Rally of the Royals for the opening day victory!

Well that was fun, wasn’t it? The Royals spotted the Rangers a big lead before they even found themselves at bat. Fans were back in the stands for the first time in over 500 days and the hutes were out as things looked grim. But it was back in the 1st, around 3:20 pm. The round would only end after 4 * and the game would not end until after 7. A 5 point lead would not be certain. A good pitching would be difficult to find but the offense would be abundant. It would be a great game if you had a BINGO baseball card as a lot of quirks abounded. Kyle Isbel would have a hell of a start. Michael A. Taylor for MVP. Each royal starter would reach the base and score (by the 4th). Salvy would walk … with the bases loaded! The Royals walked 8 (!!!!) times a day. Holland and Davis came from the bullpen to finish the game. The Royals would delight fans before this one, the longest 9-innings game in Royals history, is over. Let’s go dig!

* I think – otherwise it was really close, like 3:57 close

Royals ace Brad Keller had a disastrous start. He ceded a brace to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who should have scored when David Dahl passed the top of the wall, but read the ball terribly and finished third. After a Joey Gallo walk, the bases were loaded with no one.

The Rangers responded with four straight hits and before Keller recorded an out he was 30 shots away and lost 5-0.

New teammate Andrew Benintendi picked up Keller with an incredible catch against the wall along the left field line to ultimately give him an out. Keller gave up another shot that looked like it would lead into another race, but another new Michael Taylor teammate picked it up, throwing Brock Holt at the plate.

After it was all said and done, the Rangers fought back and got seven hits against Keller. He gave up more than six hits just once last season.

The Royals responded with their own rally in the lower half of the round. Whit Merrifield chose to lead the round. Benintendi followed up with a single for his first hit as Royal. Carlos Santana stayed on the mark with a walk, charging the groundwork for Salvador Perez without anyone, who took part in the Royals’ first round of the season.

It was a crazy first inning of baseball, to say the least. Sal walked three times in 150 AB last season. He’s got off to a quick start this season.

Kansas City got its second inning of the game on wild ground before Jorge Soler gave the Royals their third straight walk to reload the bases, down 5-2. A strikeout from Hunter Dozier brought in Kyle Isbel with the bases loaded.

If you remember correctly, Alex Gordon’s first career AP came on opening day with the groundwork loaded from the first inning. He struck off. Isbel took a different route, making a single to the right to make it a 5-3 game. Michael Taylor wanted to join the one-party and brought the Royals less than a run to the first field he considered a Royal.

Taylor finished Gibson’s afternoon with the Royals down 5-4. In total, Gibson gave up four runs on four hits and three walks, recording just one out. By the 45th minute of the game, there had been just four total strikeouts.

Taylor Hearn replaced Gibson to face Nicky Lopez. His fly bag tied the game at 5-5, before Merrifield flew off to complete the set.

A sleeve. Six recorded outs. 50 minutes of playing time. 10 combined races. 11 combined shots and 4 combined marches. What a crazy start to 2021.

The Rangers weren’t finished either. The first two hitters hit 2nd before a Nate Lowe single gave Texas the lead at 6-5. It would also be the end of the day for Keller, a dreadful start to the season that saw him give up six earned runs on nine hits in just 1.1 innings of work.

Kyle Zimmer replaced him and did a good job getting out of the jam. He put out two batters to keep the lead where it was. But the Rangers kept arriving in Kansas City. Carlos Hernandez replaced Zimmer and immediately loaded the bases without anyone. Joey Gallo chose center fielder, leading by two points and making it an 8-5 game. And if it hadn’t been for another outside help from Taylor, it would have been worse.

Through the first ¹⁄₃ of the game, Kansas City just couldn’t get anyone out. By the time the Kansas City pitchers recorded their 9th out, they had given up 12 hits (!!!) and eight runs. And three of those outs were largely the responsibility of a big off-field defense. It was hard.

Fortunately, the Royals didn’t stop either. And they had no idea they signed up-to-date 2021 AL MVP Michael Taylor. After pitching two batters in the first three innings, he hit a solo bombshell down the 3rd to bring the Royals within two runs. Carlos Santana’s first hit as a Royal later this set led to a run to bring the score to 8-7 after three.

After a solo bombshell from Soler tied him in 4th, the AL MVP landed another RBI single to give the Royals their first lead of the day at 9-8 because baseball is drunk today. Not only did they take the lead, but they also had the bases loaded with no one and Whit Merrifield at home plate. Whit hit a sacrificial fly and, when Isbel crossed home plate, every Royal in the starting lineup had scored a run. However, the Rangers escaped further damage in the round. 10-8 Royals after 4.

Meanwhile, Carlos Hernández has settled in. After allowing his first 4 hitters to reach, he struck out his last 8. The 5th round was actually scoreless. Manfred’s new juice-less baseballs must have arrived. Hernández gave way to Jesse Hahn in the 6th and Rangers recovered a point with a simple 2-strikeout RBI.

After a few mostly uneventful innings, the Royals helped fans fill their BINGO baseball card in the late seventh against Rangers pitcher Brett de Gaus, making his major league debut. Over 14 combined lengths, Benintendi and Santana walked back to back. On a count of 1-2, Salvy was hit with a pitch to charge the bases. On the next pitch, Soler was also hit, leading in a race. Dozier hit the choice of a defender. So for those who score at home: 2 extra points scored without a hit. Isbel got his third hit and his 2nd RBI of the game on a field single where he flashed the safety sign as he touched the bag before the pitch. Taylor added another defender pick before Lopez ended the round with a garden variety. Royals 13-9 to 7.

Scott Barlow tried to go 2 scoreless innings but failed. He loaded the bases with 2 outs in the 8th. Greg Holland slammed the door with 3 straight strikes to send Leody Taveras back to the bench and keep the lead. Merrifield went yard in the 8th to add to the lead and they almost added another run, but he was devastated by the critics. Holland worked a bit until the ninth, including an AB with both a passed ball and a wild pitch. So Wade Davis came to finish the game.

Wait? Greg Holland and Wade Davis close the match? All the sensations. What is that? 2014? Well you know … I guess I would take that.

Final score: Royals 14 Rangers 10. With this win, the Royals’ magic number is 161. If we are to believe Rany’s Tweet (and I see no reason not to) this is the longest. 9 round game in Royals history. And it’s one of the most memorable up there in 2004.

Update injuries for those who haven’t seen:

It was fun. Let’s do some more of these. Tomorrow tomorrow, back on Saturday.

Next: Royals v. Rangers, Saturday April 3, 2021, 1:10 p.m. CDT, Kauffman Stadium. RHP Kohei Arihara (0-0, -.— ERA) vs. LHP Mike Minor (0-0, -.— ERA)