KANSAS CITY, Mo. As it turns out, a week didnt make a darn bit of difference for either Royals pitcher Jakob Junis or Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell. Both made their second consecutive start against the respective offenses they faced on Wednesday, and the results were pretty much carryovers from their previous outings.
In separate halves of a doubleheader swept by the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Junis continued to enjoy success against the Tampa Bay Rays, as he did in Florida last week. Meanwhile, the Royals continued to have Snells number chasing the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner shy of four innings just as they did last week.
The Royals won the second game, 8-2, after generating the lions share of their offense against Snell in front of an announced crowd of 11,411. The Royals last swept a traditional doubleheader (non-split) at Cleveland in September 2008, and pitcher Glenn Sparkman picked up his first win in the majors in his 21st appearance (fourth start).
My focus today was just stay relaxed, said Sparkman, who arrived in town around 1 a.m. after being called up from Triple A. I just needed to go out there, stay calm and dont let the game get too big.
There was even a symmetrical aspect to the two games on Wednesday, with the Royals (11-20) putting up a three-run first inning in each game.
Jorge Solers one-out RBI single drove in Whit Merrifield from third after a double and a stolen base. That started the scoring in the second game.
At the time it looked like Solers single may have saved the Royals from coming away empty in the inning, but then recently called-up third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez hit the first pitch from Snell down the right field line and off the foul pole for the first home run of his big-league career. The two-run shot put the Royals up 3-0.
Ready for fastball, always, Gutierrez said of his at-bat.
In the third, Soler added an RBI double after Adalberto Mondesi walked, stole second and stole third.
The first game, we scored three in the first just like we did here (in the second), but we just could not tack on another run, Royals manager Ned Yost said. We all know the importance of tacking on runs. You need to continue. Thankfully for us in the first game, the bullpen and our pitching held firm and it was enough.
We scored three in the first (in the second game) and its like Come on. Weve got to take advantage of some of these situations, especially against Snell. Our 26th man is pitching a great game, but you want to try to give him as much leeway as you possibly can.
The Royals forced Snell, the most dominant pitcher in the AL last season, out of the game before he recorded an out in a four-run fourth inning.
Rays manager Kevin Cash took the ball from Snell after he walked Cam Gallagher, gave up a single to Terrance Gore and an RBI single by Billy Hamilton over a drawn-in infield.
Snell gave up seven earned runs on three walks and six hits, including one home run, in three innings.
Meanwhile, Sparkman, the 26th man added to the roster to make the start for the Royals in the second game, pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits, one walk and struck out six in his first start of the season in the majors. He also picked up his first big-league win.
