Santana feels 'blessed' after 1,000th walk

KANSAS CITY -- Watching Carlos Santana play for Cleveland gave the Royals a pretty good idea of what his presence could do for a lineup. He’d foul off pitches, get into deep counts, work walks and, when the right pitch came, make a pitcher pay for it by creating damage.

For 10 years, he did all that against Royals pitchers.

Now he’s doing it for the Royals' lineup and reaching milestones that help explain his approach at the plate. On Saturday, in Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Blue Jays, Santana worked his 1,000th career walk in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Royals tried to mount a comeback.

“Happy and blessed,” said Santana, who also reached 800 career RBIs with his first Royals home run last week. “I mean, 1,000 walks -- happy for that and another point in my career.”

Santana became the fourth active player to have 1,000 walks in his career, joining Albert Pujols (1,333, going into Sunday), Joey Votto (1,221) and Miguel Cabrera (1,162).

“That’s rare space that he’s in with that,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said Saturday. “We’ve seen it, unfortunately, from the wrong side, too many times. … Just the strike-zone awareness and trust. The fact that he prides himself in those kind of at-bats, I think was, once again, such a big point for our club this year to have somebody like that. There’s some other players that can learn from that.

“We don’t need them all up there looking walks all the time, but when they do give it to you, there’s something about taking pride in and being able to get that base. And he just does so many things for us as a team, and he’s going to continue to because he’s teaching all the time.”

Santana’s approach has been a staple of his throughout his 12-year career. He led the Majors with 113 walks in 2014. Despite hitting just .199 in the shortened 2020 season, Santana led the American League in walks, with 47. Last season, Hunter Dozier led the Royals with 27 walks. Just three Royals had over 47 walks in the full 2019 season.

“A lot of players ask me [where the patient approach comes from], but I don’t know how to explain it,” Santana said. “I think God gave me that ability to be patient.”

Dyson’s a perfect fit

Taking advantage of a start in the outfield, Jarrod Dyson had his hands all over Saturday’s nightcap against the Blue Jays until Salvador Perez crushed a walk-off homer to end it in the bottom of the seventh.

In the top of the second, Dyson made a stellar sliding catch in center field to strand a runner and limit the damage done against starter Ervin Santana. To lead off the third inning, the 36-year-old smoked a ball down the right-field line and registered a 28.7 feet/second sprint speed on a triple, which is above the MLB average of 27 feet/second.

“I’m just trying to get a good pitch to hit and ended up squeaking a ball down the line,” Dyson said. “When I saw it go past him, I knew I had two. I wasn’t sure of three. But I took my chances and just said, ‘What the heck? The heck with it.’ I made it there.”

Dyson was 2-for-3 in his second start of the season with a run scored and, as usual, played the outfield well. So far, he has played his role on the team perfectly, from being a veteran leader on the bench -- sometimes even filling the role of a coach if needed -- to plugging into the lineup, in the outfield or on the bases when he’s needed in the game. That’s exactly what the Royals wanted out of him when they signed him to a one-year deal in Spring Training.

“He’s been just a pleasure to have every day,” Matheny said. “He always has something to say, but he’s always talking shop. Always pushing guys. That energy that you’re talking about is vocal, but then it’s kind of in a corner, too, when there’s somebody that needs to be talked to, he’s having some of those conversations. He’s a good player. He obviously does a great job in the outfield, but he’s taking some pretty good at-bats. Puts the ball in play, the way he still gets down the line, it’s pressure on the defense. He’s done a really nice job of staying sharp.”

Worth noting

• After the doubleheader Saturday, the Royals' rotation will get back on track against the Rays this week at Kauffman Stadium. Danny Duffy is scheduled to start Monday’s series opener, followed by Brad Keller and Jakob Junis, who has earned another turn in the rotation after two efficient starts.

“He’s throwing well, so we’re just going to keep it rolling,” Matheny said of Junis.

• Left fielder Andrew Benintendi got a day off from the lineup on Sunday against Blue Jays lefty Robbie Ray -- the fourth lefty starter the Royals have faced this series against Toronto.

“Physically he feels good,” Matheny said. “Just trying to keep him in that positive spot.”