'A centimeter away': Royals rue close call in crucial 8th inning

KANSAS CITY -- Chris Stratton thought he was out of the inning. The Royals’ infield thought it had just turned a key double play. The Royals’ dugout was convinced, too.

But after a replay review found Tommy Pham safe at first base instead of the second out of a double play, the Cardinals found the big hit against Stratton and handed the Royals an eventual 8-5 series-opening loss at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night.

Working with a one-run lead in the eighth inning, Royals lefty Will Smith put two runners on base before manager Matt Quatraro went to Stratton with one out to face the right-handed batting Pham.

While Stratton, who had a 4.40 ERA entering Friday, has not been a reliever Quatraro has turned to in high leverage lately, Stratton’s 50.4% ground-ball rate was a factor in bringing him in to get a double play ball.

“We’re about a centimeter away from going to the ninth inning with a lead,” Quatraro said. “Stratton got a ground ball, we turned a nice double play. If [first-base umpire Roberto Ortiz] calls him out, it stands the other way.”

And there was one other key piece to Friday’s bullpen setup that was revealed postgame: Hunter Harvey, the high-leverage reliever the Royals acquired last month from the Nationals, was unavailable. The right-hander has been dealing with back tightness – not for the first time since joining the Royals – and Quatraro was trying to stay away from him.

Theoretically, the Royals could have turned to Harvey in this situation in the eighth inning, already having used Lucas Erceg, the Royals’ other Trade Deadline acquisition, in the seventh inning against the top of the Cardinals’ order.

That was the highest of leverage spots in the game so far, and Erceg threw a scoreless inning despite allowing a double.

“It gives us a chance to continue to add on, if possible, in the seventh and eighth prior to the top of the order coming up again,” Quatraro said of using Erceg in the seventh.

The plan after Erceg, Quatraro said, was to go to Smith in the eighth inning and Kris Bubic in the ninth inning for a save opportunity. But Smith, who entered Friday with a 1.52 ERA since April 21 and holding lefties to a .190 average, allowed a leadoff double to lefty Brendan Donovan.

Donovan went to third on Paul Goldschmidt’s groundout, and Smith walked pinch-hitter Pedro Pagés on four pitches, although the first two looked like they landed in the strike zone.

The only problem was Pham’s ground ball was 105 mph, a scorcher that third baseman Maikel Garcia kept in front of him, but bobbled slightly. That kept Donovan at third base, but Michael Massey’s throw from second base to first base was a millisecond or two late.

“He hit a hard ground ball,” Garcia said. “So just trying to get the ball [in front] of me. Try to hold the guy on third and try to get the double play. I think we got it, but they said he was safe.”

Victor Scott II followed the lengthy replay review with a two-run, go-ahead double off a changeup Stratton threw down in the zone. Lefty Angel Zerpa came in for the ninth inning and gave up another two runs.

The Royals bullpen's 4.28 ERA ranks sixth-worst in baseball now, and was tasked with getting 14 outs on Friday after starter Michael Lorenzen gave up three runs and needed 88 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. The bullpen’s struggles are the reason why the club tried to upgrade the unit at the Trade Deadline, and Erceg hasn’t allowed a run since joining Kansas City.

Sam Long has earned higher-leverage opportunities and allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings Friday, helping to bridge the gap between Lorenzen and Erceg. With John Schreiber on the injured list and Harvey unavailable with back tightness, Long, Erceg and Bubic are the Royals’ three most trusted relievers, meaning someone else had to step up for the eighth inning.

Smith has been working his way back into that circle lately, but the Royals weren’t able to execute Friday.

“I was disappointed in myself tonight, not being able to come through for the guys,” Stratton said. “As a reliever, if you can keep the runners you inherit off the board, that’s the best feeling in the world. The fact that I gave up Will’s runners and we end up losing the game, it’s just all-encompassing. Disappointing.”