Royals ALDS notebook: Walks haunt, Wacha’s approach vs. Judge, Roster construction
Free passes are causing problems for the Royals in the ALDS, and now the club looks to Michael Wacha to help them stay alive.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — If the Kansas City Royals are going to get past the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, the amount of walks given up by Kansas City pitchers will need to come down.
In Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Yankees, Royals pitchers gave up nine walks, New York’s most in a postseason game since Game 2 of the 2020 AL Wild Card Series. In their three ALDS matchups against the Royals, New York has taken 22 free passes.
Perhaps that’s not a huge surprise as the Yankees led all MLB teams this season with 672 walks (including 133 from Aaron Judge and 129 from Juan Soto), but Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro knows that New York’s offense is too powerful to give them any additional help with free passes.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to them,” Quatraro said. “They’re not chasing, they’re not expanding, but we also have to do a better job of limiting those for sure.”
Michael Wacha’s approach vs. Aaron Judge
Wacha will get the start for Game 4 on Thursday night, and will look to improve upon his Game 1 performance in the Bronx where he gave up three runs on four hits and walked three in 4.0 innings.
While Wacha might not have been able to hold the New York lineup completely in check, he did continue to handcuff slugger Aaron Judge, continuing a trend that dates back to their first confrontation back in 2017.
Judge went 0-for-2 against Wacha on Saturday, striking out and flying out to center field. With that, Judge is now 1-for-20 lifetime against Wacha with 12 strikeouts.
So what’s the secret for Wacha, one of the veteran pitchers brought in by the Royals this offseason?
“I try to make quality pitches. I really do,” Wacha said. “He’s an unbelievable player. He can do damage. He hits for average and drives in a lot of guys whenever they’re on base. You’ve just got to make quality pitches just like everyone else in that lineup.”
Royals roster construction praised by Quatraro
Quatraro continued to tweak his postseason lineup in Game 3, inserting Adam Frazier into the lineup in right field and in the eighth spot for his first at-bats of the postseason. The move continued to show how the Royals will utilize matchups to maximize their chances of gaining an advantage, something that Quatraro has done whether it’s the middle of May or the second week of October.
“Look, we’re built to use this whole roster. It’s not nine stars and that’s it,” Quatraro explained. “We’re going to use everybody, and then you have to live that day by day. There’s opportunities in almost every game, whether it’s pinch-hitting, defensive replacements. Now, you have to have the right people in place that can be versatile and that can pinch run or go play multiple positions.”
Frazier went 1-for-3 and scored Kansas City’s first run of the night before being lifted with two outs in the ninth for pinch hitter Tommy Pham.
“There were scenarios Frazier would have continued to hit there, but not in that one,” Quatraro said after the game.
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A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Kevin Henry has been covering MLB and MiLB for nearly two decades. Those assignments have included…