The KC Royals lost their series finale to the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 in 11 innings in Monday’s makeup game.

The Royals offense had White Sox starter Chris Sale on the ropes early, as he needed 57 pitches to get through two innings. Then they got all antsy and started swinging early and often. Next thing you know, Sale makes it into the 8th inning on 119 pitches.

Meanwhile, James Shields did not allow a hit until Dewayne Wise led off the 6th inning with a single. He threw 102 pitches through eight innings, struck out nine, and Ned Yost decided to pull him for closer Greg Holland. Big mistake.

Wasn’t Shields‘ nickname with TB, “Complete Game James” (to go along with “Big Game James”)? So why take him out when you acquired him in a trade to FINISH games?

Well, everyone is debating this question as I type this because Holland allowed three straight singles to load the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth. He looked like a magician when he got Paul Konerko to hit into a 1-2-3 double play. It looked like Holland might escape and get another save, but for some reason, the Royals chose to walk youngster Conner Gillaspie to load the bases to face Alexei Ramirez. Ramirez singled up the middle to tie the game. Fellow youngster Jordan Danks thought he might score too on the hit, but Chris Getz had knocked down the ball and Danks was out.

Danks would redeem himself in the 11th inning.

For some reason, Yost decided to send Kelvin Herrera out for another inning. He was saved with one out in the 11th when Salvador Perez threw Alex Rios out trying to steal second base (after he singled). Danks then hit a solo homerun to give the White Sox the lead. That is the fifth homerun Herrera has allowed six this season in just 14.1 innings. YIKES!

The Royals then went down quietly against White Sox closer Addison Reed in the bottom of the 11th. It was hardly just that inning. The last time they did not go down 1-2-3 was the 7th inning when Perez doubled with two outs.

The Royals now head to Baltimore for three games beginning tomorrow night. I’ll be at Camden Yards on Tuesday night for the series opener and hopefully the rain holds off. Unfortunately, it’ll be another cold one.

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

It has been a very good start to the season for the KC Royals, who also had a great spring training. They are currently in first place in the American League Central at 10-7 and are coming off an emotional series victory in Boston. Next up, the Royals play a three-game series in Detroit beginning Tuesday night (the Tigers are right behind them in third place).

Triple-A Omaha is currently in second place in the Pacific Coast League’s American Northern Division at 10-7 (just a 1/2 game back). The Storm Chasers continue their road trip tonight in Nashville.

Double-A NW Arkansas has the worst record in the Texas League at 5-11. They also have one of the worst pitching staffs in the league. The Naturals continue their road trip tonight with four games in Springfield.

High-A Wilmington is tied for second place in the Northern Division of the Carolina League at 8-8 (just one game back). The Blue Rocks continue their road trip tonight with four games in Salem.

Low-A Lexington is six games back in the South Atlantic League’s Southern Division at 8-10. The Legends head out on the road for three games in Asheville beginning on Tuesday night.

Now for the awards…

» Continue reading “The Inaugural Royals Weekly Awards Post”

The KC Royals received solid starting pitching, great bullpen efforts, and some power to beat Boston at Fenway Park in the day-night doubleheader on Sunday.

In Game 1, Ervin Santana out-dueled Ryan Dempster for the 4-2 win. Santana allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings. He struck out seven to pick up his second win of the season.

Greg Holland during ST against Oakland on March 12, 2013.

Bruce Chen got into some trouble in the 8th inning, but Aaron Crow escaped the jam. Greg Holland pitched a perfect 9th inning for his fourth save of the season. He struck out two of the three batters he faced on just 11 pitches.

The Royals took the lead for good in the top of the 4th inning when they scored three runs. Lorenzo Cain doubled in the inning’s first run, before Salvador Perez singled in two runs with two outs. Four of the Royals eight hits came in that inning.

The night game took ten innings to complete, as Cain walked with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th inning for the Royals 5-4 win.

Holland picked up his fifth save when he struck out the side in the bottom of the inning on 14 pitches. He struck out five total Red Sox hitters in the doubleheader.

Kelvin Herrera rebounded from an awful outing on Saturday afternoon with two scoreless innings of relief to pick up his second win of the season.

The Royals tied the game in the top of the 5th inning when George Kottaras and Alex Gordon both hit solo homeruns, their firsts of the season. It was Kottaras‘ first start of the season and he even threw a runner out trying to steal. It was short-lived, as Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie allowed a one out RBI single to Mike Napoli (who fell a triple short of the cycle).

Billy Butler hit his third homerun of the season, a solo shot, in the top of the 8th inning to tie the game at 4-4. The score stayed tied until the tenth.

On offense for the Royals, Gordon snapped out of his mini funk by going 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Alcides Escobar went 2-for-4 and Eric Hosmer also picked up two hits.

*The Royals now have off before facing Detroit on Tuesday night.

I was a happy girl this afternoon, as MLB Network picked up the KC Royals-Atlanta Braves game on Wednesday afternoon. It’s not too often that the baseball network airs Royals games, so today was a great day. It was made even greater with a Royals win.

The win was great for many reasons:

1. Wade Davis looked very good. He mixed in his off speed pitches very well, especially in the later innings. He only allowed five hits while striking out seven. Davis did not issue a walk and threw 62 of his 92 pitches for strikes.

Davis took a line drive off his butt that resulted in an out. He was helped out in his final inning by Chris Getz. With Juan Francisco on first base and two outs, Chris Johnson blooped a ball down the right field line. Getz dove to try and make the catch, but it rolled behind the tarp. Getz quickly got to his feet and threw a one hopper home to get Francisco at the plate by about two steps. That play kept the shutout and lead in place.

2. Kelvin Herrera recovered from last night’s home run barrage to pitch a scoreless 8th inning. He faced Jason Heyward again and got him to ground into a force out to end the inning.

3. Greg Holland is BACK. His fastball had movement, as did his off speed pitches. He struck out the Braves middle of the order (Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, and Dan Uggla) on 14 pitches.

4. The Royals ended the Braves winning streak at ten games and gave them just their second loss of the season.

5. Jeff Francoeur was the offensive hero in his return to Atlanta. He even received a good amount of cheers from the sparse Braves crowd. I’m sure they wish they had changed their tune when he delivered the game’s only RBI single in the 4th inning. That came with two outs.

Alcides Escobar scored the game’s only run, as he went 2-for-4 and Lorenzo Cain went 3-for-4.

The Royals have another day off on Thursday before playing in Boston for three games over the weekend. It will be the Red Sox first time back at Fenway since the Boston Marathon bombing.

With the way the game started for the second time in three days, you would be surprised by the headline. But the KC Royals fought back and beat the host Philadelphia Phillies, 9-8.

It was not easy.

Holding on to a 9-4 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning, manager Ned Yost went with JC Gutierrez out of the bullpen. He allowed a three-run homerun to Jimmy Rollins while recording just one out. That quickly ended Gutierrez‘ day, as the Phillies cut the deficit to 9-7. Yost went to closer Greg Holland, one day after his implosion. But you have to get right back on the horse right?

Yeah, it didn’t go so well. When he fell behind the first batter he faced, Chase Utley, Dave Eiland immediately went to the phone to get Kelvin Herrera up in the ‘pen. Holland got Utley to fly out for the second out. However, he then gave up back-to-back singles, which prompted Yost to pull Holland (I’m sure fans in KC were cheering loudly).

In came Herrera, who struck out pinch-hitter Laynce Nix on Saturday night, but who is also a dead-fastball hitter. Herrera got ahead with changeups, but the one fastball he threw was ripped up the middle for an RBI single to cut the lead to 9-8. A wild pitch put the winning run on second base with two outs and Erik Kratz at the plate. After fouling off a ton of pitches, Herrera dropped in a nasty changeup for strike three to thankfully end the game.

As the players headed out onto the field to shake hands, Billy Butler kept shaking his head like, “I can’t believe we almost blew that”. He single-handedly gave the Royals the lead.

In the third, Butler drove in their second run with a ground out that cut their deficit to 4-2. In the fifth, after Phils starter Cole Hamels walked Alcides Escobar to load the bases. Butler promptly took the second pitch (a hanging fastball) into the flower beds at Citizen Bank Park (though the flowers are not out yet). Three runs scored and Butler stopped at second base. After the umpires reviewed the play, Butler was rewarded with his first career grand slam.

With the bases loaded yet again in the 6th inning after another Escobar walk, Butler singled back up the middle on the second pitch of the at-bat thrown by reliever Chad Durbin. That drove in two more runs, giving him seven RBIs on the day (which is a franchise high).

It was the second time in three days that the Phillies took a 4-0 lead early against the Royals and blew it (it happened on Friday afternoon). James Shields started and struggled throughout, though he escaped damage except for the first. He allowed three straight singles to start the game before getting an out (a strikeout of Ryan Howard). After two more singles to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead, the Royals made a coaching visit. Shields allowed a sac fly to Kratz to finish the Phils first inning scoring.

Now to the home opener on Monday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins. Ervin Santana will get the start.

*The Royals got another great two inning relief effort from lefty Tim Collins. He struck out the side in relief of Shields in the 7th inning. He struck out another in his perfect 8th inning.

**The Phillies announcers seem to think that the Royals will change closers, much like the Chicago Cubs already have. Will we see Herrera anointed as the new closer?

As Greg Holland entered from the bullpen for the bottom of the 9th inning, I was so excited. Over half of the under 40,000 fans at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia had already left with the hometown Phillies losing 3-1. I was looking forward to another KC Royals victory. I left disappointed, as the Phillies rallied and won 4-3.

Holland could not pitch as well as the three pitchers who came before him did on this chilly evening. He couldn’t throw strikes, which resulted in three straight walks to lead off the ninth. After two strikeouts where the batters got themselves out, he faced pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen. Frandsen watched what Holland did to the previous two hitters: grooved a fastball on the first pitch. So Frandsen jumped all over that first pitch fastball and ripped it into the right-center field gap to clear the bases and set off a frenzy both on the field and in the stands. It was his first at-bat of the season.

The ninth inning negated the solid start from Luis Mendoza and the relief outings from Aaron Crow and Kelvin Herrera.

Mendoza only allowed two hits (and one run) over six innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Three of those strikeouts came over his final two innings. The negative was how bad he looked at the plate. It was awful to watch.

Crow followed with one strikeout in his perfect inning of relief. Herrera struck out two in his perfect inning.

It was a pitcher’s duel, as Mendoza and John Lannan matched zero for zero. In his first start in a Phillies uniform, Lannan had a perfect game before Chase Utley‘s error in the fourth. Lannan lost the no-hitter and the lead in the 5th inning, when Jeff Francoeur doubled with a man on base. Miguel Tejada followed with an RBI ground out and Elliott Johnson drove in another with an RBI single.

The Royals added what they thought was insurance in the seventh when Francoeur and Tejada hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning.

The two teams finish the series on Sunday afternoon as aces James Shields and Cole Hamels face off. Both are looking for their first wins on what is expected to be a beautiful day.

Okay, the KC Royals were already losing when closer Greg Holland took the mound in the 9th inning against the visiting Colorado Rockies. But the way the offense has been hitting, they could have come back. Instead, the Royals lost, 7-2.

It has been a rough spring so far for Holland, who the team will be counting on once the regular season begins. On Tuesday, he allowed a leadoff single to Rockies prospect Nolan Arenado and a wild pitch moved him to second base. After another single, DJ LeMahieu drove in a run with a single. After an error loaded the bases, Corey Dickerson doubled in two more runs and chased Holland from the game. Francisley Bueno retired the next two batters in order to escape the inning.

Holland threw 30 pitches, 18 for strikes. His spring ERA ballooned to 5.40. Is this something we should be concerned about?

The Royals offense picked up eight hits, but scored just two runs (one each in the second and eighth). The third baseman drove in both runs: Mike Moustakas‘ homerun in the second and Rey Navarro‘s RBI single in the eighth. Moose collected two hits.

Jeremy Guthrie took the loss, as he allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits over six innings. He walked one while striking out two. He actually had a no-hitter into the fourth and then was lit up for three runs in the fifth.

The Royals will play the LA Dodgers on Wednesday in Surprise with Wade Davis set to make the start. Tim Collins, Juan Gutierrez, Donnie Joseph, and Louis Coleman are also expected to pitch.

On Friday night (and then again this afternoon), MLB Network aired an episode of their Top Ten Right Now. It was based on the top Relievers right now heading into the 2013 season.

Via MLB Network’s Twitter

The one bright spot for the KC Royals over the last two seasons has been their bullpen and not one of those talented young relievers was on that list.

Not surprising, Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves was number one, as he has been nothing but lights out over his first two seasons in the big leagues (minus his collapse in September of his rookie season). He ranked number one on everyone’s list.

According to Clubhouse Confidential’s The Shredder, here are the next nine.

Sergio Romo of the SF Giants, coming off his second World Series title, was second. This is kind of a surprise, as he burst onto the closing scene last August.

The legendary Mariano Rivera of the NY Yankees came in at number three, but now one knows how he will pitch in 2013 at age 43 and coming off major knee surgery.

Koji Uehara, who is now with Boston, was fourth. I think he deserved to be on this list, as he is often overlooked (which I think he was with both Baltimore and Texas). But this high?

Fernando Rodney, who had the best season of ANY reliever in 2012 with the Tampa Bay Rays, was fifth. Can he do that again? The Rays are hoping so, as they picked up his option for 2013.

Eric O’Flaherty of the Braves came in at six. The lefty has pitched in a ton of games over the last few seasons and I always wonder when manager Fredi Gonzalez will burn him out. I was actually surprised that Jonny Venters was not on this list. He is the better of the two Braves lefty relievers.

» Continue reading “No Love for Royals Bullpen”

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America named KC Royals reliever/closer Greg Holland as their Pitcher of the Year.

Despite pitching terrible over his first seven appearances out of the bullpen (opponents hit .406 against him) and then heading to the DL, Holland turned his season around once he returned.

After his return form the DL (where he worked on his mechanics and healed his ribs), Holland posted a 7-2 record with a 2.08 ERA. He picked up 16 saves in 60 games and opponents hit just .208 against him. Over 67 innings, he struck out 91. He struck out at least one in 14 of his final 15 appearances.

Those numbers allowed the Royals to trade then-closer Jonathan Broxton to Cincinnati and give the closer’s job to Holland. Those numbers also lowered his early season ERA of 11.37 to a respectable 2.96 at the end of the season.

On Wednesday, DH Billy Butler was named the Royals Player of the Year by the same writers. It is his third such honor (2009-2010).

Butler set career highs in 2012 in homeruns (29) and RBIs (107). Fourteen of his homeruns either tied the game or gave the Royals the lead. He also was named to his first All-Star team.

His .313 batting average was tied for sixth in the American League. He also hit 32 doubles.

Butler was the AL’s most used DH, though he did start 20 games at first base. He is the leading candidate for the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.

Dick Kaegal lists some of Butler’s top moments from the 2012 season, including his blast against St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Motte on June 17th at Busch Stadium. With the Royals one strike away from another loss, Butler hit a homerun to tie the game at 2-2. The Royals went on to win in 15 innings.

Do you think the KCBBWAA made the right picks?

The KC Royals broke their six-game losing streak, but it took 14 innings for them to defeat the Cleveland indians, 7-6.

Tony Abreu with Omaha via Minda Haas (Royal Blues).

Mike Moustakas walked to lead off the inning. However Indians reliever Scott Maine struck out back-to-back hitters. A wild pitch mixed in moved Moose to second base. Tony Abreu then singled to centerfield to drive in the go ahead run.

The win was nothing but interesting as Kelvin Herrera entered in the bottom of the 14th inning. Ezequiel Carrera reached on a bunt single, Shin-Soo Choo singled, and Jason Kipnis walked to load the bases with no outs. However, ten pitches later, the Royals were celebrating the victory as Herrera retired the next three batters to escape.

How did the game reach the 14th inning?

Clinging to a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Royals sent closer Greg Holland to the mound to close out the victory. Instead, he allowed the Indians to send the game into extra innings.

Holland led off by walking the first batter he faced. Lonnie Chisenhall followed with a single. After a sac bunt, Holland struck out pinch-hitter Cord Phelps. That brought up Asdrubal Cabrera, who doubled in two runs to tie the game at 6-6.

Two more walks loaded the bases and brought on a coaching visit. Holland rebounded to get Choo to fly out to send the game into extra innings.

Holland was hardly the only Royals reliever to struggle on Saturday night. Two of their back-end guys, Aaron Crow and Tim Collins, combined to allow two runs in the 8th inning. Crow walked two and allowed a hit before giving way to Collins, who allowed both runs to score on a two out single.

Royals starter Jake Odorizzi didn’t last long enough to even sniff a victory. He needed 65 pitches to get through just TWO innings. At that time, he was losing 1-0. After getting the first batter he faced out, he walked the next two hitters. One scored on Chisenhall‘s RBI double.

The Royals erupted for six runs in the top of the 3rd inning. They sent nine batters to the plate and all the runs scored with two outs. With two outs and no one on base, Irving Falu singled. Following an Alex Gordon walk, Billy Butler drove in one run with a single. Salvador Perez‘ infield single loaded the bases for Moose, who doubled in two. Jeff Francoeur followed with a three-run homerun.

From the 3rd inning on, the Royals picked up just two more hits prior to the extra frames.

Meanwhile, Nate Adcock pitched very well behind Odorizzi. He was a little shaky fielding his position though. Two of his errors cost the Royals one run, the only one he allowed over 3.2 innings. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out six.