Triples back-to-back? How the Royals can bounce back from their slump has a lesson in it.
The initial triple was defined by its stumbles — first sending an outfielder into a tailspin before the runner’s own stumble put some uncertainty into the play’s conclusion. (Still safe, by the way.) The second triple was probably best defined by its placement — though the baserunner losing his lid one step shy of a bag added an element of style. Come to think of it, they were each stylistic in their separate ways.
The nature of a triple, right? Except these weren’t separated at all. Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia packaged them back-to-back. The Royals beat the Guardians 2-1 on Thursday night, the opener of a four-game set that could allow the Royals to turn the American League Central race into something a bit more interesting in the second half.
They did not hit particularly well. Again, I know. The starting pitcher, Michael Wacha, was not particularly happy with his outing, either. But there’s one characteristic, something of a defining characteristic for this team on its home field really, the Royals still did quite well. The triple. Once. And then twice. Trailing 1-0, Isbel led off the sixth with a shot to right field, and poor right fielder Daniel Schneemann turned left, then turned right and then turned up his glove but couldn’t snag it. Isbel seemed to be cruising into third, but, alas, the stumble made it close.
“I thought I was gonna go down for a second,” he said. Garcia followed. He directed the fourth pitch of his at-bat down the right field line, putting Schneemann to work yet again. Garcia was a tad slow out of the box, but as he lost his helmet, he found steam. Bang-bang play at third. Safe. Tie game. Two batters later, Vinnie Pasquantino sent a sacrifice fly to center. That was that. Royals 2, Guardians 1. On the backs of the first back-to-back triples in nearly two years. It’s that rare — the outcome, I mean. The reason for it? It has to stick. “That’s the mindset we have to have — always looking to steal an extra 90 (feet),” Isbel said. It’s been much of who the Royals are this season, and they need it now more than ever. The Royals are struggling to hit the ball lately, in case you haven’t noticed. Nobody in baseball has had a worse 12 days. They’re hitting well under .200 as a team since June 15.
The slugging percentage is the second worst in the game. If you think help is or should be coming soon, I’d just ask you to take a peek at the standings. How many teams would consider themselves without any chance to play October baseball? All but eight teams are within four games of a playoff spot entering the weekend. A couple of those had high hopes entering the season and might still believe they can turn it around. A seller’s trade market, you could say. At least for now, at the close of June. The internal (partial?) solution, as the Royals are collectively mired in a slump, is to take every edge they can get. To take every, well, 90 feet they can.
They have to make the most out of the offense they do have right now, and making the most out of this funk looks something like Thursday. Pressure. Pressure. Pressure. “We’re not going to hit the ball out of the yard every time,” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “We have to keep applying pressure and make them make a play to get us out.” Earlier Thursday, Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez hit a line drive to right field, and I’m telling you, within a step out of the box, he must’ve decided he was going to attempt to turn what should be a single into a double. One problem. Royals right fielder Hunter Renfroe has one of baseball’s best outfield arms. He fired a bullet to second. Witt applied the tag, and the fact he kept applying the tag turned the play into an out when Ramirez slightly over-slid the bag. It was an out, and probably a frustrating one at that, considering it came on the bases. But there’s still a message — a surplus-value message — that resonates. Even with the opposing team. “That dude out of the box is thinking two on a single, three on a double,” Isbel said.
“He plays with so much passion. It’s fun to watch him play. Those guys all rally around him.” It’s the biggest similarity between the Royals and the team they’re chasing. It has to be. Even when it seems like nothing is going well. Nay, especially when it seems like nothing is going well. You know, the back-to-back triples aren’t the only game-changing ones this week.
A day earlier, on Wednesday afternoon, the Royals beat the Marlins with an eighth-inning rally that started with, you guessed it, a triple. That came off the bat of Witt, and like Ramirez, he said he was thinking three by the time he took his second step out of the box. Witt isn’t just a cheat code when it comes to triples. His mindset is an equalizer when he’s falling behind. The Royals have the fewest hits in MLB over those past 12 days. It’s been tough to watch.
Well, except for a few moments. Four in particular. The triples. That’s still tied for the most in the league over that stretch. Yes, Kauffman Stadium tends to help that cause. It’s begging for extra bases. The Royals’ 16 triples at home, for example, clear every other team by at least five. But there’s a bat-off-the-ball mindset in there that’s applicable whether the result is a triple, a double, a single or even an out.
