Royals' bullpen a highlight in series loss to close out 1st half

BOSTON -- John Schreiber returned to Fenway Park this weekend for the first time since the Spring Training trade sent him to the Royals. While standing in front of his locker in the visitors’ clubhouse on Saturday, Schreiber reflected on his time with the Red Sox and the potential of pitching against his former teammates.

“It’s a little weird,” Schreiber said of his return to Boston to face the Red Sox. “That was my first time getting traded in my career. It’s nice being back and being able to see old teammates and see how they’re doing. It’s really fun to play here, I’m excited to be back.”

The righty had a chance to face his former teammates on Sunday, entering the Royals’ 5-4 loss in the bottom of the sixth inning to face Rob Refsnyder with two runners on. After falling behind 3-1, Schreiber threw a 92.5 mph sinker, forced a grounder back to the mound and ended the inning.

“I’m going to go out there and focus on executing pitches,” Schreiber said on Saturday about the potential of pitching in front of the Fenway crowd. “I’m going to try and put up a zero and try and hand it off to the next guy. That’s the game plan every time I go out there, and I’m not going to treat it any different being back.”

That’s exactly what Schreiber did, needing just five pitches and helping keep his team close, trailing by a run (4-3), entering the seventh inning.

The bullpen has been one of the weaknesses for the Royals this season, but the front office began to address that need by acquiring Hunter Harvey from the Nationals following Saturday night’s loss.

“It means a lot for us,” said manager Matt Quatraro on the club acquiring Harvey. “You have to be mindful of the guys in the bullpen as well. It’s a real quality group, not only people, but pitchers as well. They’ve done a remarkable job. We’ve asked a lot of the guys who don’t have a lot of reps out there. They’ve learned a lot, they’ve been put in high pressure situations. I think that’s going to make them and us better down the road.”

Arguably, the Royals’ bullpen was a bright spot over the weekend in Boston, limiting the Red Sox to just one earned run over the three-game series.

Starter Brady Singer tossed a season-low 2 2/3 innings, and with the club operating with a 25-man roster following the Harvey trade and Nick Anderson getting designated for assignment, Quatraro’s bullpen kept the team in the game all afternoon.

“They were outstanding,” Quatraro said of his bullpen’s effort. “[5 1/3] innings and one run, they kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win.”

Angel Zerpa, Sam Long, Schreiber, Will Smith and James McArthur tossed 5 1/3 innings, only allowing one earned run off six hits.

Salvador Perez recognized his pitchers postgame for their efforts in limiting the Red Sox’s offense to just one run.

“Pretty good, pretty good,” said Perez. “Singer, this was not his best one. He missed a couple of pitches, but the bullpen did a pretty good job.”

As the Royals turn the page on the first half, Schreiber, who has struggled for most of the season, is hopeful he can return to the pitcher he was in April. The Michigan native posted a 0.68 ERA over 14 games to begin his Royals career. Schreiber pitched to a 6.52 ERA in May and a 6.48 in June. The Royals need him back to pitching in high-leverage spots as the team pushes toward the postseason.

"There's going to be ups and downs throughout the season with everybody," said Schreiber. "It's really hard to continuously put up really good numbers, year after year. Everybody knows that as a player, you just go out there and work on stuff to get back to where you want to be mentally, mechanically, and physically. That's what I've been doing the last couple of outings, and they have been pretty good. I've been feeling good, and I feel like I've been in a good spot."

With the Royals in the thick of the AL Wild Card hunt, Schreiber will look to put the past two months behind him, and if he does, it’ll give Quatraro the high-leverage reliever the team thought it was acquiring in the spring.