Kuroda’s Dominant Start Wasted As Yanks Fall To Royals

Jun 8, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda (18) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The struggling offense has been a hot topic the last few weeks with the Yankees, and today was another day that they proved why. In a pitcher’s duel between Yankees’ starter Hiroki Kuroda and Royals starter James Shields, Shields won the stiff competition, as the Yankees had trouble pushing runs across the board as they fell to the Royals, 2-1.

The Yankees had plenty of opportunities to score plenty of runs throughout the game. In the second inning, they had the bases loaded with nobody out, and failed to push just one run across. They also had a couple more innings with runners in scoring position, all of which went to waste. A run was finally scored in the 6th inning when Yangervis Solarte scored on an RBI ground out from Ichiro Suzuki. However, that was all they would get. The Yankees went 1-for-17 with RISP, continuing to not get the job done.

Kuroda however gave them another spectacular performance. He went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and walking two with five strikeouts. Kuroda even retired the last 11 batters he faced. The damage was done in the second inning when he served a two out single to Salvador Perez, followed by an RBI double to Lorenzo Cain making the score 1-0 Royals. Kuroda would then give up another single to Mike Moustakas, which scored Cain. Other than that, Kuroda pitched a gem and gave his team an opportunity to win. He has struggled with receiving run support, and that same problem resurfaced today.

On the opposing side, Shields pitched a beauty as well. He went six innings, giving up one run on six hits and walking two with eight strikeouts. Shields’ pitch count was already extremely high in the second inning, but made it through each inning to give his team a quality start. He also had the help from his defense, as shortstop Alcides Escobar made two great plays in the field.

The Yankees are looking for a win tomorrow to split the series, as they hand off the ball to Vidal Nuno.