Three Things to Take Away From the Royals' 11-2 Loss to the Athletics
The Kansas City Royals dropped their second consecutive game to the Oakland Athletics 11-2 behind a lackluster start from rookie Jackson Kowar.
Kansas City falls to 30-33 while Oakland moved to 39-27 on the season.
Here are three takeaways from this afternoon's game.
Jackson Kowar did not bounce back.
It's been tough to watch Jackson Kowar make his big-league debut. After the much-anticipated prospect's first start against the Los Angeles Angels didn't go as planned, Kowar's next one didn't go much better. He did make it out of the first inning but his day was over after allowing four runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings. Combined with three walks, Kowar has not shown the precision and stuff we've been accustomed to him throwing in the minors. I get the feeling he has only one more start to prove he belongs at the big league level. Daniel Lynch only got three, so Kowar's fate could be similar. I just hope he turns it around.
Ronald Bolaños looked solid.
I've been really encouraged by what I've seen from Ronald Bolaños in his recent stint in the bigs. Bolaños turned in 3 1/3 innings of one-hit baseball where he struck out four and walked two. He's been able to locate his pitches well and get a lot of life on his offspeed and breaking pitches. Hopefully, his mechanics have permanently been fixed and he can be a solid option out of the pen.
Kelvin Gutierrez showed some life.
I'm trying to be positive here, but the offense was nonexistent outside of Kelvin Gutierrez's two-run shot in the eighth inning. On the day, Gutierrez went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two strikeouts. Overall, the offense only mustered five hits on four Athletic pitchers. The offense continues to be hot and cold. Possibly some run support could help Kowar settle down in his outings but the Royals haven't been able to give him anything in that department.
