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.

There was once again rain in Baltimore, but the wet playing surface was not the blame for the KC Royals sloppy play in the 5th inning on Wednesday night. They lost to the O’s, 5-3.

Alex Gordon had just cut the O’s lead to 2-1 with a solo homerun in the top of the fifth (his second homerun in as many games) when the wheels fell off in the bottom of the inning.

Mike Moustakas

Chris Dickerson doubled to lead off the inning. He went all the way to third base on a fielding error by Alcides Escobar on Nate McLouth‘s ground ball. After McLouth stole second base, Manny Machado singled to score a run. Then things really got sloppy.

Machado stole second base and George Kottaras (who rarely plays) made a poor throw. So McLouth took off for home. Escobar‘s throw home was wide right (or left depending on the angle you are looking at it) and McLouth scored. Then starter Luis Mendoza got in on the act and threw a wild pitch to allow the final run to score. Granted, Kottaras should have blocked the ball and kept it in front of home plate.

The Royals did get two more runs on a rare Mike Moustakas two-run homerun, but it came with two outs. Then Elliot Johnson singled but tried to stretch it into a double. Yeah, well, he got thrown out to end the inning.

The Royals had more chances to score against the O’s bullpen. Darren O’Day got into a two out, two on jam in the eighth, but Brian Matusz came in and got Moose out on one pitch, a foul pop up to the catcher.

A double play ended any kind of a threat in the ninth inning against O’s closer Jim Johnson. Elliot singled to lead off the inning, but Kottaras grounded into a double play. Then Jarrod Dyson struck out on four pitches to end the game.

Meanwhile, Mendoza did not pitch that bad. He allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out two. Bruce Chen only threw 24 pitches over two perfect innings of relief.

» Continue reading “Sloppy Play Leads to Royals Loss”

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 used the long ball on Wednesday, along with some help from their opponent, the LA Dodgers. The Royals won, 7-2. Their three run first inning came without a home run.

Their first run scored when Nick Punto dropped a pickoff attempt. Then Mike Moustakas drove in a run with a single before a wild pitch by Dodgers starter Aaron Harang brought in the third run.

The Royals got three solo home runs in the game. Lorenzo Cain hit a home run in the fourth (he went 2-for-2). Moose hit a home run in the fifth (he went 3-for-3 and fell a triple short of a cycle). Johnny Giavotella hit a solo shot in the sixth.

Jeff Francoeur went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.

Wade Davis was a bit erratic over his four plus inning start. He left in the fifth with the bases loaded. Louis Coleman allowed one of those runs to score. Overall, Davis allowed that one run on two hits and four walks. Coleman pitched that one inning and Juan Gutierrez allowed another run in the sixth. Donnie Joseph, Tim Collins, and Dan Wheeler each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

They have an off day on Thursday, but not for Bruce Chen, who will pitch in a minor league game. On Friday, the Royals will travel to Tempe to face the LA Angels with James Shields getting the start. Greg Holland, Aaron Crow, Luke Hochevar, Francisley Bueno, and Kelvin Herrera are also expected to pitch.

Manager Ned Yost is expected to name his five-man rotation on Friday and he is leaning toward a seven-man bullpen.

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?”

The KC Royals continued their winning ways as they held on to beat the worst team in the American League, the Cleveland Indians. The Royals won 6-3.

The game got a little testy late, as three batters were hit and there is bad blood between the two teams, even if Jonathan Sanchez is no longer a Royal. And yes, Shin-Soo Choo was hit yet again.

Anyway, to the scoring.

The Royals got on the board first against Indians starter Justin Masterson. Brayan Pena drove in a run in the 2nd inning with a single and two batters later, Irving Falu drove in another run with a single. Unfortunately, Falu was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double.

Luis Mendoza had base runners in every inning, but escaped one jam after another. The Indians left the bases loaded in the very first inning.

He gave up a run in the top of the third, as Michael Brantley delivered a two out RBI single. However, the Royals got the run right back on Mike Moustakas‘ sac fly.

Moose would drive in another run in the 5th inning on a ground out with the bases loaded. That was the only run the Royals would score in that inning.

Mendoza‘s night ended after allowing a leadoff single to Ezequiel Carrera in the 7th inning. Lefty Tim Collins entered and hit Choo. After recording the next two outs (a lefty and a switch-hitter), Collins allowed a two-run single to another switch-hitter, Carlos Santana, to cut the Royals lead to 4-3.

The Royals tacked on two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Eric Hosmer drove in one with a sac fly and Pena followed with an RBI double. That brought the game’s final hit batter, David Lough, following the Royals‘ final hit of the game.

Despite pitching what seems like every game, closer Greg Holland retired the Indians in order in the top of the 9th inning. He needed just seven pitches (six strikes) to get through the middle of the Indians order.

The Royals offense got some production from two guys who don’t play very much: Pena and Falu. The two both collected two hits each and combined to score two runs and drive in three.

*I wonder when Ned Yost is going to use some of those guys from Triple-A Omaha that were called up when the Pacific Coast League championship ended. It would be nice to see Nate Adcock or Tommy Hottovy get some work instead of the same relievers every night.

In a wild night full of lots of offense, the KC Royals returned home to beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-8.

Raise your hand if you expected the Royals offense to pound Tigers starter Justin Verlander tonight. If you are raising your hand, I don’t believe you.

Verlander is putting together another CY Young caliber performance this season and many expected him to roll right over the Royals. Many of the Royals hitters haven’t had much (if any) success against him (ie Alex Gordon).

Instead, the Royals pounced in the very first inning.

After Luis Mendoza put the team in a 3-0 hole (three hits including a homerun), the Royals offense went to work against Verlander with two outs. What was so impressive about the first inning barrage was that Verlander struck out the first two hitters he faced.

Then the aforementioned Gordon doubled. Billy Butler followed with an RBI single. Salvador Perez doubled and Mike Moustakas followed with a two-run single to tie the game at 3-3. The first three hits came on a total of five pitches.

While Mendoza settled down in the 2nd inning, Verlander did not. After striking out Eric Hosmer, Johnny Giavotella got it started with a single. Two singles later, the Royals held a 4-3 lead. Then Gordon doubled again, driving in two runs. Butler singled him in to give the Royals a 7-3 lead.

Well, Mendoza didn’t settle down for too long. He gave up four more hits and three more runs, capped by Prince Fielder‘s two-run double.

Both starters settled down after that. Mendoza left after five innings with a line that looked like this: 5IP, 7H, 6R, BB, 4K. Verlander left after allowing a two out RBI double to Perez in the 6th inning with a line that looked like this: 5.2IP, 12H, 8R, 3BB, 6K. OUCH!

In his second inning of work, Kelvin Herrera gave up a run on a Miguel Cabrera RBI single. Lefty Tim Collins entered and walked Fielder to put the tying run in scoring position. That brought in Aaron Crow, who struck out Delmon Young to end the threat.

Jhonny Peralta homered in the top of the 8th inning off Crow to tie the game. My heart sank as I thought the overuse of the bullpen was coming back to bite the Royals.

» Continue reading “Royals Pound Verlander, Take First Game of Series”

The two teams combined for 34 hits, but they needed 12 innings to declare a victor. The visiting KC Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-9.

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

In the top of the 12th inning with two outs, Jeff Francoeur drew the rare walk. Eric Hosmer followed with a double. That brought up Tony Abreu, who blooped a single to left field to break the tie (it was an 0-2 outside pitch).

Greg Holland closed out the Red Sox in the bottom of the inning quickly, as he needed just 11 pitches to set them down in order.

Why did they need extra innings?

A six-run top of the 7th inning by the Royals tied the game at 9-9. After a poor start by Jeremy Guthrie (all good things must come to an end) and a sub-par relief outing from Everett Teaford, the Royals offense went to work late.

The Royals had a 3-0 lead after the top of the first inning against Aaron Cook (who got the start because of the trade of Josh Beckett), but Cook settled down to throw five straight scoreless innings before being lifted for Andrew Miller.

Hosmer singled with one out, but Abreu was called out on strikes. That’s when things got exciting. Miller issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. Alex Gordon drove in two runs with a single that chased Miller from the game.

In came Mark Melancon, who did not record an out. Billy Butler hit a ground-rule double to drive in one run and Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single. Out with Melancon and in with Craig Breslow. Mike Moustakas tripled to tie the game at 9-9 (his first of the season). It was an adventure in right field for Cody Ross.

Then the bullpens went to work for both teams to put up zeroes. The Royals only base runners before the 12th inning came via a hit by pitch and intentional walk in the 10th inning. They struck out six more times. The Red Sox had runners on base in every inning after that but the 12th. The Royals were aided by double plays.

*Mauro Gomez hit his first big league homerun in the 2nd inning off Guthrie (he went 4-for-6). Guthrie allowed two homeruns in that inning.

**Francisley Bueno picked up his first win, as he pitched 1.2 innings. He struck out two.

***For more on the Red Sox, check out Fenway Fatales.

Baseball America‘s Best Tools issue has come out and there is a bit of a KC Royals feel to it. None of the Royals players were on top of any of the American League categories, but there were a few who cracked the top three.

Outfielder Jarrod Dyson was ranked the AL’s third fastest baserunner. He finished behind LA Angels outfielders Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos.

Mike Moustakas working on some second base.

The Royals corner infielders were also ranked third in terms of defense in the AL. Mike Moustakas was ranked third among AL third baseman (behind Texas’ Adrian Beltre and Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria). Eric Hosmer, despite all the struggles on offense, was named the third best defensive first baseman in the AL. He ranked behind NY’s Mark Teixeira and Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez.

Another of the Royals infielders was honored, shortstop Alcides Escobar. He is considered to have the third best infield arm in the AL, behind Beltre and Oakland’s Cliff Pennington.

After almost winning a Gold Glove in 2011, outfielder Jeff Francoeur is considered to have the third best outfield arm in the AL. He ranks behind Toronto’s Jose Bautista and Cleveland’s Shin-Soo Choo.

The Royals weren’t so lucky in the minor leagues (their four full season affiliates). Uber prospect Wil Myers is considered to be the best power prospect in the Pacific Coast League (with Triple-A Omaha). That was a no-brainer, as he has a total of 34 homeruns, 21 in Triple-A.

Pitcher Jake Odorizzi was considered as one of the best pitching prospects in the PCL, but Reno’s Trevor Bauer (Arizona) won that honor. Another starter, Yordano Ventura, was also considered for the best pitching prospect in the Carolina League, but ultimately, Dylan Bundy won that honor (Baltimore).

*There were no best tools given out to Royals affiliates in the Texas League (NW Arkansas), Carolina League (Wilmington), or Midwest League (Kane County).

There is just something about the KC Royals that gives the Chicago White Sox fits. For the fourth straight time, the Royals beat the first place White Sox, this time by a 9-4 final.

The Royals carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the rainy 3rd inning against White Sox starter Jake Peavy. Three errors later and the Royals led 3-0.

When Paul Konerko hit a two-run homerun off Bruce Chen in the top of the 6th inning (the one mistake Chen made all night) to cut the lead to 4-2, the Royals came right back with an Eric Hosmer solo homerun.

Chen allowed just five hits and walked one over six innings of work. He struck out five. 71 of his 98 pitches were strikes.

Adam Dunn hit his 400th career homerun off lefty reliever Tim Collins in the top of the 8th inning to cut the lead to 5-4, but the Royals tacked on four runs off reliever Brett Myers. That inning was capped by Mike Moustakas‘ two out, three-run homerun.

The middle of the Royals order (2-6) did the bulk of the damage. Alcides Escobar went 4-for-5 with three runs scored. Alex Gordon went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Billy Butler went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Moose went 2-for-4 with a run scored and four RBIs.

The Royals look to complete the sweep on Sunday, as they send Jeremy Guthrie to the mound to face rookie Jose Quintana.

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