Keys to the game (6/3)

Keys to the game-

1.) Execution is everything. Jason Hammel takes the mound today for KC. He has had a terrible start to the 2017 season, going 1-7 with a 6.18 ERA while walking 23 in 51 innings pitched. He has struggled with his execution, especially when he is working ahead in the count. He has also struggled with walking batters; so showing patience at the plate is going to be a must today. For Jason Hammel, execution is everything. While his stats are pretty pathetic, the one and only win he can hang his hat on this season was achieved against the Indians back on May 5th. He pitched 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits. At the end of the day, if you don’t score runs (typically multiple runs) you can’t win ballgames. So our boys need to shake off yesterday’s lull and put some runs on the board. EE has had some success against Hammel in the past, hitting 4 home runs in 21 at-bats. So look for the parrot to make an appearance at Kaufman Stadium today.

2.) Command is everything. Carlos Carrasco comes into todays start with a 5-2 record and a 2.89 ERA with 65 K’s in 65 1/3 innings of work. Hot Sauce has a fastball that tops out at 95-96 mph, which is tough to hit on any normal day, but you pair that with the fact that Tomlin pitched yesterday with a fastball that tops out at 86-88 mph and the Royals batters may have trouble readjusting. Carrasco makes his bread and butter by commanding the strike zone. For him, command is everything. He is 0-4 on the road this season, with a 2.18 ERA (which is the 4^th lowest in the American League). Historically he has pitched pretty well against KC, going 7-5 with a 3.40 ERA.

3.) Confidence is everything: avoid slipping into a slump. Yesterday was rough. Hitting into 4 double plays is not only a momentum/rally killer, but it is also one of the quickest ways to frustrate an offense. Our offense has finally seemed to start clicking on all cylinders; we don’t want to take one step forward only to take two steps back. Frustration can do just that if we let it. So making sure that we are not carrying yesterday’s frustration into today’s game is a must. Yesterday is over, finished. There is not a thing we can do now that will change the outcome of yesterday’s game. We can only do better in today’s game. We are going to lose games along the way, that is the nature of the game. But we want to avoid losing two or three… or more in a row, especially against a team like the Royals. We need to win the games we should be winning, starting with today.