Bob Lutz: Royals’ seventh-inning uprising is soft but lethal

Ben Zobrist slammed his bat to the ground in disgust. Leading off the seventh inning with the Royals down 3-0 against unhittable Blue Jays starter David Price, Zobrist could not contain his frustration after hitting a shallow fly ball to right field.

It was sure to be the 19th consecutive out recorded by Price, a former Cy Young Award winner who was 0-6 as a postseason starting pitcher.

Saturday looked to be Price’s breakthrough. He was throwing flames. He had pinpoint control. The Royals hit two balls out of the infield after Alcides Escobar’s first-inning, first-pitch single to right.

Zobrist’s ball was in the air for a while, which allowed time for Toronto second baseman Ryan Goins and right fielder Jose Bautista to get into position to make the catch.

It’s OK to have two guys in position to make a catch unless neither of them make it. And that’s what happened here.

First, they looked at one another. Then Goins started waving his arms, a universal signal for “I got this and you better not get in my way.”

Outfielders, though, are taught to take control in those situations. Goins, at the last second, veered off. Bautista, though, never veered on. The ball fell softly onto the Kauffman Stadium grass.

And the Royals’ offense took it from there as a crescendo of noise built to deafening levels.

Lorenzo Cain singled. Eric Hosmer singled. Kendrys Morales drove in a run with a groundout. Mike Moustakas singled. Salvador Perez struck out. Alex Gordon doubled. Alex Rios singled. The Royals singled Price and Toronto to death, scoring five runs and winning Game 2 of the ALCS 6-3.

There’s magic in them-there Royals, who have been nearly impossible to kill in the past two postseasons. San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner did it and his reward was a World Series MVP.

Price, however, couldn’t pull it off.

The Royals are incredible and anybody who thinks Toronto will be able to go home to the Rogers Centre and cure what ailed them in the first two games in Kansas City just isn’t paying attention.

What the Royals inflict on opponents is incurable. They win with singles. Who strings together all these singles?

Kansas City did it in its improbable Game 4 ALDS eighth-inning rally against Houston, coming back from 6-2 to win thanks to a five-run rally fueled by five consecutive singles and an error by Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.

And five more hits – four singles – Saturday to account for another five-run uprising.

The Royals won Game 1 on Friday night 5-0, thanks to a power surge — four doubles and a Salvador Perez home run.

Most of the time, though, power is a luxury for Kansas City, one they don’t really need. They prefer to kill their opponents softly with pitching, defense and voodoo-like rallies in desperate situations.

Price looked as strong in the seventh as he did in the previous six innings. His fastball was popping. But he couldn’t finish off the Royals’ hitters. There were great at-bats, particularly by Hosmer, Moustakas and Gordon — left-handed hitters who were 0 for 6 in their previous at-bats against Price with three strikeouts.

Left-handed hitters batted .220 against Price in his career. The Royals’ left-handed batters in the seventh inning batted 1.000 and their three hits each drove in a run.

“He was cruising,” Gordon said of Price, who had been 2-0 with a 1.93 in only five career starts and one relief appearance against the Royals. “Price is a tough pitcher. I felt like we needed to catch a break. And Zobrist's ball there I think got things going. And once this lineup gets moving, it's one guy after another, and it was a big seventh inning.”

Unlike the Royals, Toronto needs to flex some muscle to be successful. The Blue Jays are all about the long ball, but weren’t able to get anything even to the warning track at Kauffman in the first two games.

I do have a warning for Toronto, however. This isn’t the Texas Rangers you’ve playing. Yes, you were able to get down 2-0 to Texas and come back to win in the ALDS. Congratulations on that, by the way. Nice effort.

The Royals are a tougher out and you have to win four to beat them. Kansas City only has to win two and the Royals have more ways to beat you than you have to beat them.

Kansas City can single you to death. And when the Royals do so, you’re just as dead.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Royals’ seventh-inning uprising is soft but lethal."