Observations (4/5): Kentucky drops series to Missouri in 5-2 loss
Missouri took the series against Kentucky on Sunday, making it three straight series losses for the Wildcats.
After evening the series in game two, No. 24 Kentucky dropped the series finale 5-2 to Missouri. The Bat Cats have now lost three straight series in league play and have a 6-6 conference record, along with a 23-8 overall record.
The series win was Missouri's first in Lexington since 2014. It's a series loss that could stick with the Wildcats as Missouri entered the weekend 1-8 in the SEC and outside of the top 100 in the RPI.
Below are a few things that stuck out from the loss.
Disastrous fifth inning costs Kentucky
Kentucky led 2-1 going into the fifth inning. Then things got away from the Wildcats and proved to be the difference in the game.
Starter Ben Cleaver was on the mound and he walked the first batter of the frame. He immediately got into a massive jam by botching a throw to first baseman Hudson Brown on a sac bunt that allowed both runners to move into scoring position.
Missouri tied the game on a sacrifice fly, then hit a single to put runners at the corners with one out. The Tigers tried to steal second base and the Wildcats elected to throw out the runner at second, allowing the Tigers to take the lead as the runner advanced home on the throw to second. Cleaver hit the next batter to end his outing.
Junior righty Ryan Mullan came on for the second consecutive day and walked a batter before giving up an RBI single. The hit ended Mullan’s afternoon as coach Nick Mingione called upon senior righty Nile Adcock. Adcock walked a batter to load the bases, then issued another walk on some close pitches, which allowed a run. Pitching coach Dan Roszel was warned by the umpire after arguing about the zone.
A flyout stopped the bleeding, but not before Missouri struck for a four-run frame and rode that to the series victory.
Bullpen bounces back
During the recent SEC skid for Kentucky, the bullpen has struggled as it felt like no lead was safe and very few arms were reliable. The bullpen kept Kentucky in the series finale by tossing 4.1 innings of one-run ball and kept Missouri off the board after the fifth.
Adcock came back out in the sixth and worked around a single for a scoreless frame. Senior righty Jack Bennett came on in the seventh and got into a jam by hitting two and walking another. However, he got a grounder to get out unscathed.
Redshirt sophomore righty Chase Alderman got his first SEC action of the season in the eighth and gave up a leadoff single before erasing it with a double play. A foul out ended the frame and he came back out for the ninth. It was a very similar inning as he hit a batter with one out, but responded with a double play to end the frame.
“He continues to get better, and you know, for him, as we mentioned earlier in the year, he just hadn't pitched in a really long time,” Mingione said. “We just felt like each time he got out there, he would keep getting more and more comfortable.”
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Offense leaves on double-digit runners again
Kentucky dropped game one after leaving 13 runners on base and the inability to come through proved costly again in the series finale. In game three, Kentucky put up six hits and hit 1-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position, along with going 2-19 (.105) with runners on. Overall, Kentucky left 24 runners on in the two losses. In game three, the Wildcats were held scoreless after the third inning and only got the leadoff man on three times.
After stranding one in the first, catcher Tagger Tyson roped a one-out single in the second. Right fielder Will Marcy hit a two-out single, then left fielder Scott Campbell Jr. got Kentucky on the board with an RBI single. Third baseman Luke Lawrence broke the 1-1 tie in the third with a 412-foot homer over the right field wall.
The Wildcats stranded one runner in the fourth and fifth innings. Second baseman Ethan Hindle drew a one-out walk and Campbell Jr. was hit by a pitch with two outs in the sixth. However, a grounder ended the inning. Kentucky stranded another runner in the seventh.
Tyson reached in the eighth with a leadoff walk, but a strikeout and double play promptly ended the inning. After an out in the ninth, Jayce Tharnish roped a double. Lawrence flew out before shortstop Tyler Bell drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate. Brown grounded out to end the game.
“Sometimes that's how baseball works, you just crush them and they're standing right there,” Mingione said. “I was absolutely pleased with the at-bats we had today.”
Ben Cleaver sets season-high in innings pitched
It's no secret that the junior lefty has been struggling to give Kentucky length all season, especially in SEC play. This has resulted in more stress on the bullpen and coming out on the losing end in back-to-back series. Before his Missouri start, Cleaver had only thrown seven innings in conference play and allowed eight runs on seven walks. His previous season-high was four innings pitched and 3.2 was his longest conference outing.
Cleaver started out the series finale by retiring the side in nine pitches. The lefty was shell-shocked in the second when he was greeted with a double and single that plated a run for Missouri to open the scoring. However, he settled back in and got the next three in order. The rebound kept his pitch count in check, which has been part of the length issue. He only threw 14 pitches in the inning.
Cleaver came back to the mound in the fourth with a 2-1 lead. It quickly started to feel like the innings that have plagued him all season as he gave up a walk and a single with one out. This time, Cleaver buckled down and struck out the next two batters to end the frame.
He came back out for the fifth and things got away from him before he departed with two outs. Overall, he finished with the following line: 4.2 innings pitched, four hits, four runs (one earned), two walks and five strikeouts.
“He was way more efficient, especially the first three innings,” Mingione said. “He was in the zone a lot. He got his fastball in there, he threw his cutter, he got the curveball to land in there. So he just threw a ton more strikes and moved the game along really well for us.”
Kentucky will look to rebound against the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
