The Brewers beat the Royals in the series by doing the same thing over and over: they kept scoring with two outs. Eleven of Milwaukee’s 14 runs in the series came after the second out, and the Royals paid for every missed chance.
Kris Bubic, who struck out eight batters and posted a 40% whiff rate, said Milwaukee did not beat him with anything mysterious. It made him pay when the inning was almost over. “It wasn’t necessarily a loss of focus, it was just a lack of execution getting ahead in the count, because the stuff felt normal today,” Bubic said. He added that the Brewers “just made it hurt with two outs,” calling them a “pesky lineup” that did “their damage with two outs” and took advantage of the “free 90 feet” he gave them.
The numbers matched the frustration. The Brewers got all four of their hits off Bubic on fastballs, a sign they were waiting for one pitch and punishing it when it came in the zone. That mattered because the Royals had gotten a glimpse of what their own offense can do in the series, including a six-run inning in Saturday’s win. Salvador Perez talked about that rally, and manager Matt Quatraro said India getting it started and Jensen having another good at-bat helped set it up. But the Brewers answered the larger question by turning the series into a grind, not a shootout.
Read Also: Brewers Vs Red Sox: Woodruff Starts as Brewers Seek 8th Win
Milwaukee’s run of damage was not limited to one starter or one inning. The pattern stretched across the series and put Kansas City in the position of having to defend late-inning margins instead of building them. That pressure showed again in the eighth inning of the current game, when former Royals pitcher Angel Zerpa picked off pinch runner Tyler Tolbert for the third out. Tolbert broke for second on Zerpa’s move and guessed wrong.
Zerpa, who made his major league debut with the Royals in 2021, returned to Kansas City with a different uniform and a sharper role. He has not allowed a run in three relief appearances so far this season, and Pat Murphy had high praise for the left-hander. “He pitches like he’s been doing it for 20 years,” Murphy said. “He’s got good rhythm to him, good pace to him. Attacks the zone. Seems like a great competitor, a fierce competitor. I love that about him.” Zerpa said of his time in Kansas City, “I have a lot of fun memories,” and added, “They helped me a lot.”
Read Also: Cedric Mullins Records First Stolen Bases, Goes 2-for-5
Quatraro understood the gamble on the stolen-base look and called it “a left-handed pitcher, you’re rolling the dice.” He said, “It’s a tough situation for Tyler. We’re down by a run, and you have to take a chance there.” The Royals took the chance. The Brewers made them pay. That is what decided the series, and it is the part Kansas City has to solve before the next one starts.
