Royals find Singer 'just keeps getting better'

KANSAS CITY -- With two outs in the seventh inning, a runner on third and his pitch count eclipsing 100, Royals starter Brady Singer knew Adam Frazier would be the last hitter he faced on Friday night, regardless of the result.

So Singer did what he’s done best all season and, after one ball in the dirt, threw three nasty sliders to strike out Frazier swinging, ending the Mariners’ threat and Singer’s gutsy outing with an exclamation point.

“That was awesome,” Singer said. “I told [manager] Mike [Matheny], ‘Thanks for letting me go.’ I definitely wanted to get through that inning. The pitch count was getting up there, and that was my last hitter, but to be able to grind through that last inning was awesome.”

Behind Singer’s seven-inning, one-run performance on 110 pitches, the Royals won their fourth game in a row for the first time this season -- a 5-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium to kick off the final home series of the year.

The Royals have won five of their past six on the heels of a 2-8 skid, and they’ve beaten contending teams with this week’s sweep of the Twins and the Mariners, who hold the third American League Wild Card spot.

“It’s just kind of that mindset of we’re treating these games like they’re important because they are important,” rookie Vinnie Pasquantino said after his two-RBI game. “... Just because we’re technically eliminated doesn’t mean that we’re going to play like that on the field.

“The goal is to win championships, and to be able to prove that you can beat teams that are competing for the championship in that playoff bracket is why we play.”

There was no one the Royals would rather have on the mound to extend their winning streak than Singer, who has been a bright spot for this pitching staff by emerging as a frontline starter.

After returning from Triple-A on May 17, Singer has made 23 starts and he has a 2.85 ERA in that span. And across 142 innings, he’s struck out 138, while walking just 33. In his past nine outings, he’s 6-0 with eight quality starts and a 1.89 ERA, and Friday was his 10th win of the year -- the first Royals pitcher with double-digit wins since Jason Vargas (18-11 in 2017).

“The confidence, stuff, mix, he just keeps taking strides forward,” Matheny said. “When you think, ‘OK, he found where he is,’ he just keeps getting better.”

Singer finishing the seventh in such dominant fashion might have seemed improbable based off his first few innings, when the feel for his slider was nowhere to be found.

“At the beginning, I was talking to [pitching coach] Cal [Eldred], like, ‘This looks terrible,’” Singer said. “I couldn’t throw it where I wanted, it didn’t have the bite.”

Singer didn’t eliminate his slider, but he incorporated his changeup more, even in situations that he wouldn’t have typically thrown his third pitch. For example: After Abraham Toro’s leadoff double in the third inning, Frazier grounded out on a changeup for the first out.

“I can tell you, I did not want to throw them,” Singer said. “But Merv [catcher MJ Melendez] wanted me to throw them, and trusted it. And I knew where to throw it with the hitters up and keep it away from guys when I needed to. To be able to show that, then go back to the other two pitches, helped a lot.”

Throwing his changeup consistently allowed Singer to find the arm slot and hand positioning he needed for his slider. Suddenly in the fifth inning, the biting slider was back.

“Then you’re talking about going a third time through the lineup with a pitch they hadn’t seen yet,” Matheny said. “You can’t do that, normally.”

Singer’s overall ERA this season is now down to 2.99 across 147 2/3 innings with one or two starts left in the season, based on how the Royals map out their rotation.

The last Kansas City pitcher to finish a season with at least 150 innings and a sub-3.00 ERA was Zack Greinke, who posted a 2.16 ERA in his 2009 AL Cy Young Award-winning campaign.

That is exactly why Singer found himself on the mound in the seventh, even after allowing a leadoff double for the third time. With what he’s shown this year, he deserves the right to pitch himself out of those situations. When asked if he thinks he’s earned that, Singer shrugs it off, reiterating his gratitude for just being allowed to stay out there.

Matheny was clearer.

“He’s our horse right now,” Matheny said. “When he’s throwing as well as he is … we want him.”