Win costly for Royals
With the Royals currently sitting at 52-45 and in third place in the Central division, the team will need a lot of good luck to end the season on a high note. At the moment they are 13.0 games behind baseball's best team Detroit Tigers(65-32) and 5.5 games back from the Wild Card spot that is held by the White Sox.
The Royals have been able to squash the injury bug most of the season but they stung twice this past evening. The first player to go down with an injury was starting left fielder
Larry Bigbie. Bigbie made a spectacular diving catch on a
Dave Kelton fly ball at the warning track but it was costly. He sat up in obvious pain and was taken out. Its not that serious of an injury but the strained rib cage should keep Bigbie on the bench the next few days.
Bigbie has struggled a bit here of late with his power but for the year he sits at .297/.341/.448 with nine home runs and 48 RBI's. Maybe this small break Bigbie will be able to get some rest and get his swing back in order. The Royals really need his power at the bottom of the lineup to return. His last home run was on July 2 against the White Sox.
And unfortunately the second player to be lost to an injury was starting pitcher
Paul Valtierra. After getting the Twins
J.J. Davis to pop up to first base, he grabbed his arm and called over the training staff. They tried to keep him out there, but he was removed after going 5 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and having one earned run.
Valtierra's injury came back a little more serious than Bigbie's did. The Royals will be out of his services for the next two weeks while he recovers from a strained bicep muscle. Valtierra has pitched well in his rookie season and currently sits at 7-5 with a 3.91 ERA. Hopefully he will only miss two starts but there is a small chance he might miss three.
So with the injury bug in full effect in the Royal's clubhouse, lets just hope they can avoid anymore injuries and make a serious run for the playoffs. We all know the fans want it! And with the trading deadline coming in four days, it appears the Royals will be sitting tight but we will just have to wait and see. Lets go Royals!!