Many moons ago Homer Bailey was a pitcher that looked like he could be a future ace of the Cincinnati Reds, hence why he was once handed a six-year, $105 million contract by the Indians neighbors from the south.
Last season Bailey was 1-14 with the Reds with an ERA over six, so entering Saturday night it was probably a good bet that the Indians offense would have a good night against the 32-year-old.
Think again.
In what can only be described as the low point of the year for the Indians offense, the team managed just two hits over seven innings against Bailey, and were blanked 3-0.
The loss, the second straight by the Indians after winning two of three in Detroit, puts the Tribe at 8-6 on the year, and currently 2-3 on their road trip.
They got a decent enough performance in a spot start from Jefry Rodriguez, who deserved a better fate, but boy this offense is ugly.
For those of you wondering why Carlos Gonzalez is on the way to the lineup, just go back and watch some of the lowlights of this setback.
Here’s a couple takeaways from this tough to digest Indians loss in K.C.
1. Making it Too Easy
Again the Indians offense seemed impatient at the plate, swinging at balls in the dirt, and chasing pitches out of the zone against Bailey and two other Royals pitchers.
All in all, it was another night where the offense couldn’t make contact, striking out eight times, which is downright embarrassing against who they went up against Saturday night.
Maybe the biggest, most glaring victim on Saturday was Max Moroff, whose playing time is going to be decreased a lot once Jason Kipnis is back.
Moroff could have gotten the Indians back into the game in the 5th with the Tribe down 2-0 and runners on second and third with two outs.
Instead, he struck out on three pitches, the last of which seemed to hit a few feet in front of the plate.
He wasn’t the only culprit in this ugly loss, but his 0-for-3 with three K’s puts his average at .077 on the season.
It was the first shutout performance of seven innings or more for Bailey since 2017.
2. Just a Couple Mistakes
Indians Saturday starter Jefry Rodriguez kept the Indians in the game, but made two bad inside pitches that Royals hitters made him pay for in allowing two runs that basically put the game away.
The first was a 1-2 inside 96 MPH fastball to Adalberto Mondesi in the third that scored a run and gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.
Then the next inning he again got caught inside, giving up a towering homer to Ryan O’Hearn, a changeup that didn’t really move, and O’Hearn made him pay for it.
None of that really mattered as the offense didn’t do anything to help out Rodriguez, so give the young pitcher some credit.
He allowed two runs on five hits over 5.2 innings. He didn’t walk a batter, struck out three and threw 91 pitches.
He will be likely sent right back to AAA Sunday when the team makes the call-up of Carlos Gonzalez official.
Get yourself a bro that can… pic.twitter.com/aFAeDvN43w
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 14, 2019
3. Is Help on the Way?
The Indians offense really needs to get some professional hitters that don’t just go flailing away at balls all over the place.
Enter Carlos Gonzalez, who if you missed it earlier on Saturday is in K.C. with the team and will be activated and you have to assume will be in the lineup for the 2:10pm first pitch against the Royals.
You need to have some type of effective guys that can either drive in runs with making contact, or coming up with the big hit, and right now this offense isn’t doing that.
Here’s some of the ugly averages after Saturday’s shutout.
Leonys Martin .233/.389.442
Jose Ramirez .135/.179/.192
Tyler Naquin .263/.282/.421
Carlos Santana .386/.509/.523
Hanley Ramirez .179/.304/.359
Jake Bauers .159/.245/.273
Kevin Plawecki .125/.222/.313
Brad Miller .250/333/.438
Max Moroff .077/.077/.115
There’s no doubt that adding Gonzalez and Jason Kipnis to this lineup has to help – right?
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