Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Departed today due to the…
Losing in the final of Monday’s Home Run Derby seemingly hasn’t knocked Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. off course. After going 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs Friday in his first game since the All-Star break, Witt will look to stay hot Saturday night when host Kansas City continues a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox. Before the break, Witt was on fire. He hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games of the first half, going 21-for-48 (.438) with four homers, 10 RBIs and 12 runs during that span.
Then came the Home Run Derby, in which Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez went deep 14 times — one more than Witt in the final round.
Witt appeared in the All-Star Game the following night — a 5-3 American League victory — and struck out in his only at-bat. But Witt put together his seventh multi-hit performance in 12 games this month on Friday, leading the Royals to a 7-1 win over Chicago in the series opener.
“He’s a special player,” Kansas City left-hander and fellow AL All-Star Cole Ragans said of Witt. “He’s a superstar. He’s one of the faces of the game of baseball. … He just wants to win and play hard. And that’s what he does. “I think it rubs off on all of us.
That’s what makes him even more special.” Brady Singer (5-6, 3.20 ERA) wants Witt to continue to deliver at the plate Saturday, when the right-hander is scheduled to make his 20th start of the season. Singer was roughed up his last time out, taking a loss against the Boston Red Sox last Sunday after giving up four runs on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings. In 14 career appearances against the White Sox, Singer is 3-3 with a 4.00 ERA. Right-hander Jonathan Cannon (1-3, 4.41) will oppose Singer. He has faced Kansas City once, yielding one run and three hits in five innings while settling for a no-decision on April 17.
