Hoping Jonathan India is okay.
The Royals react to Jonathan India getting hit in the head by a pitch in the ninth inning on Sunday.
“My view of it was, I watched him get hit in the (expletive) face,” Pasquantino said. “And I’m still kind of collecting my thoughts on it. But (Clase) threw a pitch that he doesn’t ever throw, the pitch before which was a four-seam fastball. It was his first one of the year. Then, the next pitch, you are trying to come back up and in with the next pitch.”
Pasquantino understood the analytics behind the pitch sequence and made it clear that he didn’t feel there was any intent behind Clase’s plunking of India.
Update on Jonathan India: #Royals “believe it’s non-concussive, but we’re waiting on some imaging and he will be evaluated further over the next few days,” according to team spokesperson.
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) March 30, 2025
Emmanuel Clase says the pitch was not intentional.
It was 45 degrees at first pitch on Sunday, which affected Clase’s ability to grip the baseball.
“I [texted Perez], ‘Please just check on him and say that it wasn’t intentional,’” Clase said through interpreter Nelson Pérez, the Guardians strength and conditioning coach. “It was just a pitch that slipped out of my hands.’”
Maddie Hartley at the Star writes about the tough start by Royals starting pitchers.
“It was a struggle for him,” manager Matt Quatraro said of Wacha’s outing. “Relatively easy first (inning), then his pitch count got real high in the second. Just seemed like he couldn’t quite get that outside corner that he was going for.
“They were patient, they made him work,” Quatraro added of Cleveland’s lineup. “He kept it at one run, which was impressive with all the base runners. But at the same time, that was close to 90 pitches in four innings.”
Anne Rogers writes that offensive issues remain.
“We’ve got to do a better job offensively, of taking advantage of situations when they come, making sure we get guys in from third base, second base,” Pasquantino said.
India talks to Jaylon Thompson about adjusting to Kauffman Stadium.
“It’s a big park,” India said. “They told me, when in doubt, turn around and run hard. You never know, the ball could go over your head. I just don’t put too much pressure on myself out there and just try to enjoy it.”
Thompson also writes about improvement in Maikel Garcia’s swing.
Garcia focused on his timing at the plate this past offseason. He also added a small toe-tap and concentrated on remaining balanced through his swing motion. All three elements of Garcia’s offseason swing-work were on display as he crushed an inside sweeper from Guardians reliever Paul Sewald.
“It feels great when you hit a homer to help the team win or to tie the game,” Garcia said.
Vahe Gregorian talks to Matt Quatraro about using the bench
It’s not only a way to best apply data with matchups and such but also a matter of engagement and morale. “I have a belief that these guys are all major league players and they deserve to play, right?” he said when I asked about that approach at the Royals Rally in February.
“And if you want somebody that’s on your bench to be productive, when you go in there and they’ve been sitting for two-plus weeks, that’s not putting your players in the best position to succeed.
“And the other thing is, with the evolution of analytics and understanding why certain guys match up better than others, that is putting your players in the best position to succeed.”
Craig Brown liked what he saw out of Garcia’s swing but wants to see more.
We’ve been over this before: For Garcia to realize his full potential, he has to hit the ball in the air. And when he hits the ball in the air, he has to pull it. Last year, Garcia put it on the ground nearly 50 percent of the time. Far, far too high. He hit a fly ball around 20 percent of the time. Far, far too low. And when Garcia hit the ball in the air, he rarely pulled it. Of the balls put in play off his bat in 2024, just 10.8 percent were pulled in the air.
Recall last year that Garcia launched three home runs in the first six games of the season (two to the pull field and one the opposite way). I raved about what looked to be a new approach where he would increase his average launch angle and put the ball more in the air. That…did not stick.
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