DETROIT — It’s impossible to miss the difference the prodigious bat of designated hitter/outfielder Jorge Soler made for the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
Even those blindingly bright LED lights in the outfield at Kauffman Stadium wouldn’t have been able to outshine the illumination provided by Soler’s final two at-bats as the Royals rallied before losing 8-7 to the Detroit Tigers on a walk-off single in the ninth.
The Royals’ offense stalled for more than a week. In the first eight games of their now nine-game losing streak, they were outscored 58-21 and scored an average of 2.3 runs per game. They didn’t score through the first seven innings on Tuesday night.
Then two swings from Soler produced six runs.
“That’s the hitter that we know he is,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “I know that’s been frustrating for him that we haven’t seen it often enough. He’s an impressive talent. I can’t believe that ball (in the ninth inning) didn’t get out, honestly. He did a great job of getting us back in that.”
The ball Matheny referenced was the hardest-hit of the night. Soler blasted a 97 mph fastball from Tigers reliever José Cisnero into center field with an exit velocity of 109.6 mph for a three-run double that tied the score 7-7.
That loud smash came one inning after he lit a fire under the Royals with a three-run homer to turn a 7-0 drubbing into a manageable deficit.
“Same approach as always,” Soler said with Royals assistant strength and conditioning coach/Latin American strength and conditioning coordinator Luis Perez interpreting. “You have to stay locked in and try to go make really good contact with the ball.”
Much like the Royals’ overall offensive production, Soler has struggled badly during the losing streak. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound slugger was 5 for 29 with four RBIs, two walks and 10 strikeouts during the first eight games of the slide.
Through the first 34 games of this season, Soler has slashed .200/.280/.374. An oblique injury curtailed his season last summer, but the Royals hoped to see more of the one-man offensive force Soler was in 2019.
In the last full MLB season, Soler led the American League with a franchise-record 48 home runs. He also slashed .265/.354/.569 with 117 RBIs and 95 runs scored that season.
Soler’s slow start combined with that of Hunter Dozier, who has a .151/.217/.368 slash line through 30 games, has hurt the Royals.
Soler acknowledged his recent struggles in his postgame comments on Tuesday, but said he’d been working really hard in the batting cage to make the needed adjustments to get on track. He has been focused on staying toward the middle of the field and “working with” his hands. He’s remained confident that if he’s able to put a good swing on the ball, then good things will happen.
“I’ve had a few days where I’ve felt pretty good about where my swing is at,” Soler said.
