Ryan Langerhans got things started in the 3rd inning ...
(he was in for Michael Saunders who jammed/strained his neck/shoulder in his attempt to rob Murphy of a home run last night)
His home run was on the first pitch he'd ever seen from Greinke. He would score another run and end up a triple away from the cycle.
Figgy's on fire ...
(in more ways than one, apparently)
His 11 pitch AB after Ryan's solo shot and Jack's triple would be his first ever hit vs. Greinke and make the score 2-0. Then, in the 6th, his double plated two more after the Royals intentionally walked Ichiro to load the bases.
Oh, and there was some pitching and defense too ...
Lost in the surprising ability of the M's to actually score runs (off a great pitchers no-less) was the performance of Luke French. He scattered nine hits (the Royals do have the second best team batting average in the majors) but he was able to limit the damage to only ONE run - he struck out FOUR and walked NONE.
And, he certainly showed he can field his position as well. With runners on first and second with no outs, Luke fielded a pop bunt and threw to Jack covering second to double-off Willie B. He and Casey also made some nice plays to get runners at first (I contend that type of play is harder than it looks).
And, there were some other REALLY nice plays in the field...
Did my little old defensive-lovin' heart good to see plays that SHOULD be made, made AND a few that took my breath away as well. Ichi with a nice running shoe-string grab and Casey with a couple of line drive snares.
Brandon comes in for mop-up ...
One. Two. Three.
Wow. Hits AND Runs. Pitching. Defense.
What more could you ask for?
For it to have started four months ago...
TED S. WARREN / AP
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