Observations (4/3): Kentucky comes up short in 5-4 loss to Missouri
Kentucky dropped the series opener to Missouri at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday night.
No. 24 Kentucky fell to Missouri 5-4 in game one of the three-game series. The Wildcats moved to 22-7 overall and 5-5 in league play.
Below are a few takeaways from the loss.
Offense can’t come through with the big hit
The Wildcats struggled mightily at the plate despite having a ton of opportunities. Kentucky finished just 6-33 (.182) at the plate, 3-18 (.167) with runners on and 3-12 (.250) with runners in scoring position, along with leaving 13 runners on.
First baseman Hudson Brown led off the second inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from second baseman Ethan Hindle. Tyson brought him home on a sacrifice fly to open the scoring in the series.
Kentucky came back to the plate down 3-1 in the third and loaded the bases with two outs after third baseman Luke Lawrence and shortstop Tyler Bell walked, paired with Brown being hit by a pitch. However, Hindle struck out to end the inning.
After Missouri added another run in the fourth inning, Tyson reached base and moved to second on an error by the right fielder before DH Carson Hansen drove him home with a single. Lawrence drove home Hansen to cap off the two-run fourth and bring Kentucky within one.
Kentucky scored another run in the sixth. Hansen walked to start the inning and stole second after back-to-back outs. Center fielder Jayce Tharnish roped a single to score Hansen and tie the game 4-4.
Another bases-loaded opportunity presented itself in the seventh as Brown wore a pitch, along with Tyson and right fielder Ryan Schwartz drawing walks. However, left fielder Will Marcy struck out to end the inning. The Wildcats came up short in the eighth as Tharnish singled and found himself on third and Bell on second with one out. However, Brown and Hindle struck out to end the inning. Kentucky was retired in order in the ninth inning.
Bullpen comes up short again to put the series in serious jeopardy
Kentucky has dropped back-to-back series to Ole Miss and LSU largely due to poor starting pitching and the bullpen’s inability to get outs. Deja Vu struck again despite the bullpen not being needed until the eighth inning in a 4-4 game.
Senior lefty Jackson Soucie was the first reliever, and he was dominant in a three-up, three-down eighth inning before coming back to the mound in the ninth. After striking out the leadoff man, he gave up a double and an RBI single to break the tie in favor of Missouri.
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Right-hander Jack Bennett came on and gave up a single, but a lineout and strikeout got Kentucky out of it. The offense came up short in the ninth to finish off the bad loss for the Wildcats.
“We didn't do enough to win," UK coach Nick Mingione said. "We had our chances. Give (Missouri) credit, they came back, they got the big hit, but we had our chances, and we just didn't capitalize.”
Kentucky had its ace on the mound go seven innings, but it was not enough. The sole blame cannot go on the pitching because the offense left 13 runners on base.
Recently, the aforementioned starting pitching struggles have been from the duo of Nate Harris and Ben Cleaver. Since carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Alabama, Harris has allowed a combined nine earned runs over his last two starts. Cleaver has yet to pitch into the fifth inning in any game this season, and has logged just seven innings through three SEC starts.
Those two will be on the hill the next two games with the series on the line. If their outings aren't improved, then a struggling bullpen will need to eat more innings.
Kentucky is at an impasse and it desperately needs the pitching staff to step up and the offense to erase the game one performance. Before the season, this series looked like a way to pad some wins in a loaded SEC slate. Now, the Wildcats will have to win the next two to avoid a disappointing series loss at home to one of the worst teams in the SEC.
Jaxon Jelkin goes seven
While a lot can be said about this pitching staff over the past two weekends, not a bad word can be said about Kentucky ace Jaxon Jelkin. The junior turned in his best outing in blue and white last weekend against LSU as he threw eight innings of two-run ball.
Jelkin took the hill at KPP looking to build on that outing, but it was not quite as easy for the righty against the Tigers from Columbia. He started the first with a three-up, three-down frame before working around a single in the second to keep Missouri scoreless. The third is where things got a bit rocky for the right-hander despite having a 1-0 lead.
The junior got two quick outs before allowing a single and a walk. A run quickly scored on a botched back-pick attempt by catcher Tagger Tyson and a wild pitch. After tying the game, Missouri tagged Jelkin for three-straight singles and two more runs to take a 3-1 lead. A leadoff single in the fourth immediately turned into a runner in scoring position when Jelkin botched a pickoff. The righty got two outs before a single brought in another run for the Tigers.
Kentucky’s ace looked more like himself in the fifth and sixth innings as he retired six Missouri hitters, including three strikeouts. Jelkin was back out for the seventh and got two quick outs before a single and throwing error planted a runner in scoring position. After a visit from pitching coach Dan Roszel, Jelkin struck out Jase Woita on his 117th and final pitch of the night.
This sent KPP into a frenzy and the righty let out a ton of emotion coming off the mound. Jelkin finished with the following final line: seven innings, eight hits, four runs (three earned), one walk and 10 strikeouts.
Up next
Kentucky will try to even the series in game two on Saturday. First pitch was moved up from 2 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET. due to inclement weather expected to move into the Lexington area on Saturday evening.
