forward to seeing them again in the future!
As for the Royals, a few big moments today: Austin Simmons not only got his first hit, rbi and stolen base, but scored 4 runs to lead the team from the 10-hole! Chris Middleton and Chris Miller both stole their first base as Royals (and Chris Powell would have had his as well, had it not been for a foul ball.) Tom Herbert had 3 hits and 4 rbis, both season highs for him. But obviously, Sean Spires stole the show today. As well as hitting for the cycle, his 8 rbis are second all time, only to home run king Brett Draimin (who had 9 at the same field a few years back.) Spires also moved into the league lead in MVP points with just 1 game to go - while Casey Jr won the division Cy Young last year, no Royal has ever won a league MVP. Way to go, guys!
Pitching
Randy Casey Jr - 4.2IP, 5ER, 3K, 7H, 3BB, 3HBP
Chris Powell - W, 2.1IP, 2K, H
Roger Acuna - IP, 2ER, 3K, 4H, BB
Batting
Sean Spires - 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, 4R, 8RBI, SACF, SB
Ryan Elliott - 3-5, 2 2B, 3R, RBI, HBP
Tom Herbert - 3-4, R, 4RBI, 2BB
Chris Powell - 2-4, HR, 2R, 4RBI, BB, HBP
Austin Simmons - 2-4, 4R, 2RBI, BB, 2SB
Armando Mesa - 1-4, 2B, 3R, RBI, 2BB, SB
Roger Acuna - 1-2, 2R, RBI, 4BB
Chris Middleton - 1-2, 2R, BB, SB
Chris Miller - 1-3, R, BB, SB
Jay Wasserman - 1-5, R
Tracey Warren - 0-3, 2R, 2BB, SB
Randy Casey Jr - 0-1, SB
Veterans Come Through in 9th, Royals Win 14-13
The Royals would take an early 7-1 lead, but would squander it and find themselves down 13-9 heading into the bottom of the 9th. But with 2 outs, 3 of the oldest members of the squad would come through (back-to-back-to-back) with huge hits to tie things up, and an "El Cariso Bounce" (trademark pending) would secure the victory for the boys in baby blue over Shock and Awesome.
Tom Herbert would take the hill for the Royals and allow only 2 earned over the first 4 innings.
Sean Spires would start things off, as usual, reaching on an error and quickly swiping second. Armando Mesa would single him home, but be retired on a double play ball. Tom Herbert would double and score on a Chris Powell single, and after 1, it was 2-0 Royals.
In the second, Jay Wasserman and Chris Miller would lead off with back-to-back singles, and Tracey Warren would reach on a hit by pitch. With the bags juiced, Spires would single home a pair, and Mesa would single home another. Ryan Elliott would plate Spires with a sac fly to deep center to give the Royals a 6-1 lead after 2.
In the third, Powell would lead off with a single and move to second on a ground out. Chris Miller would single him home with 2 outs and the Royals looked to be in cruise control, leading 7-1.
But Shock and Awesome are in second place for a reason, and the Royals would soon find out why. 6 runs over the next 2 frames would knock Herbert from the game (5 were unearned, courtesy of a pair of errors in the infield.)
The Royals would respond with 1 in each of the next 2 innings. In the 5th, Mike Miller would single with 1 out, move to second on a Chris Miller single and score on a Tracey Warren 2-out line drive single to left. In the 6th, Mesa would reach on a single, move to 3rd on a Ryan Elliott single and score on a Tom Herbert sac fly.
With a 9-7 lead, the Royals would hand the ball to Wasserman, the 3rd longest-tenured active Royal. After a quick first inning, another error would cost the team dearly, as it would immediately be followed by a 2-run home run to give Shock an 11-9 lead. Shock would continue to carry the momentum forward, scoring once each in the 8th and 9th off reliever Armando Mesa, taking a 13-9 lead into the bottom of the 9th.
After a quick first out, Mesa would double into shallow left (for his 5th hit of the day!!!) But Shock looked to have the game in hand as they struck out the dangerous Ryan Elliott - 1 out from victory. Tom Herbert would work a 7-pitch at bat before drawing a walk, and Chris "Mr. Go" Powell would live up to his nickname, crushing a towering home run to deep right to bring the Royals within 1 before beating his chest "Mr. Go"-style (okay, maybe that was just in my head.) Mike Miller would quickly get 2 strikes on him, but would fight off a good pitch and line a trademark single into right, putting the tying run on first. Jay Wasserman would also quickly get 2 strikes, but after fighting off a few pitches himself, would shoot a sinking line drive to center. The centerfielder dove, but the ball would land in front of him and skip by towards the wall. Miller, running on the swing, easily scored the tying run as Wasserman cruised into second. As the team cheered, their excitement would be dampened as they found Miller lying on the ground by home plate with a strained right hamstring (he remains day-to-day, hopeful to dodge a trip to the DL.) A new pitcher would come in to face Chris Miller (already with 3 hits on the day.) He would would waste no time lining a tough 1-hopper to second base, but an "El Cariso Bounce" would skip through his legs and the speedy Wasserman would score the winning run!
A sloppy game on both sides, it's no wonder that this one came down to the team who was up last. Good luck to Shock and Awesome, as they've already punched their ticket for the postseason!
Pitching
Tom Herbert - 5IP, 2ER, 5K, 6H, 4BB, HBP
Jay Wasserman - 2IP, ER, 4H
Armando Mesa - W, 2IP, 2ER, 2K 2H, 2BB
Batting
Armando Mesa - 5-5, 2B, 2R, 2RBI, SB
Chris Miller - 4-5, R, RBI, Walk-Off Hero
Chris Powell - 3-4, HR, 2R, 4RBI, BB
Jay Wasserman - 2-5, 2B, 2R, RBI
Tracey Warren - 2-3, R, RBI, HBP
Mike Miller - 2-5, 2R
Tom Herbert - 1-3, 2B, 2R, RBI, BB, SACF
Sean Spires - 1-5, 2R, 2RBI, SB
Ryan Elliott - 1-4, 2B, RBI, SACF
Royals Start Strong, Fade Away in Doubleheader
The Royals' day would start well, as they led into the bottom of the 9th inning before they would give up the lead and tie game 1. Game 2 was all Dodgers as the Royals' bats would suddenly go quiet.
Randy Casey Jr made his best start of the season, striking out 11 in his first 8 innings of work. But a pesky Dodger offense would plate 3 in the 9th to tie the game, and force Casey to turn the ball over to Tom Herbert for the final out.
The Royals' bats were solid all game. Sean Spires would lead off the game with a single, moving to second on a sac bunt, and eventually scoring on a passed ball.
With the score tied at 1 in the 5th, Spires would lead off the inning with a walk. Mesa would single, and after a Chris Powell sac bunt, Ryan Elliott would single home 1 (with another being gunned at the plate.) Herbert would walk to put men on the corners for Mike Miller, who would lace a triple to center to plate both.
Leading 4-3 heading into the 8th, Josh "Mr. Walk" Miranda would walk, and after Spires' fielder's choice, Mesa and Powell would walk to load the bases. Elliot would single home one, and Miller would ground out to knock in another, making it 7-3.
But the Dodgers would plate 1 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th to escape with a tie.
In game 2, the Royals would turn to Dennis King III. While his fastball was dominant (3 strikeouts in 2.1 innings), he would struggle a bit with his control (7 hits, 3 walks and a hit batsman) to give the Dodgers an early 8-1 lead. Tom Herbert would come in for his second appearance on the day, and would dominate with his fastball as well (3 strikeouts in 1.2 innings.) But errant defense and a few big Dodger hits would plate 4 against him. Chris Powell would finish the day on the mound, but would allow 4 runs of his own, and the Dodgers would continue to run away with this one.
The Royals scattered a few runs on offense, but could never string together a big inning. Miller would lead off the 2nd with a double, move to 3rd on a Jay Wasserman screaming line drive, and score on a Chris Middleton ground out. In the 3rd, Mesa would walk and eventually score on a Ryan Elliott single. In the 5th, Jason Bolding would get his first career hit, swipe second and score on a Tracey Warren pinch hit single. And finally, in the 6th, Powell would get hit by a pitch, and pinch runner Mesa would swipe second and be singled home by Elliott - his third hit of the game and 5th of the day.
Unfortunately, that was all the offense the Royals would have left in them, and they would lose game 2 16-4.
Congrats go out to Jason Bolding for finally getting his first career hit as a Royal - he's hit the ball hard a few times right at players, so it was nice to see him finally find a gap!
BOTH GAMES
Pitching
Randy Casey Jr - T, 8.2IP, 6ER, 11K, 10H, 2BB
Dennis King III - L, 2.1IP, 4ER, 3K, 7H, 3BB, HBP
Tom Herbert - 2IP, 3ER, 3K, 2H, 2BB
Chris Powell - 2IP, 4ER, 6H, BB
Batting
Ryan Elliott - 5-7, R, 3RBI
Mike Miller - 2-7, 2B, 3B, R, 3RBI
Sean Spires - 2-6, 3R, BB, 2SB
Tracey Warren - 2-3, RBI
Jason Bolding - 2-4, R, RBI, SB
Armando Mesa - 1-4, 2R, 2BB, SACB, 2SB
Chris Powell - 1-4, 2R, BB, HBP, SACB
Tom Herbert - 1-4, R, 3BB
Jay Wasserman - 2-6
Chris Miller - 1-3, BB
Royals Score Early, Hang On vs Bums
The Royals bats finally emerged, but some late-game offense from the Bums nearly cost the boys in baby blue a victory.
With manager Mike Miller missing his first game in 12 years in the PCBL, he handed the reins over to Chris Middleton (and two assistant Chris' - Powell and Miller) to run the show. And while the Chris' did their jobs to near perfection, every Royal in the lineup reached base at least once in the victory, pulling off a solid team victory.
With a few pitchers out of town or late, Chris Powell would take the mound and attempt to throw the team on his back - and boy did Mr. Go come through in a big way. 8 innings pitched, 7 strikeouts and only 3 earned runs would give the Royals plenty of breathing room.
After the Bums scored once in the 1st, the offense would pick up in the 2nd for the Royals, as Powell would single to lead off the inning. Josh Miranda would walk (his first of 4 free passes on the day), Jay Wasserman would get hit by a pitch and new Royal Armando Mesa would take an rbi-walk in his first career at bat. Chris Miller would double in 2 more and eventually he and Mesa would score to make it 5-1 after 2.
The Bums would plate 2 more in the 5th and another in the top of the 6th before the Royals would respond. After a Miranda walk, Mesa would single him into scoring position. Chris Miller would waste no time before belting a 3-run opposite field home run to make it an 8-4 game. In the 7th, Sean Spires would lead off with a double and after moving to 3rd on a Tom Herbert fly ball, would score on a passed ball. Ryan Elliott would double and move to 3rd on a Chris Powell single, eventually scoring on a Jay Wasserman sac fly to left. After 7, the score would be 10-4 in favor of the Royals.
As his 40-year old arm was about to fall off, Powell would hand the ball over to Mesa to close things out in the 9th, but the Bums had some life left in them. After a quick strikeout, Mesa would walk a pair and give up a pair of singles to be chased from the game. Tom Herbert would come in with the tying run in scoring position, and working around a walk to put the go-ahead run on base, would get the save.
Congrats to the Bums - a much better squad than their record indicates. Good luck the second half of the season!
And finally, congratulations to both Armando Mesa and Chris Powell. Mesa's 6th inning single was the first of his Royal's career, and Powell got his first win on the mound - milestone events for both players!
Pitching
Chris Powell - W, 8IP, 3ER, 10H, 7K, 3BB, HBP
Armando Mesa - .1IP, 4ER, 2H, K, 2BB
Tom Herbert - S, .2IP, 0ER, 0H, BB
Batting
Chris Miller - 2-4, 2B, HR, 2R, 5RBI
Chris Powell - 2-3, R, HBP
Sean Spires - 2-5, 2B, R
Tom Herbert - 2-5
Josh Miranda - 0-0, 2R, 4BB
Armanda Mesa - 1-2, 2R, RBI, 2BB
Ryan Elliott - 1-4, 2B, R
Tracey Warren - 1-4
Jay Wasserman - 0-2, R, RBI, HBP, SACF
Dennis King III - 0-0, BB
Austin Simmons - 0-2, BB
Jason Boliding - 0-2, BB
Royals Offense Falters, Warriors Win 5-4
The Royals finally got the pitching they expected pre-season, only to see their bats go cold in the 90 degree heat of Arcadia. They managed only 6 hits against the 8-man defense of the Warriors to lose 5-4.
After a quiet top of the 1st, Tom Herbert would take the mound for the Royals. A pair of leadoff walks would come back to bite him, as both runners would score.
The Royals would answer right back in the second. Erik Kowalski would walk and score from first on an error off the bat of Chris Miller to make it 2-1.
But the Warriors would put up 2 more in the 2nd (1 unearned.) This game would be close all day, as the Royals would respond with 1 in each of the next 2 frames.
In the 3rd, Herbert would double and score on a botched pick off throw (pinch runner extraordinaire Austin Simmons would get the stolen base on the play, but unfortunately not the RBI.) In the 4th, Jay Wasserman would blast a double off the wall in right, later scoring on a sac fly to short off the bat of catcher Chris Miller.
The Warriors would plate another in the bottom of the 4th, and that would close the book on Herbert's day on the mound. The Royals would bring in Dennis King III, and he would throw 4 dominant innings of relief, allowing only 1 hit over the span.
Unfortunately for the Royals, the Warriors bullpen was nearly as dominant. Heading into the 8th, it was still a 5-3 Warriors lead. Knowing they were running out of outs, the top of the lineup stepped up. Ryan Elliott would reach on an error, moving to second on a bad throw. Pinch runner Simmons would move to third on a deep fly ball to the gap off the bat of Chris Powell (his second fly out of the day that would have been extra bases had the Warriors played with 3 outfielders instead of 2), and Mike Miller would come through with a clutch base hit up the middle to bring the Royals within 1. But that was as close as they'd get, as the Warriors would retire the next 5 hitters and hang on for the victory.
Good luck to the Warriors, as they battle the rest of the season in a very competitive AA division.
Pitching
Tom Herbert - L, 4IP, 4ER, 8H, K, 2BB
Dennis King III - 4IP, 0ER, H, 3K, BB
Batting
Jay Wasserman - 2-4, 2B, R
Ryan Elliott - 1-4, 3B, R
Tom Herbert - 1-4, 2B, R
Mike Miller - 1-4, RBI
Tracey Warren - 1-3, 2B
Chris Miller - 0-3, SACF, RBI
Erik Kowalkski - 0-1, R, BB
Chris Powell - 0-2, BB, HBP
Austin Simmons - 0-0, SB
Brewers Rally Late, Royals Steal a Tie in 9th
In a game that the Brewers led for 8 innings and included a HUGE 2-run home run in the top of the 9th that saw the Brewer's hitter get ejected after crossing home plate, the Royals would rally with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning, capped off by leading MVP-candidate Sean Spires stealing home with 2 outs, to tie the game. While the Royals offense AND defense were absent the first half of the day, timely pitching kept them within striking distance.
Tom Herbert took the mound in his first start for the Royals. A pair of errors led to 2 unearned runs in the first, but he would settle down after that.
Heading into the 4th, it was still a 2-0 game, as the two squads were locked in a pitchers' duel. A pair of walks and an rbi single would add to the Brewers lead. In the bottom of the 4th, Ryan Elliott would single to break up the no-hitter, but the Royals wouldn't score.
After a quiet 5th, the Royals would turn the ball over to Randy Casey Jr, who would hit the first batter he faced with his first pitch. This would, of course, start some drama between the teams (in a close game, it makes perfect sense for a pitcher to hit a speedy leadoff batter in the late innings, right?), but things would soon (temporarily) quiet down.
That incident would, however, awaken the sleeping giant - the Royals' bats. Sean Spires would single and swipe 2 bags, scoring on a Tom Herbert single. Josh Miranda would pound a single and Chris Powell would walk to load the bases. That would bring in a relief pitcher, and Mike Miller would immediately follow with an rbi-walk. 2 batters later, Casey Jr would help his own cause working a full-count walk to tie the game.
Working on a torn blister on his foot (Cu
rt Schilling-inspired photo to the right), Casey would struggle a little over the next 2 frames. The Brewers would take full advantage with 1 run in the 7th, and 2 unearned runs in the 8th to take a 6-3 lead. But fueled by near-constant trash talk, the Royals would continue to chip away at the lead. Herbert and Miranda would each walk to lead off the 8th. Powell would single home one, and after a Mike Miller ground out to move both runners into scoring position, Jay Wasserman would ground out and plate another, making it a 1-run game heading into the 9th.
Chris Powell would come in to relieve, but ran into trouble with the bottom of the Brewer's lineup. A walk and an error would lead to an unearned run, then came more drama. A home run to right would start more trash talk, this time with the home plate umpire, who would promptly toss the Brewer's hitter as he crossed home plate (never seen that before!) Powell would calm down and finish the inning, but those 3 runs loomed large as the Royals trailed by 4 heading into the bottom of the 9th.
That's when - to paraphrase Vin Scully - the impossible happened. With more talk coming from across the diamond (despite warnings) and the bottom of the lineup due up, the Royals would come together and truely play as a team for the first time this season. Casey Jr and Erik Kowalkski would lead off with back-to-back singles, and pinch hitter Chris Middleton would bloop a single over the second baseman's head to load the bases. After a strikeout, Sean Spires would hit what would appear to be a game-ending ground ball to short, but an error would plate 2 and leave 2 runners on with 1 out. Tom Herbert would fly out to second, but a bad throw to third would somehow entice the Brewer's third baseman to THROW HIS GLOVE at the ball, tipping the ball and costing his team a 2-base error, plating another and moving the speedy Spires to 3rd. First-year Royal Austin Simmons, who had come in as a pinch runner the inning before, would come up - for what would be his second career plate appearance - with the game on the line - 2 outs and the tying run on third. With a 3-0 count and the pitcher throwing from the full wind-up, Spires broke from third and easily swiped home to tie things up! Simmons would eventually walk, but be left on first, ending the game in a tie.
The Royals, finally with some momentum on both sides of the ball, look forward to building on a successful second-half of the game when they face the Warriors next week!
Pitching
Tom Herbert - 5IP, ER, 5H, 4K, 2BB
Randy Casey Jr - 3IP, ER, 3H, K, 2BB, 2HBP
Chris Powell - Tie, IP, 2ER, 2H, 2K, BB
Batting
Tom Herbert - 1-3, 2R, RBI, 2BB
Sean Spires - 1-5, 2R, 3SB
Randy Casey Jr - 1-2, R, RBI, 2BB
Chris Powell - 1-3, R, RBI, 2BB
Josh Miranda - 1-2, 2BB
Erik Kowalkski - 1-4, R
Ryan Elliott - 1-4
Chris Middleton - 1-1, R
Mike Miller - 0-3, RBI, BB
Jay Wasserman - 0-3, RBI, BB
Austin Simmons - 0-0, R, BB
Red Sox Surprise Royals 19-4
The Royals, fresh off their opening weekend win over the Bombers, were surprised by a potent Red Sox lineup, falling 19-4.
The Sox drew first blood, putting up 3 against Royals starter Randy Casey Jr. But the Royals would respond right away. Sean Spires would lead off with a triple, scoring on a Jay Wasserman groundout. Chris Powell would single, and with 2 outs, Tom Herbert would walk and Ryan Elliott would line a hard single through the shortstops outstretched glove, make it 3-2 Sox after 1.
Casey would settle down and strike out 4 over the next 2 innings, but the Sox would score 4 more in the 4th to take a 7-2 lead.
But back come the Royals. In the 4th, Mike Miller, Tom Herbert and Elliott would load the bases with back-to-back-to-back singles. Erik Kowalkski would plate 1 with an infield single, but the Sox would escape the jam. In the 5th, Spires would get hit by a pitch, swipe second and third, and score on a scorching ground out by Chris Powell, making it a 7-4 game.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Royals would get. Dennis King III would make his Royals debut, striking out 4, but the Sox would eventually get to him in his third inning of work, batting around in the 7th. 12 runs would score as the Royals pitching and defense would fall apart. Jay Wasserman and Chris Powell would each strike out a batter to get out of the inning, but the damage was already done. Aside from a Tracey Warren double, there would be little else for the Royals to cheer about this day.
Congrats to the Red Sox - they earned this win playing with a short squad (including a player loaned by the overly-generous Royals.) The two teams face off again in the last week of the regular season, most likely with playoff implications.
Pitching
Randy Casey Jr - L, 4IP, 5ER, 7H, 7K, 4BB
Dennis King III - 2.1IP, 7ER, 4H, 4K, 4BB, HBP
Jay Wasserman - .1IP, 0ER, 5H, BB, K
Chris Powell - .1IP, 0ER, K
Batting
Ryan Elliott - 2-3, RBI
Sean Spires - 1-2, 3B, 2R, 2HBP, 3SB
Mike Miller - 1-2, R, BB
Chris Powell - 1-3, R
Tom Herbert - 1-2, BB
Erik Kowalkski - 1-3, RBI
Tracey Warren - 1-3, 2B, SB
Royals Match Spring Win Total!
After a dismal, injury-ridden spring that saw the Royals put up their worst win percentage in their 22 season history, they got off on the right foot this fall by defeating the reigning single A champion Bombers 13-9 in the 100 degree heat of Cleveland High School. Sean Spires, Josh Miranda and Chris Powell each scored 3 times to lead the offense, while the Royals showed off their deep bullpen by running out 4 pitchers to stifle the Bombers' bats.
Returning Fall 2013 Cy Young winner Randy Casey Jr took the mound for the Royals - his first time pitching since the birth of his son (and the Royals' youngest fan) Jaxon earlier this year. The rust would show early, as an error, 2 walks and a sac fly would plate 2 in the top of the first. But the Royals spent all offseason addressing their hitting woes, and it would show today.
Sean Spires would start the day off with a single, moving to second on a wild pitch and third on a fielder's choice. Chris Powell would walk to put runners on the corners for catcher Mike Miller, who would drop a double into right for an rbi. Tom Herbert would start his Royal's career off on the right foot by lining a 2-run single to right to make it 3-2 after 1.
Casey would strike out a pair to work around another error in the 2nd (unfortunately, the bad defense from spring still plagues the Royals), and the offense would pick things up again in the 2nd. Casey Jr would help himself out with a leadoff double. Tracey Warren would walk and swipe second, and Spires would single in both runners. After swiping second, Spires would score on an error off the bat of Josh Miranda. Chris Powell would blast a double to straight-away center to plate Miranda and give the Royals a 7-2 lead.
But the Bombers just came off a championship, and it showed over the next 2 innings. 2 runs in the 3rd would end Casey Jr's day, and a pair of unearned runs off reliever Akash Shah would make it a 7-6 game heading into the bottom of the 4th. The top of the order would answer again for the Royals. Spires would be hit by a pitch, and swipe both second and third on consecutive pitches, after which Jay Wasserman would single him home. Miranda would walk, and both runners would move up on a passed ball, bringing up Mr. Go himself - Chris Powell. Powell would blast a ball to deep right, and the right fielder would drop the ball on the warning track, allowing both runs to score. 2 outs later, Erik Kowalkski would drive a ball off the wall in left for an rbi-double, giving the Royals an 11-6 lead.
Shah would work a quiet 5th, handing the ball off to Herbert. The Bombers would greet Herbert with an error (again) and a home run, but the Royals would answer again right away. 2 walks and a hit batsman would bring Mike Miller up with the bags juiced. After fouling a ball off his foot in his last at bat, Miller would summon all his strength to hit a ground ball in the hole at third. While the Bombers would get one out at home, a run would score on a throwing error trying to double up the "speedy" Miller. Herbert would ground into a fielder's choice to plate another, and the Royals would have a 13-8 lead after 6.
On a 100 degree day, both offenses somehow went cold, as Herbert would work 2 quiet innings, and Powell would come in for the 9th and give up an unearned run (2 more Royal errors), but finish things off and get the Royals their first win of the year. One thing to note was Travis Buff's first career hit in the 7th inning - way to go!
Congrats to the Bombers, who are in the AA division for the first time! They fought hard, and will definitely be a team to watch out for when we face them again in late October.
And finally, congrats to Akash Shah. While he's thrown some great games for the Royals in his 2 partial seasons with the team (including a pair of no-hit bids past the 5th inning), this ended up being his first victory with the club!
Pitching
Randy Casey Jr - 3IP, 2ER, 2H, 3K, 5BB, HBP
Akash Shah - W, 2IP, 0ER, 2H, K, BB, HBP (first win)
Tom Herbert - 3IP, ER, 3H, 4K, BB
Chris Powell - IP, 0ER, H
Batting
Sean Spires - 2-4, 3R, 2RBI, HBP, 3SB
Tom Herbert - 2-4, 3RBI (first career hit and rbi)
Chris Powell - 1-1, 2B, 3R, 2RBI, 2BB, HBP, SACF
Josh Miranda - 1-3, 3R, BB, HBP
Mike Miller - 1-5, 2B, R, RBI
Jay Wasserman - 1-4, R, RBI, BB
Randy Casey Jr - 1-4, 2B, R
Erik Kowalkski - 1-4, 2B, RBI
Travis Buff - 1-1 (first career hit)
Royals End Summer Season with Loss
The Royals season ended just as it began - with a short-handed squad falling in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Wolves put up runs early and never looked back as they ended the Royals season 12-2.
WIth only 8 regulars showing up for the final game, injured fill-in Jeff Miller was forced to take the field on short notice (10 minutes before game time.) Unluckily for him, he happened to be in town from Anchorage watching the game, and the team had extra pants, spikes and a belt - talk about the stars being aligned! Just a few months after surgery on a ruptured disk, the Royals knew he wouldn't be able to throw, run or swing a bat, but it was better than an automatic out, and he played solid first base all day. In the process, he moved into sole possession of 2nd place on the all-time Royals games played list with 142 - congrats Jeff!
Mike Miller took the mound for the Royals, but the Wolves were well-aware of his tricks. They put up 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk (and a pick-off that ended with a pickle, an error and everyone being safe) in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead.
The Royals would get on the board in the second. Ryan Elliot would lead off with a hit, eventually scoring on a Geoff Verheyen single to make it 4-1, but the Wolves would come right back with a run of their own to make it 5-1.
The Wolves would tack on another in the 3rd, and 3 more in the 4th to chase Miller from the game. Verheyen would come in and get out of trouble, but the Royals would now be trailing 9-1. The Wolves offensive onslaught would continue in the 6th, as they would plate 3 more and chase Verheyen from the game, bringing in Chris Powell. Powell would get out of the jam and keep the mercy just at bay, with the Royals trailing 12-1 after 6.
The boys in baby blue would score again in the 7th. Powell would single to left, and Mike Miller would single up the middle to put runners on the corners for Ryan Elliot, who would promptly single (his 4th hit on the day) to drive in Powell and give the Royals a little breathing room in front of the mercy rule.
Unfortunately, that was all the offense for either team, and the final score would be 12-2.
Pitching
Mike Miller - L, 3.1IP, 7ER, K, 10H, 3BB, HBP
Geoff Verheyen - 2IP, 3ER, 4K, H, 6BB, HBP
Chris Powell - 2.2IP, 0ER, 2K, 3H, HBP
Batting
Ryan Elliott - 4-4, R, RBI, HBP
Geoff Verheyen - 2-4, 2B, RBI
Mike Miller - 2-5
Chris Powell - 1-4, R, HBP
Chris Middleton - 1-4, HBP
