Regardless of how many no-hitters get thrown before the year is out, don’t try telling the Kansas City Royals that this is the Year of the Pitcher.
While Matt Garza was throwing his gem last night, the Royals sent their 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zach Greinke to the mound against the Minnesota Twins. The good news was that Greinke struck out seven. The bad news was that he also got pounded for eight runs in four innings.
photo credit: andyphelan45
Don’t try to tell the Kansas City Royals that it’s the Year of the Pitcher.
The bullpen threw gasoline on the fire, and the final tally was a whopping 19-1 trouncing by the Twins. Only a ninth-inning run prevented it from being the most lopsided shutout in three decade of Royals baseball.
If all of this happened with the Royals’ best pitcher on the mound, one shudders to think of what might happen in days to come. Tonight, journeyman Bruce Chen will face Twins veteran Carl Pavano, who has really turned his career around. Pavano has a 1.75 ERA in his last three starts, while Chen is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA. Could another double-digit loss be in the offing?
Regardless, Kansas City could finish the year with the worst ERA in the majors. Right now, Arizona is the favorite in that dubious category with a 5.27 ERA. Baltimore is at 5.15, while KC is at 5.12. On the other end of the spectrum, the top three pitching teams are San Diego (3.27), St. Louis (3.29), and San Francisco (3.38). That’s quite a gap from first to worst.
After Greinke, the Royals’ rotation is major league in name only. Brian Bannister (5.73) and Kyle Davies (5.52) are no help. Luke Hochevar (4.96) has shown flashes of potential and at least might turn out to be a good starter eventually. Beyond that, closer Joakim Soria is the only other good news on the mound, and one could argue that a team that wins so few games might be better off trading a closer for some pitching prospects.
So let’s keep this idea of the Year of the Pitcher in perspective as we mull how many hurlers really make us want to hurl.
