KC’s late win carries weight
Dalton Vitt
When Greg Holland starts getting into trouble, he often seems inclined to tilt his cap to the back of his head and smear the beads of sweat on his forehead.
It was a common sight on Sunday night’s ESPN telecast.
Maybe you stayed up late enough to notice, maybe you didn’t. Following the one-hour, 43-minute rain delay in Detroit, stress mounted quicker in just an inning and a half than in any season-four episode of Lost.
Jason Frasor escaped peril in the bottom of the ninth, working around a bases-loaded situation by inducing a flyout from catcher James McCann.
The Royals responded in the top of the 10th by manufacturing a run that started with Alex Gordon — well, maybe a stitch on Gordon’s jersey — getting hit by a pitch.
Pay attention, kids. This is how baseball games are won. Gordon advanced to second on a wild pitch from Angel Nesbitt, Sal Perez moved Gordon to third with a groundout to the right side and Omar Infante lifted a sacrifice fly. Beautiful.
Enter post-midnight twitchiness.
Holland gave up a seeing-eye single to shortstop Andrew Romine to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning before hastily walking Anthony Gose and Ian Kinsler. After showcasing the best way to create danger, Holland finally spotted a splitter down and in to Hernan Perez — batting for Miguel Cabrera, who was lifted for a pinch-runner in the ninth — and created a 5-2-3 double-play. Holland then walked a gimpy Victor Martinez before striking out Yoenis Cespedes on a slider.
OK, deep breaths, everyone.
It’s easy to say that every win is important over the course of the season, but for an intra-division matchup in early May, Holland closing things down against the Tigers, in particular, adds an exponent to its significance.
Despite Kansas City’s breathtaking run to the World Series and regardless of who wears the reigning AL crown, Detroit remains the jewel of the Central.
Sunday’s win was a point for little brother, and if the Royals want to end the Tigers’ streak of four straight division titles, the momentum that started when Cespedes came up with nothing but air on the final swing of the night is a crucial starting point.
It’s hard to say how KC’s players must feel about Detroit. On the one hand, the Royals do sport the flashier prize from a season ago. But that took a month to earn, while the Tigers have built their dominance over the course of four years. An inferiority complex must still exist, to some degree, in Kansas City’s clubhouse.
With each victory the Royals can claim against the kings of the Central, confidence mounts. Emotional wins like Sunday’s just add an extra bit of spice to the recipe for a division rivalry that’s cooking, one that’s been missing since the division’s inception.
Cleveland dominated the 1990s, Minnesota the 2000s (outside of Chicago’s world championship in 2005) and Detroit the 2010s. Although the Tigers are a clear rung above Kansas City on the legacy scale at this point, it appears the Royals are catching up.
Holland profusely rubbing his brow and yanking the bill of his hat is a nerve-wracking sight for Ned Yost and KC fans, but one that shows the importance of these games, regardless what point of the season we’re in.
The Royals have work to do to overthrow a nemesis that’s entrenched as the top dog. Mutiny begins here.
