Michael Lorenzen's Masterpiece | Kansas City Royals Podcast

Lorenzen it was a great night for Michael orenen at Kaufman stadium so let's dive into his start next on lock on Royals you are locked on Royals your daily Kansas City Royals podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day you are tuning to another edition of lockdown Royals and the lockdown podcast Network as always I'm your host Jack Johnson and you can find me on Twitter at Johnny j15 that's at jny j15 you also can catch us on wherever you get your podcast that can be Spotify Apple podcast Amazon music Google podcast we're on Odyssey and we're on YouTube just be sure to hit that follow button and subscribe if you're a first time listener and you want to know a little bit more about me and this show while I'm based here in Kansas City I work at sports r810 whb doing some hosting some co-hosting and some producing but when it comes to this podcast when you click on this link you know that you're going to be getting 30 straight minutes of Royals baseball Today's Show is brought to you by prize pick the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports so go to prize pick.com locked on MLB and use code all lowercase locked on MLB for a first deposit match of up to $100 again that's lowercase locked on MLB for a first deposit match of up to $100 well I was out at Kaufman Stadium tonight had the chance to see The Return of Johnny quo who we're going to talk about coming up in about 10 to 15 minutes or so but the star of the show uh the MVP of the night was Michael lenzen and his fourth start with Kansas City um didn't look that sharp through the first three Innings battled around a lot of uh base runners battled a little bit with his command was hit hard a little bit but after the third inning he was Nails he didn't have any more issues for the rest of that outing and the Royals offense didn't give him a giant cushion it's not like he was able to pitch with a 10-run lead like Michael wer did last Saturday against the Reds he had to be pretty sharp for the majority of his outing it really really wasn't until MJ Melendez gave him a solo home run off the foul pole which got people at the game free chicken or at least tomorrow I think the deal is you can get free chicken if you sto him the ticket don't really know how that works just yet but I know that it involves free chicken so good for MJ melindes and good for people uh that were going out there tonight to watch the Royals and their three to nothing win but I think you look at the addition of Michael Loren in in such a a strong light right now because as we brought up with Paul D young a few episodes ago when you have a rental it doesn't necessarily mean they have to be phenomenal for every single game every single start I think what you know Michael lenzen Lucas uring and Paul D young have given the Royals has been better than the front office could have even hoped for I mean they've been that good in a lot of different areas for the Royals but Michael lenzen I think is the the key piece to all of this because Lucas IG you know is is the closer of this team he's the fireman he's been maybe the best reliever over the last you know couple of weeks just based off of his his power his strikeout numbers his FIP his you know Chase percentage his whiff percentage his walk rate which he hasn't walked anybody yet in Royals uniform the amount of hits he gives up I mean yeah you can make a strong case right there Paul D young doesn't play every single day but when he is out there he gives the Royals an extra power bat in the middle of their lineup with Michael orenen the reason I say he's the quote unquote key piece to all of this is because he was able to give the Royals a slight upgrade in an area that maybe they weren't desperate for an upgrade for like everybody knew they needed a power arm in the back end of the bullpen and they have that in Lucas ersing everybody knew they they needed one more extra bat Off the Bench Paul D young gave them that but Michael orenen I think was that addition at the time of okay hopefully that works out but it's not really an area of need the Royals starting rotation had been its strongest attribute for the first 100 games of the season and Lorenzen being as good as he has been through these four starts just gives them more length and I think gives you an extra sense of confidence when he takes the ball right Alec Marsh was really starting to struggle before he had been demoted down to Omaha and you hope he comes back stronger than he was at the beginning of the year but Michael lenen working out so far has given the Royals the ability to take their time with Alec Marsh and then if Marsh comes back up and he is valuable in a more of a unique role it's all the better for Seth Lugo and Cole Reagan and mich a Waka guys that are coming up on a big inning uh workload and they need just maybe an extra day or two to get that rest and if the reason that this has been so valuable to the rotation is if Michael orenen wasn't working out let's say he had the the Trevor Cahill effect that the Royals had back in 2017 when they got a number four number five starter and Trevor Cahill was was awful every time he took the bump had eventually caught up to that team and they just withered away before the postseason that's why they didn't make it rotation wasn't good enough Bullpen got taxed and the offense just hit a rut late in the season but with Michael orenen giving the Royals in my opinion three really good starts or good enough starts over over the four it's given that sense of confidence of okay now that we feel good about him and if we bring Alec Marsh back up and he's better than he was before we demoted him now you have that six-man rotation potentially or if you use Alec Marsh out of you know a long relief roll in the bullpen that that's fine too but it allows you to feel more comfortable about giving that extra day to Seth Lugo or to Cole Reagan because if things were ugly if Michael lenzen had been shelled in these four outings well now you're going okay we gave up Walter Pennington who was a bullpen arm and we already demoted Alec Marsh did that do anything to his confidence so we don't really have a true number five starter okay I guess we'll try things again with Alec Marsh it just gets a little bit more complicated right there but the fact that he was an immediate upgrade he's pitched well and he's just giving them that extra inch that extra mile for this team to get to the postseason it's extraordinary you know I think with those rental deals know at times as I as I open up the show with you're just expecting them to be phenomenal right you you come in here you're not going to be on the team for long so you better be the best version of yourself I don't really view it that way you know if Michael orenen makes four or five more starts and two of them are pretty good or about you know as good as he was tonight Michael orenen was worth the deal because those five starts he gave you that were above average might have gotten you five more wins or four more wins because of the way that Alec Marsh was pitching and with Alec Marsh it was getting to a point where they couldn't trust him to take the ball every fifth day he had to go and and almost reinvent yourself a little bit down in Triple A and Michael lenzen stepping in and being really good and three of these four starts it's been great for the Royals just to add an extra win here and there because I've gone back to this quote that Vinnie pasquantino had I think it was last week or two weeks ago just about stacking wins you know we're not focused on this team or that team or a wild card lead or a central you know deficit it's just about stacking wins and Michael lenon has allowed them to stack a couple of wins because of some good outings that's why to me he is that key piece and what they brought in at the trade deadline like Lucas IG is the the headliner he has been what everybody's talking about Paul D young has had his moments um I wouldn't say Paul D young has W them a game actually I could make a case for that that uh series finale in Minnesota when he almost hit for the cycle I'll give that to Paul D young I think he was the reason they won that game so there's another one you tack on Lucas urich's won them a couple of games so you you have different guys that contribute in different ways but for a starter being a fifth starter like Michael lenzen is you know he's able to give the Royals that extra boost his erra is under two since joining Kansas City even though it's four starts and even though he's only going to make four or five more assuming he stays healthy if you're good in five of those nine starts or six of those nine starts that's incredibly valuable you know for what they gave up what they needed from Lorenzen at that time I mean tonight is probably as good as Michael Lorenzen can get and that seven shutout innings yes against a bad lineup but I thought he was really good against Cincinnati last time out before tonight in a hitter's ballpark that's why I just think he's bringing that extra extra value to the rotation because the Royals are going to have to navigate that rotation in September you know is Seth Lugo gonna be running out of gas is Cole Reagan's running out of gas is Michael Walker gonna be running out of gas what's Brady singer going to look like late in September just having an extra guy you can rely on that has worked out that you made a move for it gives you such a sense of relief and I talked to Michael lenen tonight in the locker room or in the clubhouse excuse me about you know playing for this defense and he says that know defense is incredibly undervalued in baseball and you know to come over here he's just loving pitching to a defense like that and who wouldn't the Royals have one of the best defenses in all baseball they've got the best defensive shortstop they've got an elite defensive third baseman they have Elite defensive center fielder some premium value positions and they excel at those positions defensively and when you got a guy like Michael Waka who can pitch to a bit of contact you're gonna have outings like tonight so that was was great to see Michael orenen right now was looking like one hell of a pickup by the Royals front office and considering they gave up you know uh a longtime minor leager and Walter Pennington who definitely deserved a shot in Kansas City but they got Michael lenzen in return and I don't think anybody's really thinking about Walter Pennington anymore especially after tonight with how good Lorenzen was in seven shutout Innings against the Los Angeles Angels we're gonna take our first break of the show when we come back such a cool night such a cool scene for Johnny quo uh who made not his first return since 2015 but I think a more memorable return for him in facing this playoff fighting Royals team I guess we can call fighting for a playoff spot is what we'll say with this Royals team but I think far more of a memorable night for him and I'm going to tell you what it was like to be there in person coming up on lockon Royals you are tuning to lockon Royals on the lockdown podcast Network I'm your host Jack Johnson and Cueto you can find me on Twitter X Johnny j15 want to give a shout out to our first sponsor in eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance supercharg roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because of the eBay Motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need the prices you want it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your Rider ey live at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply an eBay guaranteed fit is only available to us customers well as I mentioned to kick off the show I was there tonight at Kaufman Stadium back toback nights for me at the K and tonight was far more memorable than what Tuesday night had Tuesday night was ugly the the pitching wasn't that great it was a a rough outing for Cole Reagan the offense really didn't get going till late and they lose nine to5 it happens it's baseball we dove into that um I believe actually we did our episode before yesterday's game so we didn't really dive into it and I teased that we were going to dive into it but after work went a little bit long today I thought that I would just have time to recap whatever happened tonight and put this series in kind of a nutshell if you will but tonight was far more memorable just because of the way Michael orenen looked the way Lucas ersa looked out of the bullpen MJ Melendez homered and what Johnny quo did on the bump and how Royals fans treated him in another return to Coffman stadium so if you weren't familiar Johnny quo had returned to cman Stadium uh post 2015 in fact it was 2022 he was a member of the White Sox had a really good year I might add and he got knocked around by a bad Royals team so I'm sure that night to him wasn't as memorable uh he wasn't that great and it was a bad Royals team quite the opposite tonight even though it was just over 13,000 at Kaufman Stadium he goes out there making his season debut at the big league level there was probably a point in time early this year where he didn't know if he'd get back to the big leagues and the angels gave him a shot I'm glad they gave him a shot I glad that they uh they gave him an opportunity against his former team a team that he won a World Series with and you know I think if you were a Royals fan but also a Johnny quo fan tonight went about his perfect as it could have gone the Royals won that makes you happy and Johnny quo pitched well makes you happy as well and I'm one of those guys that was in that boat I I don't want to say that I wanted to put it up the chance of I didn't go in saying well I hope Johnny quo shoves but the Royals win one to nothing I don't think I wanted to leave it up to that type of uh Gamble late in the late in the game even though Lucas IG would have been available I don't think I would have you know trusted this team that late in the sixth or the seventh inning if they were only up one to nothing I thought three to nothing was just perfect and that's why I would say you know tonight was as good as it could have been with with Johnny quo making that return he might get a couple more starts with the angels who knows what they're going to do with his spot in the rotation but I think he earned it tonight he was very efficient it reminded me at times of 2015 with how quickly he could work you know just pitching to contact using a defense and and the K gave him a standing ovation when he was pulled off the mouth and he was smiling and he he tipped his hat and the cool part about it is that and it's not just Kansas City it's everywhere that if you win a World Series with somebody really doesn't matter you know what your impact was a matter that you were one of the 25 or 26 or 27 players you know I think the Royals would have you know given somebody like Chris Medlin if he had a start or had an opportunity like Johnny quo did tonight and he walked off the mound I think Royals fans would show him some love maybe the standing ovation wouldn't have been as loud because Johnny quo was an instrumental part so maybe that goes against what I'm saying but I think that's the beauty of baseball is that fans they'll cherish you forever and Johnny quo was here for such a short time and really numbers-wise wasn't that great in the regular season got knocked around a few times in the postseason but when it mattered an elimination game against the Astros he delivered in game two of the World Series he delivered and it almost made me shudder a little bit uh when I tweeted out a picture at the game tonight to to kick off the game if you will and it's been over 3,200 days since his last start in Royals uniform it was at Kaufman Stadium he pitched a complete game against the Mets in game two just to kind of shows you how time flies and I thought what I was able to cherish tonight because I was a big Johnny quo fan even before he was in Kansas City I don't think after 2020 I thought that I would see Johnny quo pitch in person again I wasn't there at that 2022 game and I was kind of upset that I didn't get that opportunity because I always wanted to make sure to go to those games where a 2015 or 2014 player had returned because you just got to watch the Royals but also appreciate somebody that was so impactful to the organization Johnny qua was one of those guys and I didn't know if right off the bat you know the Royals were going to play a montage or if he was going to get a standing ovation when the starting lineups were announced wasn't really Ovation there were a couple loud cheers or some claps here and there but there wasn't a big enough crowd for it really to be that noticeable but when he left the mound I think that was a really cool moment for him for Royals fans the fact they were winning I mean it went perfect for me uh the Royals won the game it really was never close but Johnny quo pitched well enough because I think a part of me would have died a little bit if Johnny quo gave up nine and two innings know just got absolutely beaten around because that might have been his last outing of his big league career if it went that way I do believe tonight was the last time I will be able to see Johnny quo pitch in person I hope I'm wrong I hope there is a a world in which Johnny quo makes his way back around to a playoff team I don't see that happening next year because I don't know if he would make a team out of camp but really this late in the season you know to get this opportunity I don't think it helps the Angels organization because he's a 38y old and he's likely not going to be there next year but for a baseball fan it was pretty awesome to see a guy who hadn't pitched in The Bigs this year he's nearing his age 40 season he's 38 now and he still can pitch a quality start out there against a good team a team that's fighting for a playoff spot or has one now but fighting to keep it and if this was uh a Johnny quo start for a a playoff bound team or a division leading team I think it would have made things better the fact the angels are completely out of it takes a little bit of the the juice behind this start but still I think it was great to see and to see him get that Ovation that's what makes baseball great and and it at times it makes you a little bit sad how many players from that 2015 Squad are now out of baseball and we know that you know salvi is going to be the last one remaining of that 2015 Squad and I can't believe that Johnny quo was kind of one of those guys to make a comeback and and get back into a big league game but good for him I hope he stays in that rotation to to close out the season I hope he pitches well enough that somebody takes notice and gives him a one-year deal for next year but he's got a pitch just as well as he did tonight and I thought he was efficient he still was doing the the Shimmy Shake and all that and had some good movement on some pitches he was sitting in the low 90s mainly just 90 miles an hour sometimes low 90s can be defined as 93 uh wasn't quite getting to there it was about 89 90 and 91 but still had some good pitches struck out a few and uh got a big double play balll uh early on that could have led to a bad inning and only one inning slipped away from him it was the this the uh third inning I believe it was might have been the second inning actually I think about it Kyle wizell had the two-run double but then he was able to dance out of it and through six and a third tonight could have gone a little bit more but Ron Washington pulled him and you know that's a quality start for a 38-year-old making his season debut at the big league level had pitched in the minor leagues had pitched somewhat well for the triaa team uh in the Angels organization but he got to make his season debut at Coffman Stadium a place that he won over the hearts of Royals fans and he'll forever uh be remembered as one of those instrumental parts of the World Series championship team I don't know I don't know if he could have one of those contracts of of retiring a royal though he's probably better retiring as a red because that's what a lot of people remember him as but I know Royals fans Embrace him just as much because when you win a World Series and you're one of those guys you are forever going to be immortalized in that organization okay we're going to take our final break of the show before we do that thank you for making locked on Royals your first listen today for your second listen enjoy the locked on MLB podcast where host Pat Sullivan AKA soy is there daily to provide National expertise with his trademark humor to help you get ready for the MLB playoffs here in the dog days of summer prepare for the fall classic wh soy who has it all covered every single day on lock on MLB available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day when we come back the Royals have their final Gauntlet of the year it is going to define whether they are a playoff team or they'll be watching other teams in the playoffs come October let's dive into that next on lockon Royals you are Gauntlet Part 2 tuning to lockon Royals in the locked on podcast Network I am your host Jack Johnson and you can find me on Twitter Rex at Johnny j15 want to give a shout out to our title sponsor in prize picks it's America's number 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MLB for a first deposit match of up to $100 that's code locked on MLB on prize picks for a deposit match of up to $100 prize picks run your game well we're going to close out this episode with quite a bang um because this is a segment that is supposed to make you feel fired up make you want to run through a wall because this 20 game stretch The Royals are to embark on is going to tell us if they're a playoff team or not I can be as blunt as possible here this 20 game stretch will either have the Royals on the other side battered and bloody limping toward the very end of the season or barreling through it with their chest puffed out and really kind of giving the double Birds to all the other people in teams that doubted them this is that stretch remember the gauntlet that we talked about at the end of I think it was May if I'm not mistaken I think it was the end of May where the Royals had still in my opinion the toughest stretch that they were going to have all season long so that came on yes it was the very end of May it began on the 27th which I think was Memorial day if I'm not mistaken so they had Minnesota for four San Diego for three Cleveland for two because of the rain out which will be made up on Mondays a part of a double header at Progressive Field they had the Mariners for three the Yankees for four and the Dodgers for three that was also a gauntlet that the Royals very much limped out of and they did lose some ground and uh lost their cushion in the Wild Card race it really buried them in the central race at the time but they were able to respond now they didn't respond immediately they' only take one of three from Oakland they got swept by the rangers they kind of reached that boiling point in the series finale against Miami because they had blown a game in game two of that Series against the Marlins and that game on June 26 when they had that five run rally with two outs and nobody on in the eighth that's what gave them the confidence again because they took three of four from Cleveland uh they did only take one from Tampa Bay but that was a competitive series Colorado they kind of limped out of two so it wasn't instantaneous but I did think that that one game in Miami that series finale propelled them a little bit because then they had that double header sweep against the Cardinals then right out of the All-Star break they swept the white socks I mean it has been a a uh a time you look back on in this season because I believed at that point in time it was it was really good to test the Royals and it was early on enough where they needed to prove themselves to a lot of people out there I think they needed to prove it to themselves a little bit of look we've beaten up on some bad teams but now we're going to get tested how do we Stack Up And even though they lost a couple of series I thought they hung in there with a lot of really good teams really the the Yankees were the only team in that first Gauntlet that beat them up badly they hung with the Dodgers right they hung with Cleveland they hung with San Diego uh they had somewhat hung with Minnesota fought hard at the tail end of a lot of those games even though it was a series loss this time around with a three and a half game cushion in the Wild Card they're two and a half games out of first place they're going to get the Phillies who have been struggling in the second half but still a first place team in the National League East they're going to get Cleveland for four on the road to open up next week and then they're going to have Houston for four over the weekend so that week alone feels like it could be the test of the gauntlet then they come back home for Cleveland and Minnesota a chance to gain some ground in the central or build that wild card cushion and then they'll wrap up the gauntlet in the Bronx against the New York Yankees they'll have an off day on September 12th and that to me will be the day we'll know that to me even though there would be one two 3 four five six seven eight nine 15 games left in the season so we would be at game 147 that day September 12th we're going to know if if this Royals team is going to be in October they likely won't have mathematically clinched a birth even if they play well in this Gauntlet but I think we're going to know depending on how well they play and I look at this stretch of games you got Philly for three then of course those eight games against Cleveland and Houston there's 11 14 after that Series in Cleveland three more against Minnesota 20 games flat so 20 games flat the s find a way to go 10 and 10 you know I I would be able to stomach 8 and 12 if it also meant Boston wasn't playing well but I'm not going to bank on that now if you're 10 and 10 I think you still hold a playoff spot it and feel all right with it that's just setting the bar kind of low but a part of this segment is to make you want to run through a wall this to me is going to be the absolute best possible test for this team and even if they things are not going well this is everything you dream of with a team that is overe exceeding expectations and are fighting to keep their playoff spot you want them playing against division Rivals you want them going to New York going to Houston and having those games be tight all the way until the ninth inning no the adrenaline rush to be able to have the the air fist pumps after games in which they close things out or a big home run late that's what these next 20 games are going to be all about it is going to be that exhibition if you will for the postseason the nerves you're going to feel and though exhibition is maybe not the best word to use because these games are non exhibitions they matter and they matter more than they have all season long Like You could argue these are the most important 20 games the Royals have had all season you take any sort of 20 game stretch this year of them will be as important as this one even when it's done I'm not looking at those 15 games even if they need to win six of them to mathematically clinch a playoff spot those 20 games are going to be what I go back to they make it or they don't those 20 games are what I'm looking at that's going to be the end all be this will be the defining stretch for the 2024 Royals if they were built to go to the postseason this is something they have to survive and I'm sure they're telling themselves we not only want to survive it we want to come out on the other end feeling better about ourselves more confident we don't want to go just 10 and 10 we want to go 12 and eight we want to go 14- six we're setting that level of expectation and it's not going to shock me with how confident this group is how unfazed they are by you know scary teams big names coming in you know you could have the argument well they don't play well against good teams they have bad records against playoff teams that's not really what I'm getting at I I don't think I've ever seen this Royals team look at a good team and look like a deer in the headlights look terrified look completely rattled by who they were facing they may not match up all that well talent-wise but they're not scared of them they're not scared of Philadelphia they're not scared of Cleveland they're not scared of Houston I don't think they're scared of anybody they might not match up well with them but they go into every single one of these games feeling like they're the better team and they can beat him and that's what you want from a group that has already done what a lot of people thought would be impossible that they are going to get September and September's going to matter they're going to get to that point in the year and those final games are going to matter for the first time in nearly a decade even in 2017 it it wasn't it wasn't like this they were scrambling scratching and clawing to even stay afloat this is where you can really cement yourself as a playoff team going to be a lot of fun series there's going to be be opportunities to not only make the playoffs but maybe get to first in the division this will be one of the most exciting 20 game stretches that we have seen in Kansas City since 2015 I would argue this is the most exciting 20 game stretch Royals baseball has had since 2015 should be a lot of fun it begins on Friday after the off day the Philadelphia Phillies come to town hopefully some big crowds this weekend at Kaufman Stadium what's going to do it for another edition of lockdown Royals in the lockdown podcast Network I've been your host Jack Johnson thank you for making locked on Royals your first listen today now go check out the locked on MLB podcast prepare for the fall classic with suy who has it all covered every single day you can find the link to locked onl in the description so you don't need to search part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day when we have our show tomorrow I promise that what I tease in this episode is going to actually happen I want to talk a little bit more about Lucas IG and his dominance we'll preview that Series against the Philadelphia Phillies and also another guy in that Bullpen that I think can be a Difference Maker that's all coming up tomorrow on lockon Royals but until then you take it easy Kansas City