The Royal Rush

08/15/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

Inside-the-Park Home Run & A Walk-Off Bunt? The Royals Are Still Having Fun…

The Kansas City Royals have had little to cheer for in 2023, but Monday night’s finishing touches to a wild contest delivered a bright spot. The Royals (39-81) have had a disastrous season, but they earned the spotlight in this one. In a back-and-forth game against the Mariners, Bobby Witt Jr. showed off the wheels for an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning. That gave the Royals a 4-0 advantage, but Seattle came roaring back to tie the game at 5-5 on their final out in the top of the 9th. Tied up in the bottom of the 9th, Dairon Blanco punched a walk-off bunt down the first-base line to score Samad Taylor. What in the world is happening in Kansas City? They’re suddenly 10-6 in the last two weeks despite the second-worst record in baseball.

 

Royal Rush (By the Numbers)

Statistically speaking, the two Royals rarities on Monday were nothing short of miraculous. Advanced analytics says that inside-the-park home runs (IPH) account for just 0.63 percent of all HRs, and walk-off bunts are an even rarer event (roughly one occurrence per year). In the first four-and-a-half months of the 2023 season, Whit Jr. tallied just the third IPH of the year while Blanco’s walk-off bunt was only the second of the year. The first walk-off bunt of ’23? That also belonged to the Royals on May 11 (Freddie Fermin).

 

Watch: Royals Beat Mariners With Wild Ending to Wild Game

 

MLB Quick-Hitters

Braves Bury Yankees (11-3) Behind Max Fried’s Gem

Marlins Go Back-to-Back-to-Back in 8th to Beat Astros (5-1)

Max Scherzer Wins 3rd Start for Rangers, 11 Ks in Rout Over Angels (12-0)

 

Photo: Ed Zurga / Getty Images