The KC Royals traded right-hander Jeremy Jeffress to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. He was placed on waivers last week.

Jeffress came to the Royals from the Milwaukee Brewers via the Zack Greinke deal. He has struggled throughout his career with his command.

He admitted that he made progress this season with the help of minor league pitching coaches Doug Henry and Larry (LC) Carter:

 ”In the last year, I felt like I made progress,” Jeffress said. “The first time I came up in April at the beginning of the year, it really opened my eyes. I felt like I had to learn a lot more stuff off the field and to be able to stay focused on my task at hand. The year before, 2011, I just felt like I was all off. It was my first year breaking camp with the big team and when I got sent down, my concentration was just all lost.”

He is expected to head to play winter ball for Bravos de Margarita in Venezuela. The Blue Jays need bullpen help and Jeffress could be a key cog if he can figure it all out.

» Continue reading “Bye, Bye Jeffress, Hottovy”

Yup, that’s right. The Cleveland Indians scored ten runs in an inning. They went on to beat the KC Royals, 15-3.

The ten run inning in the fifth made a relatively well-pitched game UGLY.

The Indians led 1-0 after the 2nd inning on a two out RBI single by Lou Marson. Luke Hochevar pitched well up until the fifth when the wheels completely fell off.

Shin-Soo Choo doubled to lead off the inning, stole second base, and scored on Jason Kipnis‘ RBI double. After a bunt single by Asdrubal Cabrera and a coaching visit, Hochevar struck out Lonnie Chisenhall. But then Jack Hannahan singled in a run and Brent Lillibridge walked to load the bases.

Casey Kotchman grounded into a force out to drive in another run and Marson walked again to load the bases. On the very next pitch, Hochevar hit Jason Donald to drive in a run and Choo followed with a two-run single to chase Hochevar from the game.

In came lefty Everett Teaford, who didn’t fare any better in the inning. He walked he first batter he faced, Kipnis, on four pitches. Cabrera followed with a grand slam to cap the Indians scoring.

Let’s recap the 5th inning:

The Indians sent 13 men to the plate. They scored ten runs. They collected six hits. The Royals two pitchers walked three hitters while hitting another.

The Royals actually got two of those runs back in the top of the 6th inning on Alex Gordon‘s homerun. But it was a little too late.

Jeremy Jeffress had another rough outing on Sunday. In the 7th inning, he allowed two runs on pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta‘s double. In the eighth, he allowed four straight singles with one out that drove in another run. That chased him from the game and brought in Louis Coleman. He wild pitched a run in.

The Royals finish up the 2012 season with the Detroit Tigers heading to Kauffman Stadium. They could play spoiler for the Tigers, but they have a three game lead in the American League Central over Chicago with three games to go.

*The injuries keep piling up as the 2012 season is coming to an end. Third baseman Mike Moustakas left the game with groin tightness. He says he’s okay.

It was a pitcher’s duel early until the two teams’ bullpens got into the action. The KC Royals were then pummeled by the Cleveland Indians, 15-4.

Jake Odorizzi with the Blue Rocks

Jake Odorizzi was making his Major League debut for the Royals and looked good early on. I couldn’t watch the game (as many probably couldn’t because it wasn’t televised), but either he was aggressive in the strike zone or the Indians were aggressive at the plate. He hit the 50 pitch mark after four innings, but 34 of them were for strikes.

Then the 5th inning. He needed 22 pitches to get through the inning, but still did not allow a run.

In the sixth, it was the third time through the Indians order. Odorizzi finally retired Shin-Soo Choo (who had the only two hits off him to that point). Jason Kipnis then tripled on the very first pitch and the wheels seemed to fall off for Odorizzi.

He fell behind 2-0 to Asdrubal Cabrera before allowing an RBI single to give the Indians the lead. Carlos Santana took the first pitch from Odorizzi into the seats for a two-run homerun.

After a coaching visit, he allowed a single to Michael Brantley which ended his day. Francisley Bueno entered and escaped. He was the only Royals reliever to not allow a run.

All-in-all, it was a good first start for Odorizzi. His fastball stayed in the 88-92 mph range. He hit 93 mph once when trying to put away Jack Hannahan (he ended up walking him). He allowed three runs on six hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out three.

Indians starter David Huff was just as good as Odorizzi, though he was losing 1-0 before the 6th inning. The only run he allowed came via Adam Moore‘s first homerun in the big leagues this season.

Huff retired eight in a row after the homerun before walking Moore to lead off the bottom of the sixth. After Alex Gordon‘s two out single put runners at the corners, Huff was lifted for Esmil Rogers, who threw one pitch to get Billy Butler to fly out to end the inning.

The Royals usually reliable bullpen was BAD on Sunday. It all started in the top of the 7th inning. The Indians sent 11 men to the plate and scored five runs off three Royals relievers.

» Continue reading “Tribe Ruins Odorizzi’s Debut”

KC Royals starter Will Smith had another rough outing and the bullpen faltered yet again, as the Royals lost to Boston, 8-6.

Smith had two clean innings, but around that got smacked around a bit. In the first inning, he gave up three straight one out hits (which resulted in a run) before getting James Loney to ground into an inning ending double play in his Red Sox debut.

In the 2nd inning, Smith allowed two more hits and a walk, but escaped with just one run allowed.

Lorenzo Cain

The Royals offense went to work in the top of the 4th inning against Red Sox starter Felix Doubront, who was just activated off the DL. They erupted for four runs, three coming on a Lorenzo Cain homerun. The rally started with two outs and nobody on base.

It looked like Smith had settled down, as he retired nine in a row before Pedro Ciriaco hit a solo homerun in the 5th inning. With runners on the corners and two outs, Loney tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Red Sox put two men on base with nobody out to chase Smith from the game (the one base runner reached on an error). Lefty Tim Collins entered and recorded two quick outs before allowing an RBI single by Jacoby Ellsbury to give the Red Sox the lead (it was off Eric Hosmer’s glove). Aaron Crow recorded the final out.

The Royals bullpen has been overworked all season long due to the ineffectiveness of their starting staff. That has led to the recent struggles. With the extra inning win on Saturday night, those relievers were back out on the mound again.

Except for Jeremy Jeffress, who entered in relief in the 7th inning and the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out. After striking out Mike Aviles, Scott Podsednik hit a sharp grounder to Alcides Escobar, who booted it for his second costly error of the game. A run scored. Another run scored on Ciriaco‘s grounder to third base.

» Continue reading “Smith, Bullpen Falter in Royals Loss”

Despite a vigorous comeback, Omaha lost to Memphis 7-5. They out-hit the Redbirds 16-10, but went just 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

Wil Myers hit his 6th homerun in Triple-A (one of his three hits), a two-run shot in the 9th inning. Irving Falu returned to Omaha and didn’t miss a beat. He led off and went 2-for-5.

After Jonathan Sanchez exited (2.2IP, 6H, 6R, 4BB, 3K, two HR allowed), the Storm Chasers bullpen held Memphis in check. Blaine Hardy allowed one run over 2.1 innings (he entered in the 3rd inning with the bases loaded but escaped). Jeremy Jeffress followed with three 1-hit innings. Brandon Sisk pitched a perfect inning of relief.

NW Arkansas scored most of their runs from the 5th to the 7th innings en route to  their 10-3 win. The Naturals hit three homeruns: Christian Colon‘s two-run shot in the 5th inning, Sharlon Schoop‘s solo homer in the 6th inning, and Carlo Testa‘s three-run shot in the 7th inning.

CC went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and Testa went 2-for-3.

Ryan Dennick picked up the win with 4.1 innings of relief. He allowed one run on three hits and a walk.

Frisco scored all three of their runs via solo homeruns, two from Mike Olt.

Wilmington couldn’t complete the sweep over Frederick, as they lost 6-2. They were hampered by errors (five), walks (five), and missed opportunities by the offense (which isn’t anything new). You can check out my live blog HERE. I hope to have pictures and some video of starter Leondy Perez and reliever Edwin Carl up on the Facebook page on Monday.

Kane County got a walk-off victory in the 10th inning over Peoria, 6-5. Lane Adams delivered the game-winning hit with an RBI single.

Kellen Moen pitched well (he left with the win), as he allowed just three runs on seven hits over seven innings. He struck out eight.

I apologize for not updating for Friday night’s minor league games. Reality hasn’t been too kind as of late, so I’m combining Friday and Saturday night’s recaps.

Omaha scored a run in the top of the 5th inning, only to see Round Rock score two runs in the bottom of the inning en route to their 2-1 victory on Friday night. Will Smith took the loss, as he allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings. He struck out five. Jeremy Jeffress followed with a shutout inning of relief and was called up to the big leagues to take the place of the injured Greg Holland.

On offense for the Storm Chasers, Irving Falu went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases.

Francisley Bueno was in his third inning of work for the Storm Chasers in the 9th inning Saturday night, when he allowed a two-run homerun to tie the game at 5-5. The game went into extra innings. Make that the 13th inning to be exact.

The Storm Chasers loaded the bases on an error with nobody out. Jarrod Dyson came to the plate and provided the heroics with a walk-off single and the 6-5 win. They pounded out 16 hits, as five players had two hits.

Tommy Hottovy earned the victory with three hitless innings of relief. He struck out five.

NW Arkansas was rained out in Little Rock on Friday so the two teams played a doubleheader on Saturday. In Game 1, the Travelers used two 3-run innings en route to their 7-1 victory. The Naturals lone run came via a Wil Myers homerun.

In the loss, Ben Theriot went 2-for-2. Elisaul Pimentel put together his first good relief outing for the Naturals, as he allowed one hit and a walk over 1.1 innings. He even left an inherited runner stranded.

The second game was ugly for the Naturals, as starter Tim Melville lasted just 1.2 innings. He allowed eight runs on eight hits and two walks, as the Naturals lost 10-3. The Naturals did not get on the board until they were already losing 10-0.

So was there any good in this game? Well…yes. Reliever Bryan Paukovits threw two scoreless innings while striking out two. John Whittleman went 2-for-3 with a two-run homerun. Kurt Mertins also went 2-for-3.

Wilmington Blue Rocks starter Greg Billo put together a start on Friday night similar to the one’s he put together last year in Kane County. He pitched five shutout innings en route to his first High-A victory. The Blue Rocks beat Winston-Salem, 6-0.

Billo allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four. Angel Franco so far has played his way into the struggling Blue Rocks lineup. As the DH on Friday, he went 3-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base to raise his batting average to .343. Catcher Kevin David went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

The Blue Rocks won Saturday’s wild affair, 9-6. They had taken a 6-2 lead in the top of the 6th inning only to see Winston-Salem score four in the bottom of the inning to tie that game at 6-6. In the top of the 9th inning, the Blue Rocks scored three runs, capped by a Cheslor Cuthbert two-run single.

Brian Fletcher finally hit his first homerun, while also going 2-for-5. Jake Kuebler also hit a homerun, while driving in four runs.

There wasn’t a whole lot of good that came out of Kane County’s loss on Friday night. They lost to Fort Wayne, 12-1. They allowed 6 hits and committed three errors. The Cougars’ pitchers issued seven walks.

On Saturday, Fort Wayne put up five runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back, as they won 7-2. Orlando Calixte accounted for both runs, as he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Three errors for the Cougars cost starter Jason Mitchell three runs (4IP, 5H, 6R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K). Scott Alexander followed with 2.2 perfect innings of relief. He struck out three.

Yet another slugfest today between Omaha and Albuquerque. This afternoon, Omaha had two 5-run innings en route to their 12-10 victory over the Isotopes.

Max Ramirez was a big part of the last five-run inning in the 8th inning, with a three-run homerun. It was his second of the game and he had six RBIs. It was the Storm Chasers fourth homerun of the game.

Jeremy Jeffress earned the win in relief, as he pitched three shutout innings. He allowed just one hit. Tommy Hottovy made it interesting in the 9th inning, as he allowed one run and the Isotopes had runners at the corners with just one out, but escaped.

Omaha collected 13 hits. Terry Evans went 3-for-4. Johnny Giavotella, Tony Abreu, David Lough, and Ramirez each collected two hits.

NW Arkansas split their doubleheader with San Antonio. In Game 1, the Naturals won 5-4 as they scored single runs in the 5th and 6th inning to take the lead.

Tim Melville started and only allowed two hits and one earned run (three total). However he walked five and only lasted four innings. Offensively for the Naturals, Yem Prades went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

In Game 2, the Naturals were pounded 10-4. They actually had a 3-0 lead heading into the 3rd inning, but the Missions scored ten runs over the next four innings.

Chris Dwyer got the start and wasn’t too bad. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks over three innings. He struck out six.

Offensively for the Naturals, Rey Navarro went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks finally got that big inning that manager Vance Wilson has been talking about. They scored six runs in the bottom of the 6th inning en route to their 9-2 victory.

That outburst made a winner of Leondy Perez who allowed two runs in the first inning. Over five innings, he allowed four hits and a walk while striking out two. Sugar Ray Marimon pitched four scoreless innings in relief to earn the save. He allowed just two hits while striking out five.

Kevin David went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and four RBIs. Alex McClure went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He also stole a base.

Check out this wacky 3rd inning:

The Kane County Cougars were rained out tonight in Beloit. They will play two tomorrow.

Jonathan Sanchez had yet to really excel in a start for the KC Royals during spring training (though he pitched well in a Triple-A game). Saturday night he looked like the pitcher the Royals envisioned when they traded for him.

Pitching against his former National League West foes, Sanchez was pretty dominant against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He came out of the game in the 6th inning after his defense failed him twice on the same play.

The Royals were leading 3-1 with one out in the 6th inning when Sanchez walked Chris Young. Paul Goldschmidt then delivered a single, moving Young to third base. Ryan Roberts hit a ground ball that resulted in a fielding error and a throwing error, and cost Sanchez a run. It also ended his outing.

In came Jeremy Jeffress, who was greeted by a Gerardo Parra RBI single. That tied the game at 3-3. Jeffress would settle down and get out of the inning.

The Royals came right back to retake the lead against the DBacks’ Tyler Skaggs. With one out, Johnny Giavotella singled and Eric Hosmer doubled him to third base. A wild pitch by Skaggs allowed Gio to score. After a Lorenzo Cain ground out, Jeff Francoeur followed with an RBI double. Moose followed with an RBI single and the Royals were up 6-3.

Aaron Crow struggled in his one inning of work. He allowed two runs on three hits (to the DBacks’ minor leaguers) and a walk. It could have been worse, but Jason Bourgeois threw a runner out at the plate to end the inning.

So here’s Sanchez‘ line: 5.1 IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 3BB, 6K. He even picked a guy off. The walks are a bit high, but expected with Sanchez.

Every Royals starter had at least one hit (except for Chris Getz and Sanchez). Alex Gordon led off the game with a homerun. He went 2-for-3. Cain, Francoeur, and Brayan Pena each went 2-for-4.

*For more on the DBacks, check out Snakes on the Grass.

I’m beginning to think that the baseball Gods are not looking down too kindly on the KC Royals.

Today’s starting pitcher, Luis Mendoza, left the game due to an injury. He was hit in the leg by a Brandon Allen ground ball in just the 2nd inning and left limping badly. It was ruled to just be a bruised hamstring, so hopefully he won’t miss much time. Mendoza has been great this spring and seemed to have a leg up on the rotation competition.

Francisley Bueno relieved him and pitched two shutout innings. Greg Holland was next, and he struggled a bit for the second straight outing (two runs on one hit and a walk). He did strike out four though in 1.2 innings. However, Holland was gone when the runs scored (Jose Mijares allowed both inherited runners to score).

Jeremy Jeffress allowed a solo homerun in his 1.2 innings of work. Tim Collins pitched 1.1 shutout innings and Roman Colon (he’s back?) finished off the Oakland A’s in the 9th inning.

The Royals jumped on A’s starter Graham Godfrey in the first inning, as they scored two quick runs. Lorenzo Cain gave them a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning with a solo homerun (it’s his third of the spring).

The Royals were held in check until the 6th inning when Max Ramirez again delivered. With the bases loaded, he contributed a two-run single and Alex Gordon followed with an RBI single. Eric Hosmer contributed an RBI single before the A’s got out of the inning.

Gordon went 2-for-3, Hosmer went 2-for-4, Mike Moustakas went 2-for-3, and Yuniesky Betancourt went 1-for-2. Jarrod Dyson came off the bench and walked twice, scored a run, and stole a base.

*Alcides Escobar grounded into an inning-ending double play in the 4th inning. That gives the Royals 19 DPs during the spring season.

**For more on the A’s, who played their final spring training game before they open the season against Seattle in Japan, check out the Oaktown Breakdown.

There are about two weeks left of spring games with today being the only day off for the KC Royals. The team has made a few cuts, but still have a ton of pitchers still in camp that are competing for the seven expected spots in the Opening Day bullpen.

Greg Holland

The locks in the bullpen are expected to be closer Joakim Soria, new setup man Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland, and lefty Jose Mijares. Three of the four have been very good, but Soria has been shaky and now is dealing with elbow discomfort. Soria’s health could play into who makes the Opening Day roster.

Broxton was held back a bit, but his first appearance came live on MLB Network and he was popping 96 mph fastballs. He really looked good. In his two appearances so far (totaling two innings), he has not allowed a hit and just one walk. Broxton has struck out three and thrown 18 of his 24 pitches for strikes.

Holland has been equally as impressive, but over more outings. He has pitched five times so far, totaling 5.1 innings. His last outing was the only time he has allowed a hit (two of them to be exact) or a run. Overall, Holland has not walked a batter while striking out seven.

Mijares has not allowed a run over five appearances (totaling 5.2 innings). He has allowed just four hits and no walks, while striking out three.

Those are the four locks (though it may be just three if Soria has to miss any time). What about the rest of the competition?

» Continue reading “How is Spring Going for the Royals Relievers?”