Everything was going so well. The Royals staged a comeback, Whit Merrifield set a record, and an eight-game losing streak was all set to end. Of course, it was far too good to be true. Because then the bullpen happened.
As Kyle Zimmer sits in Omaha because there is no room in this bullpen for him, Brad Boxberger went out there and did his thing, surrendering a game-deciding homer in the ninth inning. I mean, you can’t really blame Ned for not trusting Boxberger here. After all, his ERA entering the night was only 8.32! Surely he could handle the top of the best offense in baseball’s order!