Bobby Witt Jr. homered and scored three times to help the Kansas City Royals defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-4 on Wednesday.
Both starting pitchers battled at first, but eventually settled in and limited the damage. Brady Singer (3-1) of the Royals gave up one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked twice and struck out four. Joe Ross (1-4) gave up three runs on three hits in five-plus innings, walking two and striking out two.
“I think the sinker had a lot of action on it,” Singer said. “I was able to find that pretty easily and get it in on the lefthanders. I hoped to go deeper into the game, but the pitch count in the first two innings was quite high.”
James McArthur made his tenth save after wasting his previous two chances.
“We thought we wouldn’t have to bring him in, but clearly we did,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “He came in and executed right away. “He only needed to throw three pitches.”
Brice Turang and William Contreras hit back-to-back doubles in the first inning to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.
The Royals responded with back-to-back doubles from Maikel Garcia and Witt, but did not score until Vinnie Pasquantino’s sacrifice fly. Witt’s double seemed to be a flyout to center, leaving Garcia at second. However, Blake Perkins sneaked into center, and the ball dropped undisturbed. Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly scored Witt, giving KC a 2-1 lead.
Pat Murphy, the Brewers’ manager, did not lament the mistakes after the game.
“They’re all winnable,” he explained. “You make mistakes, and then they pile up. Give them credit: they capitalized when they needed to. However, a few things happened to us early on. However, there were many positive developments today. Gary Sanchez continues to have excellent at-bats. Joe Ross pitched well.”
After both starters had settled in, Massey hit his second sacrifice fly in the sixth, scoring Witt. The sacrifice fly is not as exciting as an RBI hit, but the runs help.
“It’s knowing the situation and getting a pitch you can do something with,” Quatraro stated. “You must understand that you do not have to do too much. Both Vinnie and Massey had significant at-bats.”
Sanchez hit his fifth home run for Milwaukee to lead off the seventh inning. With one out and a runner on second, Turang hit one to left, but Oliver Dunn was thrown out at the plate by MJ Melendez.
