The Royals Dominating Middle Relief Performance

Bruce Chen pitched pretty well for the Royals today, holding the Astros to just one run through 5.2 innings. But what happened after Ned Yost lifted Chen was the real noteworthy story from this game. Here is every plate appearance between a Royals middle reliever and an Astros hitter this afternoon.

Bottom 6:

Kelvin Herrera strikes out Chris Snyder.

Bottom 7:

Kelvin Herrera strikes out Brian Bogusevic.
Kelvin Herrera strikes out Jose Altuve.
Kelvin Herrera strikes out Brian Bixler.

Botton 8:

Jose Mijares strikes out Jordan Schafer.
Greg Holland allows a single to Carlos Lee.
Greg Holland walks J.D. Martinez.
Greg Holland strikes out Jed Lowrie.
Greg Holland strikes out Chris Johnson.

Nine batters faced, seven strikeouts. Jonathan Broxton pitched around a couple of base hits in the ninth inning to earn the only save given out in the Royals 2-1 victory, but the real stars of this performance were Kansas City’s three middle relievers.