Royals newcomer Michael A. Taylor sparks offense in another come-from-behind win
Seemingly in the blink of an eye, the Kansas City Royals came crashing in on the Texas Rangers like a wave. For the second time in as many games, center fielder Michael A. Taylor was surfing that wave, perfectly balanced and looking as cool and comfortable as possible.
With the Royals trailing by four in the bottom of the fifth inning, Taylor blasted a 458-foot home run to straight-away center field that gave his team its first run of the day. That blast started a three-run inning and ultimately 11 unanswered runs for the Royals in their second of two comeback wins to start the season — 11-4 over the Texas Rangers in front of an announced 8,889 on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
An offseason free-agent signing, Taylor went 2 for 4, drove in three runs and scored twice. He wasn’t the only newcomer who enjoyed an outstanding day at the plate. Infielder Hanser Alberto started at third base for Hunter Dozier (swollen right thumb) and went 3 for 4 with two doubles, while rookie outfielder Kyle Isbel collected two hits, including a sun-aided triple, scored two runs and drove in a run.
Familiar faces also did their fair share of damage. Whit Merrifield went 2 for 4, hit his second home run of the season, drove in four runs and scored two runs, while Salvador Perez had two hits and a run scored.
The Royals will try for a season-opening three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon.
“You could tell their at-bats were improving the more they got a look at a guy they hadn’t seen,” Royals manager Mike Mathney said. “Then they just did what they do. They just started piling together some quality at-bats. But Michael — that was quite a spark. You don’t see many balls go up there. That was impressive.”
Taylor, who has revamped his swing mechanics in recent years, set a new club record with six RBIs in his team’s first two games. His homer broke the ice against Rangers rookie right-hander Kohei Arihara. Arihara made his MLB debut after a six-year career in Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League in Japan.
When Taylor caught up to a 1-2 fastball that stayed out of the middle of the plate and about chest height, it opened the floodgates. He blasted the ball more than halfway up the batter’s eye.
“I had two strikes, so I was just trying to protect,” Taylor said. “Trying to force him in the zone, tighten up my strike zone a little bit and then just stay short. I got a pitch up. I really wasn’t even trying to put a big swing on it, but I was able to elevate it, and it carried out for me.”
Isbel followed with a triple that Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras lost in the sun. Alberto hit his second double of the day, a smash to right field, that scored Isbel. After advancing on Nicky Lopez’s bunt single, Alberto scored on a groundball by Merrifield to make it a one-run game at 4-3.
The Royals tacked on seven more runs in the sixth inning, including a bases-loaded two-run double to right field by Taylor, a two-run single by Merrifield and a two-run double by Carlos Santana.
The first six Royals batters in the inning reached base, and they sent 11 men to the plate to record the club’s highest-scoring inning since a seven-run ninth on September 21, 2019, in Minnesota.
The Royals Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters in the lineup have collectively gone 14 for 26 through the first two games with an OPS of .808 and turned the lineup over to bring up leadoff hitter Merrifield in positions to do damage.
“Guys down there have done an awesome job,” Merrifield said. “Nicky has done an incredible job with the bunting and having good at-bats. He had a big sac fly (Thursday) for us against a tough lefty. He has done exactly what we were hoping for him to do.
“Izzy and Michael, even though Michael seems to be creeping up the lineup every day, they’ve been great. I look forward to hitting with a lot of guys on base this year.”
The Royals have scored 25 runs through their first two games of the season, the second-highest total through the first two games of the season in franchise history. The 1974 Royals scored 27 runs in their first two games.
Royals starting pitcher Mike Minor (1-0) allowed four runs on four hits and two walks in six innings against one of his former clubs, including a pair of runs on a first-inning home run by Rangers slugger Joey Gallo. Minor began last season with the Rangers.
Minor got in trouble in the third inning after he gave up a two-out infield single, walked Gallo, hit a batter and gave up a two-run single to Nate Lowe. Lowe’s single pushed the Rangers’ lead to four runs.
“It gives you confidence, but you never want to give up any runs,” Minor said of the offensive performance. “You’re going out there trying to attack every hitter. But it’s a little bit easier to try to attack those guys. Honestly, I’ll miss more middle just because I don’t want to walk somebody or get deep into the count. … I know the offense will pick me up. I know the defense will pick me up behind me.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Royals newcomer Michael A. Taylor sparks offense in another come-from-behind win."
