Singer's last minute change to sweeper grip sparks 7-inning gem

KANSAS CITY -- Brady Singer watched what Michael Wacha did on Friday night to kick-start the unofficial second half of the season with seven scoreless innings against the White Sox and wanted to match that.

He turned in a final line nearly identical to Wacha’s with seven scoreless innings and seven strikeouts in Kansas City’s 6-1 win at Kauffman Stadium, clinching the series win over Chicago.

Singer allowed one more hit (five) than Wacha (four) and walked two batters while Wacha walked one, but the point is, the Royals couldn’t have asked for a better start to the post-All-Star break schedule than what the rotation has done the past two days.

“Just trying to follow what Wacha did,” Singer said. “It was super fun watching him last night, and I guess I wanted to do the same thing.”

Manager Matt Quatraro added: “It’s hard to argue with 14 innings without a run."

The White Sox scored their only run in the eighth off reliever Hunter Harvey in his Royals debut, but All-Star starter Seth Lugo gets a chance to match Wacha and Singer in Sunday’s series finale.

Singer didn’t end the first half the way he wanted when he allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings against Boston last Sunday, although part of the reason for the short start was because of a well-rested bullpen heading into the break. But it didn’t diminish Singer’s solid first half, in which he posted a 3.20 ERA.

“I had to make up some innings, too, after that last one,” Singer said. “... I think the biggest thing was getting deep in the game. I was able to control my pitch count and pitch into the seventh inning. That was huge for me.”

Key strikeouts got Singer out of some jams. In the fourth inning, the White Sox loaded the bases with two outs with two walks and a single. Singer struck out Brooks Baldwin swinging on a sinker to leave all three runners stranded. In the fifth, White Sox catcher Chuckie Robinson -- who had thrown out Bobby Witt Jr. trying to steal third base back in the first inning -- hit a two-out bloop single into left field. Singer struck out Tommy Pham on a sweeper to quell any threat.

That sweeper was Singer’s “best pitch of the night,” he said. Statcast only registered five of them, but several were still labeled under his traditional, tight slider. The bigger breaking ball has been a work in progress all year for the Royals' righty, trying to get the right metrics and the right grip on it for better results.

But he changed the grip on it Saturday on a whim after scrolling through X and seeing a grip posted there. He took it into the bullpen before Saturday’s start and liked it enough to take it into the game.

“Just kind of pulled it out today, and it worked well in the bullpen,” Singer said.

Singer didn’t know -- or wouldn’t reveal -- the account in which he saw the grip nor who was credited with the grip. But something clicked for the typically strong-willed Singer, and he went with it. One sweeper registered a 14-inch horizontal break Saturday.

“Changed it a little bit, and it worked,” Singer said. “... I mentioned to [assistant pitching coach Zach] Bove that I would try a different grip tonight, and I used it in the ‘pen, so it worked out well.”

Singer lowered his ERA to 3.00 in 20 starts this year. He’s bounced back quite a bit from last year, when he had a 5.52 ERA over 29 starts and dealt with injuries at the end of the year. And the 27-year-old has been an integral piece of this rotation all year.

“He keeps the ball down and he sinks it,” White Sox manager and former Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol said. “He’s got late, late life on it. The ball takes off close to home plate, and it kind of explodes on you a little bit.”

Singer worked with a lead early thanks to a three-run first inning from the Royals’ offense. They tacked on another in the second on Witt’s RBI double, the second of his three hits Saturday. Insurance runs came in the eighth when the Royals took advantage of two errors and three walks (one intentional).

“It seemed like Brady was in control from the start, but to get him some run support was great,” said second baseman Michael Massey, who hit an RBI triple in the first inning. “We just have so much confidence in [the starters]. We know if we can get them a couple early, they can shut the door.”