[Biggp07]

👑 Tuesday, May 13 • Game 2 👑

Royals drop a 2–1 grinder as runs stay scarce and margins turn razor-thin.

Milwaukee Brewers at Kansas City Royals | Kaufmann Stadium
Weather: Cloudy (61 degrees) | Wind: blowing out to left at 11 mph | Attendance: 21,741 | First pitch: 6:40 PM CT
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

Last night's finish helped. Not because it solved anything overnight, but because it proved we can land the plane when the game gets tight, and the crowd starts leaning forward. I've been playing bullpen whack-a-mole trying to line up the right mix, and I'm still not pretending it's settled. Jalen Beeks didn't live in the zone the way I want, but he kept damage down, and that's why I'm staying patient with the decision to bring him back. The numbers aren't pretty yet, and the role only holds if the trend changes.

From the GM side, the early-warning lights are on: we've drifted into the bottom third in bullpen ERA and strikeouts since the April recap—4.84 (12th) and 315 K (t-11th). Not panic. But it's on the daily watchlist, because a bullpen can turn a season into a staircase… or a slide.

Milwaukee Brewers Series Snapshot

Milwaukee's playing confident baseball—clean pressure, tight relief work, and they don't need a five-hit inning to hurt you. They'll wait you out, steal a base if you blink, and then cash in on the one pitch you don't execute. Tonight was a classic test of patience: stay connected, avoid the crooked number, and keep the game in a one-swing state as long as possible.

Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• RHP Zach Eflin vs RHP Jacob Misiorowski

This one read like a chess match. Eflin's mission was simple: get ahead, keep the ball off the barrel, and let the defense work. Misiorowski has the kind of power stuff that turns good swings into can-of-corn flyouts if you're late—so our side needed stubborn at-bats, not quick outs that feed his rhythm.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. Brewers (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st — Feeling each other out (0–0)
Eflin came out crisp—three quick outs, all on the ground. That's the tone I wanted: no free bases, no “ducks on the pond.” Our first look at Misiorowski was loud contact but wrong angles—Garcia, Pasquantino, and Witt all put air under it, but nothing fell.

2nd — First real traffic, no damage (0–0)
Quero singled, but Eflin stayed in control and finished the inning clean. Bottom half, we didn't build anything—Misiorowski kept stacking strikes, and the at-bats started to feel like we were hitting his pitch instead of ours.

3rd–4th — Two offenses stuck in neutral (0–0)
Renfroe worked a walk in the third, and we couldn't move him. In the fourth, Bell reached on an error, but Eflin erased the threat. It was one of those nights where every baserunner felt like a minor victory—and every stranded runner felt like a missed opportunity you'd pay for later.

5th — Rain, stoppage, reset button (0–0)
The game hit a 43-minute rain delay in the fifth. I used it to reset the room: this was still a 0–0 ballgame, and that meant we were one clean inning away from flipping the whole night.

6th — We finally crack it (KC 1, MIL 0)
This was our best baseball of the night because it wasn't fancy—it was pressure. Maikel Garcia legged out an infield hit. Then Vinnie Pasquantino roped a double into the gap, and Garcia scored from third with no throw. That's Royals baseball when it's right: speed, awareness, and taking the run before anyone can stop it. Eflin gave us six strong innings with two hits allowed and zero runs, and I felt the game leaning our way if we could just land the last nine outs.

7th — Hand it to the bullpen, hold the line (KC 1, MIL 0)
We went to the pen and asked for clean execution. Ferguson came on and did what you want in the seventh—kept the inning quiet, no panic pitches. Offensively, we didn't add on, and that left the door cracked.

8th — One mistake, one swing, and it turns (MIL 2, KC 1)
This is where the game broke. Hoskins singled with two outs, and then Jackson Chourio caught one and hit a two-run homer—431 feet, straight into the part of the night where you feel the stadium go silent for a half-beat before the visiting dugout erupts. It was his only hit, but it was the one that mattered.

Bottom eight, we got the lifeline we needed: Isbel reached on an error, then stole second—exactly the kind of spark you want. But Misiorowski’s exit gave way to their relief sequence, and we couldn't find the tying knock. Mann froze for strike three, and Garcia hit one hard to right that died in a glove.

9th — Last chance, no opening (MIL 2, KC 1)
We faced Devin Williams and needed one clean swing. Pasquantino lined out, Witt rolled one over, and Salvy struck out. Three outs, and the game was gone.
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Final

Royals 1, Brewers 2
Royals (2 H, 1 E) | Brewers (5 H, 1 E)

Eflin gave us a winning start: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R. The difference was the eighth—Ferguson took the loss on the two-run homer.

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher               Dec                     IP   H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
Z. Eflin                                     6.0   2    0    0    1    5    0    81   1.64
C. Ferguson        L (0-1), BS (1)           3.0   3    2    2    0    2    1    36   4.05

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

Manager lens: this one is frustrating because it was our kind of game for seven innings. We got a run the hard way, Eflin was sharp, and we were one clean inning away from letting the bullpen walk it home. But the eighth inning is the reminder: when you're protecting a one-run lead, you can't miss over the plate—especially with two outs and a runner on. Chourio didn't need a second invitation. Offensively, two hits isn’t going to win many nights, even with elite pitching. Misiorowski punched out seven, and we never sustained pressure. If we want to beat a club like Milwaukee consistently, we need more innings where we make their starter work—extend counts, take the walk when it’s there, and force the defense to make plays.

GM lens: the bullpen note stays on the board. We're not spiraling, but the trend line matters, and tonight was a clean example of how thin the margin is when you're living in one-run games. We'll keep evaluating lanes, roles, and who's best suited for which pockets of the lineup. That's not a dramatic overhaul—just disciplined roster management while the schedule keeps squeezing.

Around the League

Toronto had no answer for Aaron Nola—Philadelphia blanked them 9–0, and Nola finished the shutout with eight strikeouts while the home crowd gave him a standing ovation. It’s a good reminder for our hitters: when a guy like that is dealing, you either grind for the one crack in the wall… or you spend the night staring at it.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 37



(OOTP25 Royals Journey — GM/Manager's Dual Log)