MILWAUKEE, Wis. _ There was once a point early this season, before the Royals lost 19 games in April and well before they fell to 20 game outside of first place in the American League Central division, where starting pitcher Jakob Junis seemed he would be the brightest spot on the roster.
But the last two months, batters have caught on. After starting the season with a 2.02 ERA, Junis has pitched 692/3 innings and allowed 44 earned runs. More often than not, the runs have scored on bases-emptying blasts.
Just like they did on Tuesday, when the Royals lost 5-1 to the Brewers at Miller Park. Junis allowed five runs to score via home runs hit by Christian Yelich, Jesus Aguilar and Ryan Braun. He's allowed a major-leading 22 home runs this year.
Junis struck out five of the first 10 batters he faced and seven overall. But he labored from the second inning on. In the end, he allowed seven hits, three of which traveled a combined 1,185 feet and sent Bernie the Brewer down his left-field slide for each.
Junis was so bitten by the homer that when Hernan Perez, a 27-year-old utility player who has hit 63 home runs in his entire professional career, lofted a ball to center field, Junis stepped back off the mound to watch the trajectory. The fly ball died about 50 feet shy of the fence, yet the moment stood as a representation of the biggest challenge Junis has faced this year.
He has strikeout stuff and plays in the zone more often than not. Entering Tuesday's start, he ranked 14th among qualified starters with 51.5 percent of his pitches registering inside the strike zone. Among those in that group, which is led by the Braves' Brandon McCarthy (54.9 percent), were the Nationals' Max Scherzer and the Astros' Justin Verlander. Each has thrown 52.8 percent strikes and combined have struck out 297 batters.
But Junis, 25, is in the midst of his first full season as a major-league starter. As great as his slider is when it's effective, it still needs work.
That'll come with time.
And as the Royals, who dropped to 24-55, continue this rebuilding season, they will have plenty of that to go around.
