Royals were toppled by a razor-thin margin on two crucial defensive plays vs. Pirates
When Al Pacino waxed poetic in his famous speech from “Any Given Sunday” and espoused the importance of fighting for every inch, he was talking about football as a metaphor for life.
Yet on Tuesday night, the Kansas City Royals certainly felt the ramifications of being a step too late or too early, a half-second too fast or two slow and coming up an inch or two short.
A five-game win streak was lost — no need to panic, there’s another five months of regular season remaining — because of a ball that squeaked through the infield on a hit-and-run and a fly ball that dropped onto a patch of grass a split-second too soon for Michael A. Taylor to successfully hurl himself and his glove underneath it.
That was the difference between the Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates potentially battling into extra innings and the actual outcome — a 2-1 Royals loss Tuesday night at PNC Park, their first one-run loss of the season.
Jakob Junis pitched 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts and allowed six hits (all singles) and one walk. He also got saddled with his first loss of the season.
“In this particular instance tonight, it’s frustrating just because how it unfolded that last inning,” Junis said. “I made a pitch that could’ve gotten a double play, but we were just out of position because the man stole.
“Then they literally just threw a dart out there off Scott (Barlow) that landed in no man’s land to throw in that second run. Just a lot of bad luck, it seemed like.”
The Pirates got the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Jacob Stallings’ lead-off single set the table. With one out and Stallings on first base, the Pirates executed a hit-and-run that effectively put Royals shortstop Nicky Lopez in a blender.
Lopez sprinted to start covering a potential throw to second base, but Kevin Newman’s bouncer sneaked through the shortstop hole. Lopez dived and managed to deflect the ball, but it still rolled into the outfield grass.
Stallings, a catcher, went to third on the play. That marked the end of the outing for Junis.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez said he asked Lopez afterward why he was covering instead of staying at short with a right-handed hitter at the plate. Apparently the change was made because of belief that Newman would hit the ball the other way instead of pulling it in that scenario.
That’s why Lopez covered the base and second baseman Whit Merrifield held his defensive positioning when the runner broke from first base.
“Things like that are going to happen,” Perez said. “It was a great game. We didn’t win tonight, but it was a great game. The pitchers did a pretty good job for us today.”
Barlow, one of just six relievers entering the night to have thrown 14 innings or more this year, took over and faced pinch hitter Wilmer Difo with runners on first and third.
Difo’s blooper dropped in front of a sliding Taylor in left-center with Hunter Dozier, who started in left field, charging in on the play. That bloop single scored Stallings to give the Pirates a 2-1 edge in the seventh. That held up as the final score.
“Great play. Well-executed,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “It’s a shame Nicky kind of lost his footing right there, because we (could) at least keep the ball on the infield. If he doesn’t slip, it’s probably an out — one place or the other. Not a real fast runner going first to second. There’s a potential there. Whit was at the bag.
“But well-executed. And they made the most of it. Unfortunately, you’re talking about a pop fly that found the exact right spot. Our guys catch that, they’re not going to be able to tag on it. Then Scott gets a ground ball on the next play. It was a shame because Jake threw so well.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Royals were toppled by a razor-thin margin on two crucial defensive plays vs. Pirates."
