Will Smith

The KC Royals continue to play well, they knocked the host Cleveland Indians out of first place, and rookie Will Smith earned his first Major League victory in an 8-2 win on Tuesday. Oh and the bullpen was masterful again.

The Royals jumped on Indians starter Justin Masterson in the top of the first inning with Mike Moustakas‘ two-run homerun. Problem was, the Indians came right back in the bottom of the first.

Smith walked the first two hitters he faced (Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Kipnis) and Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a single to load the bases. Jose Lopez drove in one run with a single and Michael Brantley drove in another with a ground out. However Smith escaped.

The Royals offense went to work again against Masterson in the 2nd inning. They scored five runs in all. It may have been more if Moose‘s foul ball was ruled fair, but he drove in two runs with a single anyway.

Then the game moved quickly. Smith allowed two more hits and his defense played sloppy behind him (three errors). Masterson stayed in the game and allowed one more run in the 6th inning on Humberto Quintero‘s RBI single.

The Royals bullpen relieved Smith after the 6th inning and pitched three scoreless innings of relief. It started with Kelvin Herrera, who allowed one hit. Tim Collins and Aaron Crow followed with two perfect innings of relief.

On offense, the Royals went 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Alex Gordon, Johnny Giavotella, and Moose each had two hits.

With the Indians loss and Chicago’s win over Tampa Bay, Cleveland is now 1/2 game back of the White Sox in the American League Central. The Royals are seven games back.

On a hot and humid Sunday afternoon in Baltimore, KC Royals starter Luke Hochevar didn’t last five innings. He threw 104 pitches. Somehow, the bullpen put together 4.1 shutout innings and the offense did just enough to secure the series win over the Orioles, 4-2.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the top of the 6th inning, the Royals scored two runs off Orioles starter Brian Matusz. Jeff Francoeur led off the inning with a solo homerun (he had two hits). With two outs, Humberto Quintero padded the lead with an RBI double (he had two hits).

Now to the stellar bullpen effort. Lefty Tim Collins entered in the 5th inning with two men on base and got Wilson Betemit to line out on the first pitch to end the inning. Collins then struck out two of the three hitters he faced in the 6th inning.

Next up was Kelvin Herrera, who retired the side in order in the 7th inning. He induced a ground out from Matt Wieters leading off the 8th inning and was replaced by lefty Jose Mijares, who allowed a double to Davis before getting Betemit to ground out. After Steve Tolleson was announced as a pinch-hitter, Aaron Crow came on in relief to strike Tolleson out to end the threat.

Closer Jonathan Broxton got two quick outs in the 9th inning before JJ Hardy reached second base on a fielding error by Francoeur in right field. Broxton didn’t seem fazed, as he struck out Nick Markakas to end the game and complete the series win.

What was so stellar about the bullpen effort today was that they were strike-throwing machines. Collins threw 11 pitches, all for strikes. Herrera threw 20 pitches, 16 for strikes. Crow got a strikeout on just four pitches. All-in-all, the bullpen threw 51 pitches, 41 for strikes.

Billy Butler gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with his 11th homerun of the season (are you voting him into the All-Star Game yet?)

The Royals move on to Cleveland with a winning streak to face the suddenly struggling Indians.

*After collecting three hits on Saturday, I thought Eric Hosmer may have broken out of his season-long slump. Instead, he went 0-for-4 today with three strikeouts.

**For more on the Orioles, check out Charm City Yakyuu.

I’m live at a hot Camden Yards, as the KC Royals look to win a game this season against the Baltimore Orioles. The right guy is on the mound: Felipe Paulino. This will be the first time I have seen him pitch in person. He is matched up against the equally stingy Wei-Yin Chen.

I will try to give updates as best I can. Eric Hosmer has dropped to eighth in the order.

» Continue reading “Royals @ O’s Live Blog”

The KC Royals have been good on the road so far in 2012, but lost a pitcher’s duel to the NY Yankees, 3-2.

Via Cheryl Norman

The Royals had a 2-0 lead after the top of the 4th inning off Yankees starter Phil Hughes. In the 3rd inning, Humberto Quintero doubled in a run. Jeff Francoeur hit a two out solo homerun in the 4th inning.

That lead was short-lived, as the Yankees came back with one run in the bottom of the 4th inning on a Robinson Cano solo homerun and two more in the 5th inning to take the lead they would not relinquish. In that 5th inning, Derek Jeter drove in a run with a single and Curtis Granderson followed with an RBI ground out.

The Royals had their chances throughout the game, including the 9th inning against Yankees closer Rafael Soriano. With one out, Alex Gordon hit a ground-rule double. However, Soriano induced two straight ground outs to close out the game.

Hughes, who about a month ago was being talked about as being sent to the minors or headed to the bullpen, has been great in May. He picked up his fourth win of the season (second against the Royals), as he allowed two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out seven.

Hochevar was the hard-luck loser, as he allowed three runs on six hits and three walks over 6.2 innings. He struck out eight.

The Royals continue to struggle with runners in scoring position, as they were just 1-for-6. Francoeur collected two hits in the loss.

*For more on the Yankees, check out Second Place is Not an Option.

Just when you thought the KC Royals had found their stride, especially after shutting down the hot Texas Rangers, the Baltimore Orioles went into Kauffman Stadium and swept the short two-game series. The Royals lost today’s game 5-3.

The Royals took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning on five hits. The big hit came via Humberto Quintero‘s two-run double off O’s starter Brian Matusz. Matusz had been perfect prior to that inning. The Royals had baserunners in each inning after (except the 8th inning against Pedro Strop), but could not muster anything else.

Adam Jones struck again in the top of the 4th inning with a two-run homerun off Luke Hochevar to cut the Orioles deficit to 3-2.

Hochevar started the 7th inning, but gave up back-to-back singles, which scored a run. In came Aaron Crow, who didn’t fare much better. He retired the first two hitters he faced before walking the next two (both of which are rookies). JJ Hardy delivered the big blow, a two-run single that gave the O’s the lead they would not relinquish.

The bottom of the Royals order (Alcides Escobar, Irving Falu, and Quintero) went 6-for-9 with two RBIs and three runs scored. As a team, the Royals only collected nine hits. They went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but did not hit into a double play.

» Continue reading “Royals Swept by O’s in Two-Game Series”

With the KC Royals enjoying a rare  day off between spring training games and exhibition games (they play the San Diego Padres tomorrow at Petco Park), today is a great day to look at the roster manager Ned Yost will be bringing to play the LA Angels for Friday’s Opening Day (well, night).

ROTATION: Yost set the rotation about a week ago (while some teams still have yet to name their Opening Day starters *cough* Angels *cough*). Left-hander Bruce Chen will start Opening Night against the Angels, followed by right-hander Luke Hochevar and lefty Jonathan Sanchez. Hochevar is then in line to start the Royals home opener against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, April 13th.

Right-hander Luis Mendoza will slot in behind Sanchez and will start the first game in Oakland. Lefty Danny Duffy rounds out the rotation. So that’s L-R-L-R-L.

BULLPEN: The bullpen took a major hit when Joakim Soria hurt his elbow (and will succumb to Tommy John surgery tomorrow). That makes the signing of Jonathan Broxton that much more meaningful. Yost right now will go with a closing three-headed monster of Broxton, Greg Holland, and Aaron Crow. Don’t be surprised if rookie Kelvin Herrera takes over that job by the end of the season.

Even with all the lefties in the rotation, Yost decided to carry three left-handers in the bullpen. Jose Mijares is the veteran, as he signed this offseason after spending his entire career with American League Central foe Minnesota. Everett Teaford and Tim Collins are in the bullpen for their sophomore seasons. Teaford most likely will fill long-man duties.

» Continue reading “Take a Look at the Royals Opening Day Roster”

As the KC Royals are playing versus the LA Angels, the team has acquired their backup catcher in an effort to slighten the blow of losing starter Salvador Perez for half the season.

Scouts checked out Houston Astro Humberto Quintero in his first spring game back from back issues and today they made a deal to acquire him.

Thing is, they also got outfielder Jason Bourgeois. The Royals need an outfielder like they need a hole in the head. Maybe they are planning on trading him elsewhere?

The Royals only gave up minor league reliever Kevin Chapman (who spent part of last season in High-A Wilmington) and a player to be named later.

I’ve been a fan of Quintero’s since his days in the Carolina League (he was an All-Star back in 2002). He’s a pretty good defensive catcher and is known to play through injuries (he’s a tough guy).

Welcome to the team!