Brady Singer’s final line in Royals loss had been matched just 3 times in MLB history

Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer struck out five in the first two innings of Friday night’s game against Atlanta at Kauffman Stadium.

Unfortunately for Singer, he faced 15 batters in that span.

The Braves pounded out nine hits, including three home runs, and scored seven times in the first two frames. From there, Atlanta cruised to a 10-3 victory.

“The top of the order, those guys are star-power, proven major league hitters,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I didn’t see where those pitches were, but I’m gonna assume that when he got ahead those pitches had a lot of the plate. And most of them were down in the zone and they’re pretty good low-ball hitters.”

Singer confirmed Quatraro’s suspicion.

“I made some really bad pitches,” Singer said. “It kind of boils down to leaving a lot of pitches middle of the plate there and obviously they did a lot of damage.”

It was a feast-or-famine night for the Braves batters. In those first two innings, every ball put in play had an exit velocity of at least 98.7 mph when they didn’t strike out.

Singer’s final line in five innings — eight runs and four home runs allowed with eight strikeouts — was a rarity in Major League Baseball history. According to research by Craig Brown of the Into The Fountains Substack, it had happened just three times before Friday night.

The others to do it were Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo against St. Louis (Sept. 1, 2011), the Angels’ Mike Witt against Cleveland (Oct. 4, 1987) and Oakland’s Mike Norris against Milwaukee (Sept. 26, 1980).

The “softest” exit velocity for the Braves hitters in Singer’s five innings of work was Eddie Rosario’s 91.1 mph fly ball to right field. Nine balls put in play had an exit velocity of more than 100 mph.

But on the plus side, eight Braves batters took a seat after striking out.

“Later on in the game there I started to make some better pitches,” Singer said, “and the strikeouts just came.”

Here’s a look back at Friday’s game...

Significant moment

The Royals (4-10) trailed 8-2 in the fifth inning but loaded the bases with one out. Kyle Isbel was then hit by a pitch, scoring a run. Edward Olivares stepped to the plate with a chance to put a dent in the deficit.

Instead he grounded sharply to Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley, who started a 5-3 double play that ended the threat.

Acuña’s bomb

After the Royals’ rally fizzled, Braves superstar Ronald Acuña blasted a 438-foot, two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning that made it 10-3.

Acuña drew some boos for his home run trot.

Witt stays hot

Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had his second straight three-hit game on Friday, and he’s batting .529 (9 for 17) in the Royals’ last four games.

“I think just anytime the more games you play, you get comfortable each and every day,” Witt said. “So just kind of trying to get better day by day.”

What’s next: The Royals will face Atlanta two more times. Kris Bubic gets the start Saturday, facing Bryce Elder. On Sunday, Zack Greinke starts for the Royals against Kyle Wright.