Royals set the tone by drilling 3 Astros players

The Royals pitchers sent a message to the Astros.

The Kansas City Royals took on the Houston Astros in some MLB Summer Camp action Tuesday and as expected, the Astros dominated. The final score was 15-6.

But one of the top stories from the game was the fact Royals pitchers drilled three separate Astros hitters in the game. Was it intentional?

https://twitter.com/incarceratedbob/status/1285666498636382208?s=20

Royals sending an early message

The first two beanings of the game came in the second inning, and if they were intentional, that would be bold because the bases were loaded in both cases. Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman were drilled to increase an early lead to 3-0.

This may just be a result of some Royals pitchers still not being at the top of their game. Allowing 15 runs showed that too. Yet it is still a sign of things to come. Remember, the Los Angeles Dodgers are taking on the Astros this season as part of the shortened schedule.

There will be no fans in the stands to boo, and brawls have been banned this season. That means beaning a player may be the only available form of retaliation for the sign-stealing that took place.

Anyone who has played baseball knows how painful it is to take a fastball to the back. So no one should openly be advocating for Astros players to be injured. It is just the reality of the situation in MLB, and what happened in Kansas City will likely become a recurring theme in 2020.

The Astros were the enemies of the baseball world when Spring Training began and fans were already booing and taunting them in March. The team may think the hate has all faded away, but that is simply not the case. They will be targets all season.