NewsFlashback feeling for struggling bullpen
Relievers give up five runs in eighth; KC drops ninth in row
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
07/23/09 1:42 AM ET
KANSAS CITY -- Not even Joakim Soria could stop the bleeding.Soria, called into an eighth-inning crisis on Wednesday night, gave up a tie-breaking hit and the Angels went on to defeat the Royals, 9-6, in front of 18,078 fans at Kauffman Stadium. It was the ninth straight loss for the Royals and the fifth straight victory for the Angels.
Once again, the game got away from the Royals' bullpen.
"It feels like Groundhog Day," manager Trey Hillman said. "It's the same thing, different day."
Here's how it looked so much the same this time:
The Angels' Mike Napoli cracked a two-run homer in the eighth, the often ill-fated inning for the Royals' bullpen, off reliever Roman Colon to forge a 6-6 tie. Napoli banged a 3-2 pitch into the right-field bullpen. Colon had replaced John Bale after Kendry Morales led off with a double just inside third base, extending his hitting streak to 20 games.
"Not a lot of luck. Lots of broken-bat base hits. The ball sneaks inside the bag at third base. But when we're rolling like we're rolling now, we gave up, I think, six hits and four walks out of the bullpen. All of them weren't luck -- obviously, [not] the home run," Hillman said.
After Colon issued a one-out walk, he was relieved by Jamey Wright, who passed out two more walks to the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters to load the bases. With that, Hillman threw up his hands and waved for closer Soria even though there was just one out.
"Obviously I'd have gone to Jack a little sooner if I'd have known we were going to go out there and walk three in a row," Hillman said.
But Soria couldn't dodge the bullet either. Chone Figgins hit a liner just over drawn-in shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt for a two-run double that gave the Angels an 8-6 lead.
"It's not like he's easy to hit off of," Figgins said. "I hadn't really seen him that much, so I was trying to make sure I get something up -- that way I could maybe hit a deep fly ball to get the guy to tag."
Figgins hit a 1-2 delivery after fouling off three pitches.
"He took some good pitches and on the final pitch he just hit the ball," Soria said. "[Betancourt] had to be in for the bases loaded."
Maicer Izturis followed with a sacrifice fly. Soria ended the inning with a flyout and gave way to Ron Mahay for the ninth.
Had Soria been able to maintain the 6-6 tie, would he have been able to pitch in the ninth as well?
"I think so," Soria said. "It doesn't matter right now but I could have because we've got that day off and I prepared for that."
In fact, Hillman checked with Soria on that very point as the game edged toward what he hoped would be a happy skid-ending conclusion.
"He said he was good for four outs," Hillman said. "And that was the plan. It was one of those situations you wish you had a crystal ball, because I certainly wouldn't have thought we'd have gone out there and walked the eight and nine hitters."
Things went the Royals' way earlier.
Mark Teahen's two-out, bases-loaded single in the fifth inning against Angels left-hander Joe Saunders broke a 2-2 tie. With one out, Betancourt and David DeJesus each singled, putting runners at the corners. Willie Bloomquist tried to execute a squeeze play but his bunt rolled just foul along the first-base line. Then he struck out.
Billy Butler drew a walk to jam the sacks and Teahen drilled Saunders' next pitch into left field for two runs. Ryan Freel promptly followed with a bloop RBI single to right field for a 5-2 lead. The Royals added a run in the sixth as Alex Gordon walked, advanced on a bunt and scored on DeJesus' single.
So Royals starter Brian Bannister had a 6-2 lead going into the seventh and he retired the first two batters in that inning.
"I was disappointed not to get that final out in the seventh and put that extra pressure on the 'pen because they threw a lot yesterday [in a doubleheader]," Bannister said.
"We had a chance to win and I really wanted to end this thing tonight."
Instead of the third out, Howard Kendrick pounded a 419-foot home run that clanked off the batting backdrop in dead center. When Reggie Willits followed with a broken-bat single, Bannister was relieved by Bale. The Angels added a fourth run on successive singles by Figgins and Izturis and they pulled off a double steal, putting the tying runs in scoring position, but Bale threw a third strike past Bobby Abreu.
However, the 6-4 lead would not hold as the Angels unleashed their five-run eighth -- the jinx inning for the Kansas City 'pen. Another tough loss loomed.
"They're becoming too regular like that," Teahen said.
Like Groundhog Day. Like Groundhog Day.
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
