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Carter Jensen explodes but Royals pitching implodes as Seattle wins 12-5

Michael Wacha hit the very first batter of the game. This was an omen, as it would portend a very poor night from Royals pitching. Wacha and Daniel Lynch IV gave up a very efficient 10 runs in four innings, which proved too great a hole for the Kansas City Royals to climb out of. Jonathan Bowlan allowed another pair in the ninth inning, but by that point the damage was already done.

That’s not to say that the Royals didn’t try to come back. Carter Jensen had one of the most impressive games from a rookie that you’ll see, well, ever. In the Minor Leagues, Jensen’s offensive calling card was an impressive swing that generated massive power. Tonight, Jensen crushed balls with exit velocities of 103.4 MPH, 110.8 MPH, and 111.3 MPH, showing that, yeah, that swing will play in the big leagues.

Let’s start with the lowest exit velo, because that was the biggest hit of them all (and arguably the most impressive): Jensen’s first big league home run. Carter drove a middle-middle fastball to the opposite field, where it landed just beyond the left field fence by the foul pole.

Two innings later, Jensen pulled a ball down and in–off the plate, even–and kept his hands close enough to his body to keep it fair. He deposited just beyond the right field fence by the foul pole.

Then, two innings later, Jensen pulled a slider that hung just a little too much to the deepest part of right-center field. It was a missile that would have been out of 10 parks in the league.

Jensen’s bestie, Jac Caglianone, didn’t end up with a gaudy stat line, but he also showed some impressive batted balls. Cags demolished a baseball at 101.9 MPH that would have been a home run in 25 ball parks and notched a ground ball single at 101.8 MPH.

Meanwhile, the Mariners were also smashing giant dongs. Cal Raleigh, who Google serves up as the result when you search “Big Dumper,” hit a pair of homers to surpass Mickey Mantle for most home runs in a single season by a switch hitter and to tie Ken Griffey Jr. for most home runs hit in a single season by a Mariner. More Mariners hit the ball hard, too. It was a big night for the sound of the crack of the bat.

Jensen’s vendetta against baseballs tonight is in some ways a frustrating one, though. Jensen only had 13 plate appearances through the first 11 games of September, a period of time that saw Kansas City fail to score more than two runs on seven occasions. It was clear that the Royals needed somebody who could, you know, hit line drives at 100 MPH for extra bases instead of the collection of light-hitting utility players and veterans that they’ve used instead. But that’s not what happened.

In any case, the Royals are now down to 75-76 and face an uphill battle to even get to .500 on the year. Meanwhile, the Mariners have won 10 consecutive games, which, good for them.