Let’s see if this formula sounds familiar: mediocre starting pitching, excellent defense, enough timely offense to keep the line moving, and a killer bullpen anchored by Greg Holland led to the Kansas City Royals winning 4-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The year is not 2014, no. It is 2020, but tonight the Royals offered a pleasant throwback game for those choosing to watch baseball over Monday Night Football.
But let’s start at the beginning. Among the many, many consequences of COVID this season has been the mere existence of Carlos Hernandez at the Major League level. The 23-year-old had last pitched in A ball, down in Lexington.