Better late than never? Royals surging at end of games

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ANAHEIM -- Relentless, resilient, maybe even maddening at times, the Royals’ offense has consistently found a way to come through late in games, even in games when all looks lost offensively in the first few innings.

That’s what happened again this week in a series win over the Brewers, getting to a reliever in Monday’s game, the starter in Tuesday’s game and adding on late in Wednesday’s matinee.

Entering Thursday, this is how Kansas City’s offense has fared against starting pitching this season:

First time through the order: .234/.298/.372
Second time: .235/.293/.395
Third time: .294/.378/.497

The Royals’ .875 OPS the third time through the order against the same pitcher ranks second in the Major Leagues to the Dodgers (.914).

For Kansas City to be one of the best teams in that category is pretty remarkable. Because its pitching staff has kept them in games, two- or three-run deficits aren’t difficult to overcome.

“It’s different every night, but it’s probably just the familiarity of it,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “And also understanding that, ‘Hey, it’s time to go.’”

Now comes the challenge of putting pressure on pitchers earlier in the game.

“What are we doing wrong the first time through?” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “Is it as simple as we’re too aggressive, not aggressive enough? We’ve got to dig into it a little bit. Maybe it’s something that we haven’t had enough of a sample size, really, for things to even out. You want to be good every time through the order. But you can’t be, and we seem to get better toward the end of games.”

“Our pitching has done a great job of keeping us in games, but it’s more fun if you’re putting pressure on early in the game,” Adam Frazier added. “It’s not ideal to have to play from behind all the time.”

What the Royals have been doing well is learning what the opposing starter’s patterns are as the game goes on. The hitters are using the iPads less frequently and paying more attention to the game in front of them, and that’s helped them pick up cues shared throughout the dugout.

“More of an old-school mentality,” Pasquantino said. “In years past, you would just dig into the iPad and watch your at-bat; you wouldn’t even watch the game. A big thing for us this year is watching the game, paying attention, talking to each other. 'What do you see? What are you thinking?' Try to keep the line moving. I think it’s helping.”

Pasquantino reviews his at-bat on the iPad immediately and then moves on to watching how the pitcher attacks the next lefty hitter. Bobby Witt Jr. looks at video before an inning starts and locks back into the game when play resumes.

“It’s kind of been in the works for a year now,” Pasquantino said. “Conversations in the dugout have been way better.”

Plenty of questions surround Kansas City’s offense, especially with its outfield production. The Royals’ everyday corner outfielders, MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe, have a .608 and a .490 OPS, respectively, although both are playing great defense. There isn’t a true power threat off the bench, with Nelson Velázquez slashing .214/.287/.337, and Frazier and Garrett Hampson have struggled when they get playing time.

One thing the club isn’t questioning is its competitiveness in getting back into games.

“It does give you comfortability and confidence that we’re never out of it,” Witt said. “Any time you see someone more than once, you get better at it. So now it’s about, ‘What can we do to produce early in the game?’”