Thank goodness for Stephen Kolek.

With three-fifths of the expected Royals starting pitchers on the injured list, Kolek has been a revelation in the rotation.

The right-hander was at it again on Sunday as he twirled 7.1 brilliant innings on a fantastic afternoon at Kauffman Stadium as the Royals avoided a series sweep by defeating the Houston Astros, 4-0. Kolek worked around any possibility of a threat from the Astros, thwarting their ability to string together any kind of attack. He picked off a runner at first base following a one-out single in the second. He worked around a leadoff double in the third by recording a strikeout, ground out and pop foul out. And he rolled up a pair of inning-ending double plays in the fourth and the seventh.

The double play in the seventh was large, given that Kolek was deep into his pitch count and had allowed back-to-back singles to open the inning. It came on a comebacker from Cam Smith and Kolek fired a beaut of a throw to Michael Massey at second to start the twin killing. I love a tidy 1-4-3.

The Astros were kept off balance by the fact Kolek altered his plan of attack. Usually, he'll lean on his four-seam, followed by his sinker and slider. On Sunday, he threw his slider more than any other pitch—28 percent of the time. He got 14 swings on it and seven whiffs.

You might think those elevated sliders would be trouble, but I think the way he was folding it to his four-seam allowed him to adjust the vertical plane of the pitch. Kolek didn't allow a hit off his slider all afternoon.

Is he the new Royals ace? I don't know about that, but I do know last year's deadline deal to acquire Kolek and Ryan Bergert from San Diego looks like a very good piece of business. Even with Bergert on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Kolek was chased after throwing 97 pitches following a walk and a single with one out in the eighth. Steven Cruz and Daniel Lynch IV got the final five outs to secure the shutout.

The offense was powered by birthday boy Bobby Witt Jr. who recorded a pair of hits and swiped two bags, and Maikel Garcia who collected three hits, stole a base and drove home three. Witt also made the game’s signature defensive play because that’s just what he does.

It was a tidy ballgame. Just what the Royals needed after a weekend of shootouts. The Royals scored eight runs in a comeback attempt on Friday, but allowing nine runs in the first is usually fatal. Good fightback and all that but…woof. Neither starter made it out of the first inning, but Luinder Avila took the worst of the beatings, throwing 49 pitches in his two-thirds of an inning and getting charged with eight runs.

On Saturday, the Royals plated seven only to see Houston storm ahead with a two-run home run against Matt Strahm in the eighth and a ninth inning tally against Alex Lange. Strahm has now surrendered home runs in five of his six appearances since returning from the IL. It’s not what you want. But we’ve said that about the bullpen all season long.

These Royals…I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. They play some of the most bizarre baseball I’ve seen in some time. They also have looked uninspired at times. These days I can’t decide if they’re unlucky or just bad. Or both. It’s probably both.

To say it’s been a rough year for Vinnie Pasquantino would be an understatement. He opened the season in an extended slump that lasted for about two months. On May 27, he was hitting .199/.284/.327. In the 14 games since, Pasquantino had found a bit of a groove, collecting a base hit in 11 of those games while hitting .309/.397/.436. The power never got on track, but he was finding productive outcomes by singles and doubles…and walks.

Unfortunately, the injury bug that has derailed the Royals first baseman in four of his five seasons bit again on Saturday. In the middle of a 1-3 night—that extended his hitting streak to eight games—Pasquantino fractured his right hamate bone on a swing. He grimaced immediately, doubling over in pain after he popped up the pitch. He held his wrist awkwardly as he headed back to the dugout and went right into the clubhouse. He knew.

Pasquantino underwent surgery to repair the break on Sunday morning. The Royals say the recovery timeline is four to six weeks. I’d hazard that’s a bit optimistic…I’d lean more to the six weeks than the four. For comparison, Baltimore’s Jackson Holiday broke his hamate in spring training and it was about eight weeks before he returned to action. However, Milwaukee’s Andrew Vaughn broke his on Opening Day and made his return about six weeks later.

Pasquantino’s hamate break came just hours after Cleveland’s José Ramírez fractured his left hamate in a game against the Tigers. Ramírez, a switch-hitter, broke his right hamate late in 2019. The initial timetable on his return back then was five to seven weeks. With the Guardians in a pennant race, Ramírez made his return just a month later.

There’s never a good time for injury, but this feels especially cruel given that he had finally found his footing from the grind that was the first two months of the season. The Royals recalled outfielder John Rave to take Pasquantino’s spot on the roster, with the assumption that Jac Caglianone will get the majority of reps at first base for the time being. Rave was having a helluva season for Omaha, hitting .278/.395/.475, good for a 126 wRC+. He’s walking a bit more and striking out a little less, but his production this year is almost a carbon copy of what he put up last year in an equal amount of playing time for the Storm Chasers. In a cup of coffee last summer, Rave hit .196/.283/.307 for a 65 wRC+.

Other injury news…I know, I know. It’s been a lot.

Cole Ragans, who last made a start on May 6, experienced another setback in his quest to return to the mound. He initally landed on the IL with left elbow impingement after that start, made one rehab appearance where he felt good, but had an issue with his recovery from that outing. He’s been on a throwing program of late but had to cut a session short on Saturday. He will be going for further testing this week.

It certainly doesn’t look good for Ragans. He’s had a history of elbow issues, including a Tommy John surgery and another surgery when the first one didn’t successfully hold. He missed time last season with a rotator cuff strain which, while separate from the elbow, isn’t great either! At this point, if the MRI comes back clean—which feels like an especially large “if”—I wouldn’t expect to see Ragans until the second half of the season. Maybe early August as the best-case scenario.

Meanwhile, Kris Bubic’s MRI did come back clean. He went for testing after he experienced shoulder discomfort following a rehab start in Omaha where he was only able to complete an inning and a third. He is expected to resume his throwing program shortly, but, like Ragans, at this point it seems unlikely that he would return before the All-Star break.

Central Issues

Dodgers 4
White Sox 6

The Sox teed off in the sixth, clubbing three home runs while posting their entire output for the afternoon. Rate Field was sold out for the entire series against the Dodgers, which saw Chicago take two of three. The Sox have won 20 of their last 24 home games. Things are afoot on the South Side

Cardinals 4
Twins 5

A back-and-forth affair saw the Cards charge to a 4-2 lead in the seventh. The Twins tied it up in the bottom of the frame on a walk and four consecutive singles. They took the lead an inning later on back-to-back two-out doubles from Luke Keaschall and Ryan Kreidler. Minnesota takes the series, two games to one.

Tigers
Guardians
Postponed

Cleveland took the first two games of the three-game set. This game will be made up in September, by which time, Ramíez will be back in the lineup.

Up Next

The Royals embark on a brief, three-game trip to Washington D.C. to face the Nationals.

Mon - TBA vs. LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.70) at 5:45 p.m.
Tue - RHP Michael Wacha (4-5, 3.58) vs. LHP Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.46) at 5:45 p.m.
Wed - RHP Luinder Avila (1-3, 6.19) vs. RHP Zack Littell (6-5, 5.32) at 12:05 p.m.

The TBA for Monday is Seth Lugo’s slot in the rotation. He landed on the concussion injured list after taking a line drive off his head in his last start. Given that Kolek saved the bullpen from more work on Sunday and that the dependable Michael Wacha is due up on Tuesday, the Royals may decide to press ahead with a bullpen game in the opener. Although I’m not sure extended outings from Mason Black, Beck Way and Eli Morgan and company is what anyone wants.