This story was originally published by Dead Spin
If the Kansas City Royals hold on to a playoff spot, it likely will be a result of their late-season roster additions.
As they host the Minnesota Twins (76-65) on Saturday night in the second game of a weekend series, the Royals (77-65) have won back-to-back games for the first time in more than a week. They did so with the help of waiver-wire addition Tommy Pham, whose three-run homer Wednesday helped snap Kansas City’s seven-game losing streak.
Pham added an RBI double among his two hits in Friday’s 5-0 win over the Twins and also contributed an outfield assist to preserve the shutout. He has hit safely in four of five games with Kansas City while batting leadoff, collecting three extra-base hits (two doubles, homer) and four RBIs, including go-ahead RBIs in the last two games.
“He’s in there every pitch,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He’s competitive. He’s not a guy that chases a ton. (He) puts good at-bats together and hits the ball hard.”
Yuli Gurriel, acquired via a trade from Atlanta, and waiver-wire addition Robbie Grossman have totaled four hits and two RBIs.
The biggest contribution for the Royals has come from Paul DeJong, a trade-deadline acquisition from the White Sox. DeJong has six homers and 15 RBIs in 26 games.
The additions have been especially important since Vinnie Pasquantino was lost to a thumb injury on Aug. 29 in Houston.
Pasquantino’s 97 RBIs match Bobby Witt Jr. for the team lead and are tied for sixth in the American League. Pasquantino had surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss six to eight weeks but hopes to return in time for the postseason.
“As far as (a) timeline goes,” he said, “I have my own timeline. In my mind, my season’s not over.”
The club has struggled to replace Pasquantino’s run production from the third spot in the batting order, scoring 18 runs in the past seven games. Witt, who hits second in the order, is 5-for-30 over his last eight games.
Right-hander Alec Marsh (7-8, 4.70 ERA) will take the mound Saturday. In two starts since his recall from Triple-A Omaha, he is 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA.
Marsh lost both career starts against the Twins and allowed five runs in seven innings at Minnesota on May 27. Trevor Larnach, Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien each have homers against Marsh.
Right-hander Bailey Ober (12-6, 3.95 ERA) is winless in nine career starts against the Royals, going 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA. He has lost three straight starts against them while surrendering eight homers — two by Salvador Perez.
In his last two starts, Ober saw opposite results.
“Definitely surprising,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after Ober allowed nine runs in two innings in a 10-6 loss to Atlanta on Aug. 26. “He’s been one of the better pitchers in all of baseball this year. “Any time the game starts like that, it’s not really what you’re expecting.”
“I was pretty angry,” Ober said. “I’m just trying to go over the outing and see if I could have done anything different, then trying to move on.”
He moved on to a Sunday start in which he allowed just one hit — a solo homer — in six innings, striking out eight in a no-decision against the Blue Jays. The Twins won 4-3.
–Field Level Media
