KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals pitcher Brady Singer bounced back from his demotion to the minors with a dominating performance that included a career-high nine strikeouts and a clear statement about his potential place among the organization’s young cadre of arms.
Singer tossed seven scoreless innings, allowed just four hits (all singles) and didn’t walk a soul Tuesday night as he led the Royals to a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox in the second game of their doubleheader in front of an announced 11,684 (plus 546 dogs) at Kauffman Stadium.
It was the Royals’ first game this season without star catcher Salvador Perez, who went on the 10-day injured list between games of the doubleheader.
Rookie catcher MJ Melendez smashed his first career home run in the second game, and his solo shot in the sixth inning provided the margin of victory.
Michael A. Taylor went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, while Emmanuel Rivera went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored.
Singer, the club’s top draft pick in 2018, became the Royals’ first right-hander with seven scoreless innings and nine strikeouts since Zack Greinke did it his Cy Young season of 2009.
The Royals added Singer to their roster as the 27th man for the day’s doubleheader. He’d made his previous three appearances in the minors for Triple-A Omaha.
The Royals optioned Singer to the minors on April 28 after he began this season in the bullpen and appeared in just three games (5 2/3 innings) since opening day.
