Despite a great start by Jeremy Guthrie and a rarity, the KC Royals could not halt the Atlanta Braves winning streak, which extended to ten games. The Braves won at Turner Field, 6-3.

Jeremy Guthrie during 2013 ST against Cleveland.

It was a pitcher’s duel between Guthrie and Kris Medlen, as both allowed two runs over seven innings. Guthrie allowed five total hits, two were solo homeruns by Juan Francisco. The second homerun came in his final inning that tied the game at 2-2. Medlen only allowed one earned run and that was the rarity. Chris Getz hit his first homerun since July 19, 2009 (off his now teammate Guthrie) and just the third of his career.

The fireworks then went off in the 8th inning.

Fireballer Kelvin Herrera entered in relief for the Royals and got a quick out. Then he threw a fastball right down the middle to Jason Heyward who hammered it out of the ballpark. He hung a changeup to Justin Upton and he hit it about 20 rows up into the seats for a homerun.

Herrera somehow was still in the game and allowed yet another homerun to Dan Uggla with two outs. Manager Ned Yost STILL left him out there and he issued a walk. FINALLY, the hook came, but Aaron Crow entered and allowed a stolen base and an RBI single.

Herrera‘s ERA ballooned from zero to 9.00. He had only allowed five homeruns total in his career. This season, he had held opponents to a .111 average. But his teammates still have plenty of confidence in him, like Jeff Francoeur, who went 2-for-4 and threw a runner out at the plate in the seventh:

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in that guy. Send him back out tomorrow, and I feel he’ll go 1-2-3. For him, it was one of those nights. I live here and obviously, when they put this team together, they put them together to strike out and hit home runs. Tonight they were able to get five of them.”

Guthrie has now not lost in 14 straight games as a Royal, which is now tied for the second longest streak.

The start to their 10-day, three city road trip didn’t go as planned, but they have a quick turnaround tomorrow. The Royals and Braves finish their quick two-game series Wednesday afternoon at noon ET. It will be televised LIVE on MLB Network as Wade Davis faces Mike Minor.

*The Braves have out-homered their opponents 25-7.

The KC Royals ruined the Philadelphia Phillies home opener with a 13-4 victory.

It didn’t start out so well for the Royals.

Wade Davis struggled in his first start wearing the Kansas City uniform, as he allowed four runs on nine hits over just four innings. He also allowed two solo homeruns in the 2nd inning. He did however have a quick 1-2-3 fourth inning.

Then the Royals offense went to work.

In the 5th inning against Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick, the Royals put together three straight one out singles to load the bases with Alcides Escobar coming to the plate. Kendrick induced a ground out, with the out coming at the plate. Eric Hosmer followed with a two-run single to cut the Phillies lead to 4-2.

With two outs and one on base in the 6th inning, Chris Getz doubled and the Phillies elected to intentionally walk pinch-hitter Billy Butler to load the bases. That brought up lefty Alex Gordon and the Phillies went to lefty reliever Jeremy Horst. Gordon cleared the bases with a triple into the right-center field gap to give the Royals the lead.

They didn’t stop there. The Royals ended up scoring 13 straight runs over the game’s final five innings to send Phillies fans home early. Getz gave the Royals another bases clearing triple in the 7th inning. He shockingly fell a homerun short of the cycle (3-for-5).

Meanwhile, the Royals bullpen was lights out and it started with Bruce Chen. In his first relief appearance of the season, Chen struck out two in his one inning of work. JC Gutierrez followed with a perfect inning of relief. Lefty Tim Collins walked one and struck out three in his two innings of work. Luke Hochevar finished off the Phillies with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Let’s talk some more about the Royals offense. They collected 19 hits, six of which went for extra bases. The top three in the order (Gordon, Escobar, and Hosmer) went 9-for-16 with eight RBIs and six runs scored. They also only struck out once. Mike Moustakas went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.

*Hopefully, the Royals have some offense left for tomorrow because I’ll be at the game. Luis Mendoza makes his first start of the season against John Lannan of the Phillies, who will be making his debut.

**For more from a Phillies standpoint, check out View from Section 116.

On Saturday, the KC Royals named Chris Getz the starting second baseman for Opening Day. Many feel that he was manager Ned Yost’s pick before spring training even started, so it really was not a competition.

Johnny Giavotella will head to Triple-A Omaha to start the season with a very crowded infield.

When I saw the Royals three times while in Arizona, Getz was the better of the two. Over the camp as a whole, Getz led in most categories. He hit .372 (16-for-43) with 12 runs scored and three stolen bases. He also had a .426 on-base percentage. Meanwhile, Gio hit .267 (12-for-45) with six runs scored and just a .283 on-base percentage. Both had three doubles and a homerun, but Gio had more RBIs (11 compared to six).

The biggest issue with Gio is that he can hit minor league pitching, but has not been able to put it together at the big league level. For Getz, it is a matter of staying healthy. Getz has always been the better defender, though Gio has improved. But Getz does all the little things (steals bases and bunts), which Yost loves.

Getz is hoping to end the longest homer-less streak in the big leagues early this season. His last homerun came back on July 19, 2009 when he was with the Chicago White Sox (918 at-bats ago). Which means, he has yet to hit a homerun in 793 at-bats with the Royals. His last homerun came against current teammate Jeremy Guthrie.

Now to the crowded Omaha infield. Prospect Christian Colon will be there, though I guess now he will be the starting shortstop. There is a chance that both Irving Falu and Miguel Tejada end up starting in Omaha, though I bet Tejada makes the big league roster. Then you add in Brandon Wood and Anthony Seratelli, who were also in big league camp. And that doesn’t count players from Double-A who could move up from last season. Gio‘s time to blossom as a big league hitter is getting shorter, as the Royals prospects keep climbing the ranks.

Maybe a trade is in store for him?

KC Royals infielder Chris Getz is teaming up with Detroit Red Wings star Darren McCarty to raise money for Most Holy Trinity School in Detroit.

The two will be hosting an auction dubbed “Championship Day” on Sunday, January 20th at Nemo’s Bar and Grill from 3-6pm ET. The admission price is $25, which gets you into the drawing for the 46″ television.

Some of the great sports memorabilia up for auction include:

• an autographed baseball from reigning American League MVP and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera
• Detroit Pistons tickets
• Red Wings memorabilia

The KC Royals have now won three in a row against first place Chicago, as they won on Friday night, 4-2. It came in comeback fashion.

The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning on a Lorenzo Cain homerun off White Sox starter Chris Sale (he is a CY Young award candidate).

The White Sox tied the game in the top of the 4th inning on Paul Konerko‘s solo homerun off Luis Mendoza. Konerko was just activated from the 7-day concussion DL on Friday.

With two outs in the 5th inning and a runner on second base, Gordon Beckham singled to give the White Sox a 2-1 lead. Beckham was thrown out at second base by Jeff Francoeur.

Billy Butler used his power once again to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Royals took the lead in the 7th inning on a Salvador Perez two-run double with two outs. The White Sox chose to intentionally walk Butler to load the bases to face Perez.

The Royals bullpen duo of Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland made things interesting in the final two innings. Herrera allowed back-to-back singles to lead off the 8th inning, but proceeded to strike out the next three hitters (he threw a 100 mph a few times). Holland recorded the first two outs in the 9th inning on just five pitches, but then allowed back-to-back hits to bring the go ahead run to the plate. Holland got Dayan Viciedo to fly out to end the game.

Mike Moustakas was expected to get some rest due to his struggles and his knee pain, but was forced into the game due to an injury (more on that later). Moose started the 7th inning rally with a one out single.

Three Royals had multi-hit games: Alcides Escobar, Perez, and Cain.

*Second baseman Chris Getz broke his thumb in a bunt attempt in the 5th inning. He stayed in and finished the bat (a strikeout), but was taken out for defense. He is expected to have surgery on Saturday. No word yet on who will replace him. Johnny Giavotella? Irving Falu? Gio did not play tonight for Omaha.

**For more on the White Sox, check out South Side Hit Girl.

In a well-pitched game, the KC Royals couldn’t complete the sweep, as they lost their finale to Oakland, 3-0.

It was a matchup of A’s rookie Dan Straily and Luke Hochevar.

Hochevar did not allow a hit until the 4th inning, but it was erased on an inning-ending double play. The A’s next hit came in the 6th inning with two outs, when Coco Crisp homered (it was reviewed and the call on the field was overturned) to give the A’s a 1-0 lead.

The longball bit Hochevar again in the 7th inning when Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo shot.

The problem for Hochevar was that his offense couldn’t do much against Straily and the A’s bullpen. They collected six hits (one more than the A’s) and Eric Hosmer picked up two of them. However, they went just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and did not pick up an extra base hit.

One chance the Royals had to get on the scoreboard was in the 2nd inning. They had the bases loaded and two outs, but Chris Getz grounded out to end the inning.

Straily then retired eight in a row before Hosmer singled with one out in the 5th inning.

The Royals had another chance to score in the 7th inning when Straily exited with a runner on base and one out. Sean Doolittle entered and allowed two singles around a strikeout to load the bases. Jerry Blevins entered and got Getz to fly out to end the inning (that’s six left on base in two at-bats).

The Royals welcome the first-place Chicago White Sox starting on Friday night for another three-game series (they just won two out of three last week in Chicago).

*For more on the A’s, check out Oaktown Breakdown.

Where was this pitching staff for the first four months of the season? Heading into tonight’s game, the KC Royals staff had a 2.80 ERA over their last seven games (5-2). It was just as good against Oakland, as they won 3-2.

Will Smith has a lot to be smiling about.

Tonight it was Will Smith‘s turn again. In his last start, he dominated Baltimore. He wasn’t as dominant against the A’s, but he was still strong. The 2nd inning was a bit of a struggle, as he allowed three hits and a run. With runners on second and third base, he induced two straight ground outs to keep the game tied at 1-1.

Josh Donaldson homered in the 4th inning to break Smith‘s string of seven straight outs. The only innings that the A’s had base runners against Smith were the 2nd and the 6th.

It looked as though Smith was going to be the hard luck loser, as A’s starter Brandon McCarthy was cruising along after giving up a run in the first inning.

Then the Royals broke through with two outs in the 7th inning.

Eric Hosmer doubled and scored on Lorenzo Cain‘s double to tie the game at 2-2. That ended McCarthy’s night. In came Sean Doolittle. Chris Getz battled through an eleven pitch at-bat and on that last pitch, he doubled in Cain to break the tie.

That left the game up to the Royals bullpen to hand Smith his fourth big league victory. Aaron Crow struck out two of the three batters in the 8th inning (the strikeouts came on just seven pitches). Greg Holland allowed a leadoff single in the 9th inning, but rebounded to retire the next three hitters, two via the strikeout.

*In case you didn’t hear, outfielder Melky Cabera received a 50-game suspension for testing positive for testosterone. He will miss the rest of the season and the SF Giants are in playoff contention. Click HERE for some of his former Royals teammates’ reactions.

Does the trade for since traded Jonathan Sanchez look so bad now?

**For more on the A’s, check out Oaktown Breakdown.

Luis Mendoza

Luis Mendoza put together a solid start, as the KC Royals beat Cleveland, 5-2. The Royals have beaten the Indians for the second time in two games.

Mendoza allowed two runs (one scored after he exited the game) on four hits and one walk over 7.1 innings. After allowing a Carlos Santana homerun in the 4th inning, Mendoza retired eight in a row before walking Santana to lead off the 7th inning. He induced a double play ground ball and got out of that inning.

The Royals offense jumped on Indians starter Zach McAllister in the very first inning. With runners at first and second and one out, the Royals pulled off a double steal. Catcher Santana‘s throw was off and a run scored. Billy Butler followed with an RBI ground out.

In the 2nd inning, the Royals scored two more runs. With two outs, Chris Getz walked and stole second base. Jarrod Dyson followed with an RBI single and then he stole second base. Alex Gordon doubled him in before McAllister could get out of the inning.

*Reliever Jeremy Jeffress was recalled to take Jonathan Broxton’s roster spot.

With the MLB All-Star Game this past week, the KC Royals only played three games. They lost their three-game home series to the Chicago White Sox (1-2). Overall, the Royals are 38-49, good for fourth place in the American League Central (10.5 games back of the White Sox).

The Triple-A All-Star Game was also held last week, so Omaha only played one series. They split their four-game home series with Iowa. The Storm Chasers are still in first place in the Pacific Coast League’s American Northern Division at 58-37, the best record in the PCL. They are also 16.5 games up.

It has been a rough second half so far for NW Arkansas, as they went just 1-5 last week. The Naturals dropped to 5-17 and sit in last place in the North Division of the Texas League. They are 10.5 games back and begin a four-game home series versus Arkansas tonight.

Wilmington is in the midst of a five-game winning streak, as they went 5-0 this past week. The Blue Rocks are in second place (12-11) and just one game back in the Northern Division of the Carolina League. They begin a four game series in Myrtle Beach tonight.

Kane County went 3-3 this past week and finish their home series today against West Michigan before enjoying the off day on Tuesday. The Cougars are tied for first place in the Western Division of the Midwest League at 13-10.

Hitters of the Week

Majors: The Royals welcomed injured players Chris Getz and Lorenzo Cain back following the All-Star break. Getz played in two games and went 3-for-7. He also drove in a run.

Cain played in all three games, going 5-for-10. He scored three runs and drove in two runs. He also hit two doubles.

Minors: Justin Trapp, Kane County. In four games, he went 6-for-14 (.429) with four runs scored, a homerun, and two RBIs. He also walked three times.

Honorable Mention: Brian Fletcher, NW Arkansas. He seems to have finally found the stroke that got him promoted in the first place. Over the past week, he went 8-for-28 (.286) with a double, a homerun, and two RBIs.

» Continue reading “Royals Blue Aid Weekly Awards”

The KC Royals went just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, as they lost their series finale on Sunday to Chicago, 2-1.

Luis Mendoza

It was a pitcher’s duel between a CY Young candidate (Chris Sale) and a virtual unknown to anyone outside of Kansas City (Luis Mendoza).

Mendoza allowed a two out solo homerun to Adam Dunn in the top of the first inning and the White Sox never looked back. It was Dunn‘s MLB leading 28th of the season and second in two games.

The White Sox scored again in the 2nd inning on a double play ground out.

In a day when teams worry more about pitch counts and innings pitched of their young pitchers, the White Sox let Sale throw 115 pitches over eight innings. He allowed just one run and scattered ten hits. He did not walk a batter while striking out four.

The first and the 6th inning were the only innings that the Royals did not have at least one base runner. They scored their lone run in the 5th inning on a Chris Getz one out RBI single. The Royals actually had runners at the corners with one out after the Getz hit, but could not push another run across.

They hit into two double plays.

In the 2nd inning, Lorenzo Cain led off the inning with a double and never moved off second base.

In the 3rd inning, they had runners at the corners but Billy Butler struck out to end the inning.

In the 4th inning, Cain led off the inning with a single, but a one out DP ended the inning.

In the 8th inning, the Royals had runners at first and second base and nobody out. They elected to not bunt and Cain lined out. Yuniesky Betancourt then grounded into an inning-ending DP.

» Continue reading “Royals’ Woes with Men On Continue in Loss”