For once, Jeremy Guthrie pitched well, but it still didn’t result in a KC Royals victory. They lost the first game of their three-game series against Texas, 5-3.

The Rangers scored single runs off Guthrie in the first and fourth innings before chasing him in the 7th inning. He ended up allowing three runs on six hits and two walks over six innings (plus one batter in the 7th).

The Rangers’ three-run 7th inning did in the Royals. Michael Young singled to chase Guthrie from the game. In came lefty Jose Mijares (remember when the Royals were trying to trade him?). With one out, Mijares walked Geovany Soto (a sub .200 hitter) before giving up a three-run homerun to Mitch Moreland that gave the Rangers a 5-1 lead.

The Royals offense collected more hits than the Rangers (10-7), but only went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They also hit into two double plays.

*Mike Moustakas tweaked his knee again while sliding n Thursday, but is expected back in the lineup on Saturday.

**Let’s check in on some of the traded Royals. Jonathan Sanchez started tonight for Colorado (he was swapped for Guthrie). Right now, the Rockies are losing to SF, 16-4. Sanchez lasted just three innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks. He threw 67 pitches, 33 for strikes, while also throwing two wild pitches.

Jonathan Broxton picked up a hold tonight for the Cincinnati Reds, as he entered with two men on base in the 8th inning but escaped unscathed. He threw five pitches, all for strikes (he induced an inning-ending double play). That was his second outing for the team with the best record in baseball.

Wait! Someone actually wants Jonathan Sanchez?

Apparently, the Colorado Rockies think they can figure him out.

Jeremy Guthrie via Keith Allison/Flickr

This morning, while Toronto and Houston were trading ten players, the KC Royals and Rockies were busy swapping struggling starters. The Royals sent the lefty Sanchez to the Rockies for right-hander Jeremy Guthrie.

Guthrie has bombed in Colorado this season after being traded there from Baltimore. Outside of Coors Field, he has a 3.67 ERA (not bad). He is also more familiar with the American League. I think Guthrie can pitch better than he has so far in 2012 and he is a innings eater (at least he was in the past).

Plus, he’s a pretty good guy and teammate and won’t hurt the clubhouse atmosphere. He may actually help it.

The Rockies will save $1.1 million, though they are gaining a headache. The Rockies pitching has been atrocious all season long, even with them going to a four-man rotation with a 75 pitch limit. Sanchez usually uses up that many pitches over about three innings (or less).

Maybe Sanchez can rediscover his 2010 form pitching in the National League West again? Maybe not and he’ll just add to their pitching woes.

Guthrie last pitched on July 18th, so he probably won’t start until next week. In his last two road starts (at St. Louis and Washington), he allowed four runs on 12 hits over 12 innings while striking out five.

I am hopeful that I will never have to write another title like last night’s (“Royals Sanchez Bombed Again”) after today’s news: the KC Royals designated lefty Jonathan Sanchez for assignment.

Peace Out from Jonathan Sanchez (via Minda Haas, Royal Blues).

That news is great because many couldn’t figure out how he kept his roster spot after each of his starts (just one win, an ERA closer to 8.00, and not reaching six innings in a start). The bad news is that Melky Cabrera is still lighting it up for the SF Giants.

As I mentioned last night in my rant of his poor start, I criticized this trade from the beginning. Sure Sanchez pitched a no-hitter and pitched well in the Giants run to the 2010 World Series, but he was terrible in the postseason and hasn’t done much since.

I doubt that Sanchez will accept an assignment to Triple-A, but maybe someone will take him off the Royals hands. So, say goodbye!

In the last hour, the Royals FINALLY named a starter for tonight’s game: lefty Ryan Verdugo. This is interesting considering he has been pitching out of the bullpen for Triple-A Omaha over the last month. Verdugo is the other piece the Royals received for Melky.

The Royals also sent outfielder Jason Bourgeois to Omaha to bring up right-hander Vin Mazzaro. I’m not sure Mazzaro is the answer to the Royals pitching problems, but if he pitches a few innings tonight, he’ll probably be sent back to the minors anyway.

Once again, KC Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez did not reach the 6th inning. Well, he didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning tonight, as he and the Royals lost to the visiting Seattle Mariners, 9-4.

Three batters into the game, the Mariners led 3-0 on a Casper Wells three-run homerun. Two batters after that, the Mariners led 5-0 with nobody out on Justin Smoak‘s two-run homerun.

It was 7-0 Mariners when Sanchez was FINALLY taken out in the second inning with a runner on third base and just one out. Wells chased Sanchez from the game with a two-run triple.

The Royals and Mariners both collected the same amount of hits (11). Problem is, the Royals were just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and hit into two double plays (both by Alcides Escobar). They made two errors and Yuniesky Betancourt was thrown out at third base to end the 4th inning on a Alex Gordon fly out to left.

The 3rd inning capitalized all of their offense’s problems. After Salvador Perez homered to lead off the inning, Gordon walked. Then came one of Escobar‘s DP’s. Eric Hosmer then followed with a walk and Billy Butler drove him in with a homerun. Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas put together back-to-back singles, but Jeff Francoeur flied out to end the inning.

The Royals scored three runs in that inning to cut the deficit to 7-3, but they could have gotten back into the game with some clutch hitting.

» Continue reading “Royals Sanchez Bombed Again”

It was another less than six inning performance for KC Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez in their 4-2 loss in Detroit. Sanchez threw 101 pitches in just 5.2 innings.

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning on a Quintin Berry two-run triple. That was their third hit of the inning. It could have been worse for Sanchez, but he got both Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder to ground out to end the inning.

The Royals tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the 5th inning. With two outs and Mike Moustakas on second base, Brayan Pena drove him in with a double. Jason Bourgeois followed with an RBI single. That was the first jam that Tigers starter Drew Smyly was in. The only base runner that had reached prior to Moose‘s ground rule double was Billy Butler, who singled to leadoff the second inning.

Delmon Young hit a two-run homerun to break the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 6th inning.

The Tigers had plenty of chances, as they collected nine hits and four walks, but went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Smyly was dominant in his second start against the Royals (first since April). He allowed two runs on six hits and no walks over six innings. He struck out ten. Smyly struck out the side in the 2nd and 4th innings. He struck out at least one batter in ever inning but the 5th.

Maybe the Royals can get their offense going on Saturday against Doug Fister?

*For more on the Tigers, check out Motown Lowdown.

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Before heading to the All-Star break, the KC Royals play a three-game series in Detroit. The Royals sit three games back of the Tigers for third place in the American League Central. Every time the Royals get close to taking over third place, they fall back. Both teams have similar offenses (near the top in overall team batting average) and pitching staffs (in the middle of the pack).

The Tigers are NOT where many felt they would be in the standings (41-42), because on paper, they are probably the best team in the AL Central. Austin Jackson has put up All-Star caliber numbers (.332 which is third in the AL). Minor league veteran Quintin Berry has come up and shocked everyone (.295 with 12 stolen bases). Miguel Cabrera (.325 with 25 doubles, 18 homeruns, and 70 RBIs) and Prince Fielder (.298 with 58 RBIs) keep doing what they normally do.

Justin Verlander hasn’t been as dominant as he was last season, but he’s still pitching like a staff ace (9-5 with a 2.58 ERA with 128 strikeouts). Thankfully the Royals will not have to face him this weekend. However, the rest of the rotation has been an inconsistent mess and the bullpen tends to cough up leads. It’s tough to be perfect in consecutive seasons, isn’t it Jose Valverde? (Just ask Brad Lidge.)

» Continue reading “Royals @ Tigers Preview”

As good as the starting pitching for the KC Royals was on Friday night, it was just as bad on Saturday. The offense was also non-existent in both games.

In Game 1, the Royals lost to Minnesota, 7-2. Jonathan Sanchez was his usual ineffective self. His command was off and he lasted just 4.1 innings (he threw 101 pitches). Not a good performance considering it was the first game of a doubleheader. Oh and he also allowed five stolen bases. It was like he was asleep on the mound.

The offense was stymied by Twins starter Scott Diamond. He allowed two runs on six hits over eight innings. The Royals collected seven hits, two each from Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer. They went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

In Game 2, the Royals lost to the Twins 5-1. Their lone run came via a Billy Butler solo homerun in the 2nd inning off Cole De Vries. In four career starts, De Vries has two victories, both against the Royals.

The Twins hit three homeruns off Royals starter Luke Hochevar that accounted for four of their runs. Surprisingly, Hochevar was hit all over the ballpark instead of walking tons of batters (just one walk). He also did not record a strikeout.

So that’s a total of three runs in the two games on 13 hits.

The Royals and Twins finish up their series Sunday afternoon, as Bruce Chen goes up against the resurgent Francisco Liriano.

*The Royals wore ’51 Blues jerseys during Game 2, as the Twins also wore uniforms from 1951.

After looking so good earlier in the week, the KC Royals were swept by the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. They lost the Sunday series finale, 11-8.

It was homerun derby Sunday at Kauffman Stadium and the Royals won that battle 4-2. Mike Moustakas hit two of them to drive in three runs (he had three hits to up his average to .280).

Even though Jonathan Sanchez got into the 6th inning, he had another ugly start. He allowed six runs on four hits and six walks over 5.2 innings. He also allowed two homeruns (one to Carlos Beltran).

It got ugly for the Royals in the 8th inning. With lefty Tim Collins on the mound for his second inning of work (doesn’t it seem like he pitches every day?), the Cardinals scored five runs.

Collins left with two outs in the inning and the bases loaded. Aaron Crow entered and allowed all three to score, two on an Allen Craig single and one on Matt Holliday’s sac fly.

The Royals had 14 hits, but went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Every starter had a hit except Irving Falu.

The Royals did prove that Cardinals starter Lance Lynn is human. They tagged him for six runs on nine hits over 5.1 innings. The Royals hit three homeruns off him.

*Interleague Play is complete, as the Royals will welcome Tampa Bay to town Monday for a three-game series. As I write this, the Rays are playing the second game of a doubleheader.

For the first time this season, KC Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez reached the 6th inning. However, the Royals lost to Houston, 9-7.

It was actually a pitcher’s duel between Sanchez and the Astros JA Happ. Both teams got on the board in the first inning. The Royals scored a single run on a Jeff Francoeur two-out RBI single. The Astros scored two runs, one on a Brian Bixler solo homerun and the other on a failed pickoff attempt by Sanchez.

The Astros got to Sanchez again in the 4th inning on his wildness. He hit Chris Johnson and threw yet another pickoff throw away. With one out, Chris Snyder drove him in with a single. With two outs, Sanchez hit another batter and allowed a single to load the bases for Justin Maxwell. He walked him to force in the fourth run.

When the two starters left the game, the score was 4-2 Houston after six innings. Sanchez: 6IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 4BB, 3K, 2HBP. Happ: 6IP, 4H, 2R, BB, 3K.

The Astros scored a ton of insurance against Royals reliever Louis Coleman in the bottom of the 8th inning. Five runs to be exact (two homeruns). Every one of those runs was needed as the Royals came storming back in the top of the 9th inning against Astros closer Brett Myers.

With one out, the Royals strung together three straight singles to load the bases and Jarrod Dyson drove in one run with a single. Pinch-hitter Mitch Maier drove in a run with a sac fly. Alex Gordon loaded the bases again with a single. Yuniesky Betancourt followed with a two-run single and Billy Butler followed with an RBI single. After a Francoeur single loaded the bases yet again, Myers was finally taken out.

So the Royals had the bases loaded, two outs, trailing by two runs with Mike Moustakas coming to the plate against Xavier Cedeno. Moose popped out in foul territory on the fourth curveball of the at-bat to end the game.

It was another night that the Royals offense out-hit their opponent (13-11), but still lost the ballgame. Yuni continued his hot-hitting with a 2-for-5 night. Francoeur and Alcides Escobar also collected two hits. Gordon went 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot to get his average up to a respectable .262.

*Coleman returned to the Royals as Chris Getz was placed on the DL and Nate Adcock was again sent back to Triple-A. Lefty reliever Tommy Hottovy joined Coleman with a promotion.

**For more on the Astros, check out Tales from the Juicebox.

It was a night of comebacks for the KC Royals, as they defeated the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 11th inning, the Brewers made a pitching change and brought in Jose Veras with Mike Moustakas strolling to the plate. Veras needed just five pitches to walk Moose and force in the winning run. Unfortunately, less than 20,000 fans were in attendance for the thrilling finish.

After watching the Brewers score a run in the top of the 9th inning to take a 3-1 lead (with the run scoring on a throwing error), the Royals came back to tie the game at 3-3 against Brewers closer John Axford. With one out, Eric Hosmer walked. With two outs, Moose walked. Alcides Escobar followed with a two-run triple to tie the game. Clint Robinson pinch-hit with the chance to win the game and pick up his first big league hit and RBI, but struck out to send the game into extra innings.

The Royals had another 1-0 lead after the first inning thanks to a Billy Butler RBI ground out (Alex Gordon led off the inning with a double).

Jonathan Sanchez returned from the DL and still hasn’t pitched six innings this season, but at least he pitched well. He allowed one run on seven hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four. Meanwhile, Brewers starter Randy Wolf was also solid. He only allowed that first inning run over seven innings. Wolf allowed six hits and two walks.

The Royals and Brewers finish up the series on Thursday, with Luke Hochevar taking the hill against the Brewers’ Shaun Marcum.

*With Sanchez coming off the DL, reliever Louis Coleman was sent back to Triple-A.

**Manager Ned Yost was named to Ron Washington’s American League coaching staff for the All-Star Game that the Royals are hosting this July. I’m sure that’s the only reason that Yost is on the coaching staff because the team’s record (25-34) has him undeserving.