How Royals' John Rave prepared for stand-in role against White Sox on Saturday
His number was called.
In the second inning, Rave raced to left field as a defensive replacement against the Chicago White Sox. He entered the game due to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino exiting with a heat-related illness.
'I was told, 'Hey, if he can't go the rest of the at-bat, it's gonna be you,'' Rave said. 'So I started moving around again and started moving in the cage. Then, he finished the at-bat and I went out on defense. I came back in and took more swings in the cage and got ready pretty quickly.'
Pasquantino was unable to continue after his first at-bat. This shifted Nick Loftin — who started in left field — to first base while Rave was next in line to help the team.
Rave did just that. He finished 2-for-3 and hit a solo home run in the Royals' 6-2 victory at Kauffman Stadium.
'It's not always going to work out like that,' Rave said postgame. 'But yeah, just putting in the right work and try to be prepared as possible for when you get your at-bats and make them count.'
Rave belted his fourth career homer off White Sox starter Sean Burke in the third inning. He saw two curveballs before connecting on a 93.9 mph fastball. It was his first home run at Kauffman Stadium. He has hit safely in his last five games with an at-bat.
'Stayed on the heater and got one down in the zone and was able to drop the barrel to it,' Rave said. 'And put a good swing on it.'
This season, Rave has carved out a bench role with the Royals. He demonstrated his versatility by homering early, reaching on a sacrifice bunt and displaying smart baserunning by scoring from first base on a double.
The Royals needed it Saturday. KC (62-61) climbed one game above .500 for the first time since June 10.
'He was ready,' Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. 'I mean, as soon as he saw us go out there, I knew he was ready to go. … He wants to get in there every opportunity he can.'
Pasquantino agreed. He felt Rave did a great job filling in and helping the team secure a victory.
'I thought, obviously, the first at-bat was phenomenal and then laying down the bunt and scoring from first on the double, that's huge,' Pasquantino said. 'So him being ready like that, that to me shows the character of him, this team and everything. Just being ready to go like that is huge for us.'
Rave has appeared in 56 games this season. He made his MLB debut on May 26 against the Cincinnati Reds and now has added another hallmark moment during his rookie campaign.
'All of it happened kind of fast, but I try to show up to the park every day and prepare the same way, whether I'm in there or not,' Rave said. 'I had taken swings today and been moving around a little bit. So it usually doesn't happen that early in the game. Yeah, I was ready to go.'
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