Jeremy Guthrie just keeps on winning.

Jeremy Guthrie during 2013 ST against Cleveland.

A rain delay to start the game could not keep Guthrie from improving to 5-0 on the season. The KC Royals won their finale in Baltimore, 6-2.

Manager Ned Yost shook up the lineup, and it seemed to work (at least for one night).

Down 1-0, the Royals‘ power came to life against O’s starter Freddy Garcia. With one out, Alex Gordon hit a two-run homerun (his third of the series). Two batters later, Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homerun. He FINALLY hit a homerun this season, the last big league first baseman to hit one.

The Royals scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, as Mike Moustakas hit a solo homerun to lead off the 7th inning.

Back to Guthrie…

He allowed both runs, though only one was earned due to Alcides Escobar‘s sixth error of the season. Guthrie allowed seven hits and three walks while striking out three. He did allow a solo homerun to Chris Davis, but then again, who isn’t? It was his tenth of the season.

After Guthrie left the game, the Royals bullpen was close to spotless. Aaron Crow pitched a perfect seventh, as he needed just 11 pitches (eight were strikes). Kelvin Herrera worked around a leadoff double in the eighth, as he threw all 11 pitches for strikes (and struck out both Adam Jones and Davis on three pitches). Luke Hochevar pitched a perfect ninth to finish off the O’s.

The Royals now return to Kauffman Stadium to play the NY Yankees this weekend. Don’t forget, Friday night’s game will be televised on MLB Network. Wade Davis will start the opener against the Yankees Phil Hughes.

Despite the fact that the KC Royals are hovering around first place in the American League Central, people have been clamoring for the team to get rid of the dead weight. People won’t entirely be happy unless Jeff Francoeur is no longer taking up a roster spot.

But people also want to see Mike Moustakas and/or Eric Hosmer sent back to the minors.

Why?

Because they have continued to struggle on offense and it now seems to be affecting their defense.

Moose is hitting .203 with five doubles and one homerun. He has just six RBIs. To put the homerun into perspective, Chris Getz hit a homerun before Moose. He has struck out 11 times in 79 at-bats, but has walked ten times. Moose‘s on-base percentage is just .286 and his slugging percentage is .304 (29 points lower than Elliot Johnson‘s). His overall offensive numbers are some of the worst by third baseman in baseball.

Moose has been hot over his last seven games, going 6-for-14 with two doubles, the homerun, three runs scored, and five RBIs. That just shows how ice cold he was to start the season.

The problem with Moose is that he is a streaky hitter: he is either ice cold or extremely hot. There really is no in-between and that was true during his minor league career.

He has committed five errors at third base.

Hosmer is hitting .250 (14 points lower than Frenchy‘s). He has just four doubles and ZERO homeruns. He has driven in nine runs. Hosmer‘s slugging percentage is just .303 and he has struck out 19 times in 76 at-bats. However, he is just 4-for-24 over his last seven games with seven strikeouts. Him and Allen Craig are the only everyday big league first baseman to have not hit a homerun.

He has committed two errors at first base.

It is hard to tell who the real Hosmer is. He struggled in his first season in High-A Wilmington (.206 with just one homerun in 107 at-bats) in 2009. In a return trip there in 2010, he hit .354 in 375 at-bats with seven homeruns. In his rookie season of 2011, he hit .293 with 19 homeruns. However in his second season with all of the high expectations, Hosmer hit just .232 with 14 homeruns.

So which is the real Hosmer? Or is he somewhere in between?

» Continue reading “Should the Royals Make a Move?”

The KC Royals won yet again, as they beat Arizona behind Alex Gordon’s grand slam. He went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

Alcides Escobar went 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored. Lorenzo Cain went 2-for-2 with a run scored.

But it wasn’t just the offense that was clicking. Their pitching has been just as good.

James Shields made his second start and allowed three hits over three innings. He struck out two and induced four ground outs. Lefty Will Smith followed with two hitless innings of relief.

Juan Gutierrez allowed the lone run to the Dbacks in the sixth on three hits. Brian Sanches and Nate Adcock threw two perfect innings before Dan Wheeler finished off the Dbacks in the ninth.

Next up, Ervin Santana will start on Thursday in Surprise against Felix Hernandez for Seattle

*In case you have not heard, Eric Hosmer has joined Team USA for the World Baseball Classic (he took the spot of the injured Mark Teixeira). In tonight’s game against Colorado, he went 0-for-4 with a run scored. He did commit an error though.

Last season, left fielder Alex Gordon had a breakout season for the KC Royals, both offensively and defensively. He won the Gold Glove for left field in the American League, as he had 20 outfield assists.

In 2012, he turned his offensive season around after hitting less than .200 over the first month of the season. He once again was great on defense (17 assists to just two errors) and is one of three finalists for the Gold Glove Award in the AL for left field.

Gordon‘s competition is Tampa Bay’s Desmond Jennings (who did not commit an error but had just four assists in only 129 games) and Texas’ David Murphy (who played in 133 games and made one error with four assists). Gordon played in 160 games for the Royals and was second in baseball in outfield assists to teammate Jeff Francoeur.

Francoeur is one of three finalists for the Gold Glove in right field in the AL. He played in 147 games for the Royals and committed four errors. He tallied 19 assists. His competition for the award: Cleveland’s Shin-Soo Choo (who had just seven assists in 154 games with two errors) and Oakland’s Josh Reddick (who was third in the AL in assists with 15 in 144 games but he committed six errors).

Despite his awful offensive season, first baseman Eric Hosmer is one of three finalists for the Gold Glove Award in the AL. He committed nine errors in 1295 total chances. He also turned 132 double plays, which was second in baseball to his competition, Adrian Gonzalez.

Not sure how Gonzalez is in the running considering he was traded to the National League during the summer and his stats are combined between the two leagues (he committed three errors in 1404 total chances while turning 134 double plays). Hosmer‘s other competition is NY Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira. He has the top fielding percentage in all of baseball (just one error), but he only turned 91 double plays and only had 1055 total chances. His range factor (8.86) is better than Hosmer‘s (8.69).

» Continue reading “Will a Royal Win a Gold Glove?”

Another grounder cost the KC Royals a game. This time it came in walk off fashion, as the Detroit Tigers won 5-4 to complete the four game sweep.

It started with a chopper up the middle by Prince Fielder, who hustled to second base. After lefty Tim Collins intentionally walked Delmon Young, Ramon Santiago laid down a poor bunt (the Royals got the out at third base).

That brought up Jhonny Peralta and the Royals countered with hard-throwing right-hander Kelvin Herrera for the second straight day. He induced an inning-ending double play (which would have sent the game into extra innings). However third baseman Mike Moustakas booted the ball, which loaded the bases.

That brought up Alex Avila, who grounded to first base. Brayan Pena tug first base but couldn’t get the out at the plate. Don Kelly scored the game winning run.

Billy Butler hit his 28th homerun in the top of the 9th inning to tie the game at 4-4.

Despite striking out nine straight Royals (an American League record), Tigers starter Doug Fister did not pick up the win.

The lone hit against Fister through the first seven innings was a Salvador Perez single in the second inning.

The Royals committed FIVE errors in the game, which cost them three runs. Three of those errors were made by Moose.

*In the game, both shortstop Alcides Escobar and first baseman Eric Hosmer were injured. Hosmer strained his right shoulder diving for a Quintin Berry triple. Escobar also banged up his shoulder.

Down 3-0 after the second inning, the KC Royals came back to beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3. The Royals finished the season series against the first place White Sox with a 12-6 record.

With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Royals went to work against White Sox reliever Jesse Crain. Billy Butler singled and the speedy Jarrod Dyson pinch ran.

Via Cheryl Norman

Crain battled back to get the next two hitters out. Then Dyson stole second base, so Crain intentionally walked Jeff Francoeur. That brought a pitching change and in came lefty reliever Matt Thornton to face the still struggling Eric Hosmer.

Down in the count 0-2, Hosmer ripped the third pitch from Thornton down the left field line which easily scored Dyson for the game winner. Too bad only a little over 14,000 fans were in attendance to be a part of the celebration.

How did they get to that moment?

In the first inning, AJ Pierzynski singled in a run with two outs. In the 2nd inning, Jeremy Guthrie‘s fielding error on a sac bunt scored one run and two batters later, Dewayne Wise drove in a run on a ground out.

The White Sox had runners on base in every inning against Guthrie but the sixth. However, he was saved by some poor base running by the White Sox. In the third, Alex Rios was thrown out at the plate on a wild pitch (Kevin Youkilis followed with a single). In the fourth, Alexei Ramirez was picked off third base by Salvador Perez.

The Royals finally got to White Sox starter Francisco Liriano in the 5th inning. With runners at first and second base and two outs, Johnny Giavotella tripled in both runs. It was his first triple.

In the 6th inning with a runner on first base, Liriano was lifted for Nate Jones. Butler took the first pitch Jones threw into centerfield to drive in Gordon to tie the game at 3-3. It was a great slide at home by Gordon.

Royals relievers Francisley Bueno and Aaron Crow retired the combined six batters they faced. Greg Holland escaped a two out single in the ninth to bring on the bottom of the inning heroics.

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

**It is expected that Jake Odorizzi WILL start on Sunday against Cleveland. Manager Ned Yost is also leaning towards having Adam Moore, a recent callup, starting behind the plate. Moore caught Odorizzi several times with Triple-A Omaha.

***In minors news, the Royals announced that their new Low-A affiliate will be the Lexington Legends beginning in 2013. They signed a four-year player development contract.

The KC Royals received great starting pitching from Will Smith and pounded out 16 hits en route to their 9-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Let’s start with Smith.

He scattered seven hits and three walks over seven shutout innings. He struck out seven. The Twins had at least one baserunner in every inning, but Smith was helped out by two caught stealings and two double plays.

The offense gave Smith a lead in the 2nd inning. Jeff Francoeur singled in one run and Lorenzo Cain tripled in two more. In the third, Salvador Perez drove in a run with a sac fly to give the Royals a 4-0 lead.

Then the offense went quiet…until the 8th inning.

Eric Hosmer led off the inning with a double and scored on Johnny Giavotella’s single. After Cain was hit by a pitch and a pitching change, Alcides Escobar tripled in two more runs. A wild pitch drove in the Royals final run of the inning.

Hosmer would hit a solo homerun in the ninth to finish off their scoring. He went 3-for-5 with three runs scored from the 8-spot. Gio followed him in the order and also went 3-for-5. Cain fell a homerun short of the cycle. Everyone had a hit except Mike Moustakas.

*Lefty reliever Francisley Bueno finished serving his two day suspension, a holdover from the 2008 season when he was with Atlanta. He will be active beginning on Wednesday.

KC Royals manager Ned Yost went one too many times to the Greg Holland well lately and it cost them the game, as they lost to the Texas Rangers, 5-4 in ten innings.

Greg Holland arriving in the bullpen at Camden Yards

Holland entered in the top of the 9th inning with a man on base in relief of lefty Tim Collins. He struck out the rarely used Craig Gentry (it was a rought game for Gentry, as he was also picked off earlier in the game, while also hitting into a double play and striking out twice). But his work didn’t end there. Holland went back out to the mound in the 10th inning. Ian Kinsler “tripled” to left field to lead off the inning. He ripped a ball into the LF corner. Alex Gordon hustled over to barehand it and gun Kinsler out at second base. Instead, the ball kicked away from him. His throw still just about nailed Kinsler at third base.

Next up was Michael Young, who took the second slider from Holland into centerfield to give the Rangers the 5-4 lead. He rebounded to strike out both Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz around an intentional walk to Adrian Beltre (I would walk him every time right now). Holland was replaced by lefty Francisley Bueno, who hit David Murphy on the second pitch he threw to load the bases. That brought in Aaron Crow, who induced a ground out from Geovany Soto to end the inning.

A one out single by Lorenzo Cain got fans excited in the bottom of the 10th inning, but Alcides Escobar quickly ended the excitement. He grounded into a game ending double play right back to Rangers closer Joe Nathan.

It started out SO promising for the Royals…

Jeff Francoeur homered in the 2nd inning to give them a 1-0 lead. It was his first homerun in exactly a month. In the 3rd inning, Gordon tripled in one run and scored with two outs on Salvador Perez‘ single.

However Luke Hochevar was the story early. He retired the first ten batters he faced with three strikeouts. Then Young singled and Hamilton homered. Then Beltre homered and the game was tied at 3-3. Both homeruns came on the second pitch of the at-bat, both on offspeed pitches.

The game stayed tied until the 7th inning when Soto doubled in a run to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead. However the Royals came right back with a run of their own to tie the game back up. Eric Hosmer hit a solo shot off Rangers lefty reliever Michael Kirkman (the only batter Kirkman faced). It was Hosmer‘s first homerun since August 24th. He also made a great catch over the railing in the 9th inning.

» Continue reading “It Took Ten, But Royals Still Lose to Rangers”

Put into an early 3-0 hold in the first inning, the KC Royals couldn’t complete the comeback against the Texas Rangers, as they lost 7-6.

In the “bullpen game”, Everett Teaford got the start and was shaky early. Ian Kinsler singled to lead off the game and Josh Hamilton walked two batters later. Adrian Beltre then hit a three-run homerun to put the Royals in a hole.

The Royals would score a run in the bottom of the inning off Rangers starter Ryan Dempster on a Billy Butler RBI double. The game would stay scoreless until the bottom of the 6th inning. In that inning, the Royals cut the deficit to 3-2 after back-to-back doubles from Butler and Salvador Perez.

However, the Rangers came right back against Vin Mazzaro, who was in his second inning of work. Michael Young homered to lead off the 7th inning. After a one out walk and a Mitch Moreland pinch-hit double, Mazzaro was lifted in favor of Aaron Crow. BIG MISTAKE. Crow allowed a sac fly and an RBI single to give the Rangers a 6-2 lead.

With Dempster gone from the game, the Royals went to work against the Rangers bullpen. First up was Alexi Ogando. Jeff Francoeur walked (yes I typed walked) and Eric Hosmer followed with an infield single. A wild pitch scored Frenchy and Hosmer moved to third base on Johnny Giavotella‘s fly out. A David Lough sac fly cut the deficit to 6-4.

But just like the last inning, the Rangers tacked on another run. Jeremy Jeffress was the new reliever and he immediately gave up a triple to Beltre. Nelson Cruz followed with an RBI single and the Rangers led 7-4. Jeffress escaped the inning by inducing a double play grounder.

The Royals came back with a run off Rangers reliever Mike Adams in the bottom of the 8th inning after Butler doubled (again), moved to third base on a wild pitch, and scored on Mike Moustakas‘ force out.

» Continue reading “Down Early, Royals Cannot Complete Comeback”

For some reason, the KC Royals only like to beat the Minnesota Twins once a series. That win came in the series finale, 6-4.

It was a back-and-forth affair, as the Twins scored single runs in the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Royals came right back with three runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Eric Hosmer drove in the first run with a sac fly. After a double steal, Tony Abreu drove in two runs with a single.

The game stayed 3-2 until the Royals scored another run in the 5th inning on Billy Butler‘s two out single.

Luis Mendoza exited after five innings and pitched pretty solid. He scattered seven hits and struck out three.

Lefty Tim Collins entered and loaded the bases with two outs. Alexi Casilla drove in two runs with a single to tie the game at 4-4.

Hosmer and Abreu struck again to take Collins off the hook. Hosmer doubled with two outs and Abreu drove him in with a single to retake the lead. The Royals added another run in the bottom of the 8th inning on a Lorenzo Cain RBI double.

After Collins‘ struggles, the Royals bullpen allowed just one base runner over the final three innings. The game was capped by closer Greg Holland striking out the side to pick up his tenth save of the season. He threw 18 pitches.

On offense, Abreu collected three hits, while Hosmer and David Lough each had two hits.

The Royals now welcome the Texas Rangers into town for four games.