The Kansas City Royals bullpen was once the cornerstone of a team that made back-to-back World Seriesappearances, winning it all in 2015. Unfortunately, that lights out dominance just hasn’t carried over into the summer of the 2016 season. In Tuesday night’s loss to the Chicago White Sox, reliever Kelvin Herrera surrendered a three-run home run to Todd Frazier in the 10th inning and the Royals wound up losing; a recurring theme this season that Royals’ fans are far from used to.
The Emergence of Matt Strahm
The Bullpen Needs a Hero
Although the bullpen has been a complete let down this season, one man has begun to emerge as a beacon of hope among the disparity of relievers: Rookie Matt Strahm. Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals Manager Vance Wilson called the former Neosho County Community College pitcher to inform him to pack his bags because he was headed for Arlington, Texas to join the Kansas City Royals on July 31. The move was made after the Royals placed Wade Davis on the disabled list with forearm troubles. Strahm replaced starter Dillon Gee in the seventh inning of a 5-3 loss to Texas. In a 1/3 of an inning, he struck out one, walked one, gave up one hit and an earned run.
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