Logan Webb will hope to prolong the Kansas City Royals’ offensive slump and earn the San Francisco Giants their sixth win to close a nine-game homestand when he takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon.
The clubs have split the first two games of their low-scoring interleague series, with the Royals prevailing 3-1 on Monday before falling 3-2 in the rematch on Tuesday.
Kansas City has scored three or fewer runs in 10 of its last 11 games, a stretch in which the Royals have gone just 4-7. They’ve totaled just four home runs over the drought, with Vinnie Pasquantino launching two of them, including a difference-making blast in the win on Monday. He leads the team with eight homers this season.
The Royals’ shortage of runs has become so noteworthy that much was made of the promotion of power-hitting prospect Jac Caglianone over the weekend — and he simply was being elevated from Double-A to Triple-A.
A star first baseman in college, Caglianone finds his path blocked a bit by fellow left-handed first baseman Pasquantino, so the organization has experimented with putting the No. 6 pick in last year’s draft in right field in the minors. That remains a work in progress.
While acknowledging that the Royals could use the bat of a player who hit .322 with nine homers and 43 RBIs in 38 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo cautioned fans not to start counting the days for Caglianone’s call-up.
“It’s a career,” Picollo said of a somewhat conservative approach. “You want the guy to have success when he comes up. And we know that reps, historically speaking, are what guys need. The big leagues are a whole different animal.”
Webb (5-3, 2.42 ERA) thus will get an opportunity to face a team that’s gotten a total of just five extra-base hits in the first two games of the series — four doubles and Pasquantino’s homer.
The right-hander has faced the Royals just once in his career and threw a gem, allowing five hits and no runs with nine strikeouts over seven innings in a 4-2 win on June 14, 2022.
Webb is coming off a 9-1 home win over the Athletics on Friday, bouncing back from a defeat at Minnesota six days earlier. The 28-year-old has followed each of his three defeats with a win but also has not won consecutive starts this season.
He can only hope to get the type of defensive support that Giants pitchers received Tuesday from catcher Patrick Bailey, who threw out Maikel Garcia trying to steal second in the second inning and Bobby Witt Jr. attempting to do the same in the eighth.
Eliminating Witt from the bases was the more crucial of the two, as it came after the Royals’ star had gotten his team within 3-2 with a one-out single. Witt represented the potential tying run when he challenged Bailey and lost.
“To beat these guys, like some of the teams we have that run really well, you have to try to control the running game,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He (Bailey) is about as good as it gets with getting rid of (the ball). Two really fast runners.”
The Royals are expected to treat the series finale as a bullpen day as they attempt to fill the void left by injured Cole Ragans (groin strain).
Daniel Lynch IV (3-0, 1.29 ERA) is listed as the starter for Kansas City. He has made 20 appearances out of the bullpen this season, with two innings his longest stint. He has two career appearances against the Giants, giving up two runs in two innings.
–Field Level Media
