Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Ervin Santana showed Friday night why he continues to become one of the better pitchers for the Kansas City Royals and why he is going to stay that way for years to come.
He’s not young by MLB standards when you consider that he’s 30-years old. But he keeps throwing outstanding games where he’s showing he’s on the verge of becoming a consistently dominating pitcher.
He allowed only two hits in the 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers that has arguably the best hitting lineup in the American League. The Tigers did hit some long shots off Santana, but to his credit, he was able to keep the ball inside the park and let his defense make some great plays.
His command of his pitches with six strikeouts and ability to avoid walks, which only totaled one, show how effective Santana can be when he’s on his game.
But before one forgets, he did have a rough outing against the New York Yankees in his previous start and hasn’t won a game since July 6. One of the problems remains the lack of run support he’s gotten from the Royals.
It’s not like the run support Santana got on Friday was all that spectacular in the one-run victory. However, pitchers who can pick up a 1-0 win will usually get rewarded by more run support in later games.
This season, Santana’s ERA is 3.18. His career ERA is 4.24. He’s as effective as he ever was in his career. The Royal coaches have to work on Santana’s consistency and confidence to help him reach another level of effectiveness in his pitching career.
