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PHOTOS: More from the Astros-Royals Exhibition Game on Tuesday
José Altuve # 27 of the Houston Astros in action during an exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 21, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri.
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PHOTOS: More from the Astros-Royals Exhibition Game on Tuesday
José Altuve # 27 of the Houston Astros in action during an exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 21, 2020 in
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Photo: Jamie Squire, Getty Images
PHOTOS: More from the Astros-Royals Exhibition Game on Tuesday
José Altuve # 27 of the Houston Astros in action during an exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 21, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Less
PHOTOS: More from the Astros-Royals Exhibition Game on Tuesday
José Altuve # 27 of the Houston Astros in action during an exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 21, 2020 in
… plus
Photo: Jamie Squire, Getty Images
In the second inning of Tuesday’s exhibition game, the Astros’ José Altuve and Alex Bregman were hit by pitches in consecutive at-bats.
Silly people on social media, judge for yourself if that’s redundant, reacted as if the Royals, who lost 103 games last season, were somehow taking revenge on the Astros by pitching to them.
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That kind of unfounded speculation is likely to be a theme throughout this truncated 2020 season, as fans are angered by the Astros’ stealing sign scandal during the 2017 season.
In this case, it’s obvious that these punches were thrown as a result of an ineffective Jorge López, a Royals pitcher with 59 MLB appearances who had a 6.33 ERA last season and is trying to stay in the majors.
First, both at-bats came with the bases loaded.
Altuve was hit by a pitch with a full count, and the pitch barely deviated from Altuve’s forearm as he checked his swing. He was so close that Royals catcher Oscar Hernandez even seemed to question whether the ball actually hit the bat with plate umpire Todd Tichenor.
On Bregman’s at-bat, Lopez knocked him down with a 1-2 count before a breaking ball was released and he barely looked around Bregman’s belt to take home another run.
Both releases were clearly accidental and obvious to anyone watching the game. It may not be so obvious to those who only read social media posts or try to conjure theories just by looking at a box score.
In the fifth inning, George Springer was also inadvertently hit by a pitch to the elbow by Royals prospect Jackson Kowar.
Altuve was removed from the game in the fourth inning with a bruise on his left leg as he fell after crossing the plate and incidentally hitting Royals catcher Meibrys Valoria, causing him to trip and fall onto the grass behind the plate. Altuve got up on his own, but limped back to the shelter.
