Keys to the game (5/6)

Keys to the game-

1.) We need table setters. This means our 1-3 batters have got to get on base. Last night I saw a lot of over-swinging, a lot of pressing. There was a lack of confidence, which led to a lack of productive at bats. We have got to get back to the basics of small ball. Stop trying to hit the ball to the moon, and start trying to get on base. Tonight we face Jason Vargas. Vargas is probably the silver lining in the Kansas City Royals gloomy 2017 season thus far. He is 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA, and has struck out 29 in 31 2/3 innings. For the most part, he has been very consistent. Vargas is going to try and capitalize on the obvious frustration our offense is feeling. So we need to come out and put yesterday behind us and have productive at bats. If push comes to shove, work his pitch count up and get into the KC pen, which has a 4.86 combined ERA.

2.) Go for three in a row. Josh Tomlin enters tonight’s game with a 2-3 record, and an 8.87 ERA. Those stats are a bit deceiving because he is coming off of two quality starts. Look, Tomlin is not going to have the same sort of outings as Kluber or Carrasco. He is not going to rack up the K’s, he is typically not going to strike out the side. He is going to have a lot of balls put in play, with solid defense needed to back him up. He is going to be prone to giving up long balls because he pitches for contact, and sometimes they make good contact. I would not call him a Rembrandt; he is more of a paint by numbers kind of pitcher. Mixing and matching pitches based on who is at the plate. He is going to need to make sure he is careful when facing Perez (who is 16-29 against him) and Eric Hosmer (who is currently on a 9 game hitting streak).

3.) As Taylor Swift would say, “Shake it off!” Yesterday was frustrating game all the way around. The fans were frustrated. The offense was frustrated. The team as a whole was frustrated. But guess what? Yesterday is over. Done. Today is a new day, and a new game waits to be played. Make no mistake, the worst thing we could do is carry over the frustrations from yesterday into today. We need to shake it off and start new. We are a better team then the one we saw last night. So, come out tonight and be the team we know you can be!