On Wednesday afternoon, the KC Royals battle for the fifth spot in the rotation officially began, as Luke Hochevar made the start and Bruce Chen pitched in relief. The Royals came back to beat the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2.

Hochevar did not make it through the customary two innings for a first start in spring training. He only allowed one hit, but walked three and used 38 pitches to get just five outs. Francisley Bueno followed and allowed an inherited runner to score (so Hochevar ended up giving up two runs).

Chen entered in the fourth and pitched two perfect innings. He struck out two and threw 21 of his 28 pitches for strikes.

Kelvin Herrera and Tim Collins, who will be leaving for the World Baseball Classic, each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Louis Coleman followed with a shutout inning before Michael Mariot picked up his second spring training save with a perfect inning.

Meanwhile, on offense for the Royals, it was all about the starters.

Alex Gordon went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Eric Hosmer also went 2-for-3 with a run scored, but he also drove in a run. His replacement, Max Ramirez, went 1-for-1 with a two out RBI.

Mike Moustakas went 2-for-2 with a two out RBI. His replacement, Miguel Tejada, went 1-for-2.

The Royals defense turned four double plays.

James Shields will make his Cactus League debut on Thursday with one inning of work to start at Peoria against the San Diego Padres. Lefty Will Smith will follow in his second spring appearance. Atahualpa Severino will make his final outing before heading to join the Dominican Republic in the WBC.

Jason Marquis will make his first spring start for the Padres and is expected to throw two innings. Tyson Ross and Wilfredo Boscan are expected to follow and throw two to three innings each.

For the second straight night, the KC Royals walked off against the Milwaukee Brewers. On Thursday night, pinch-hitter Brayan Pena delivered the two-run walk-off single against Brewers closer John Axford (well the winning run scored on the throw). It is Axford’s second straight blown save. The Royals completed the three-game home sweep.

It was a bit of a strange bottom of the 9th inning. Mitch Maier, who took the place of the ejected Jeff Francoeur, reached base via a wild pitch after a strikeout. Mike Moustakas grounded out, moving Maier to second base. After Axford struck out Alcides Escobar, he walked Jarrod Dyson. Pena took the third pitch (a 97mph fastball) into left field for the game winner. If Axford doesn’t throw the wild pitch on the Maier strikeout, the Brewers would have won. So the Royals had some luck on their side tonight.

The Royals two other runs came via Eric Hosmer‘s 8th homerun of the season in the 6th inning.

Luke Hochevar looked good pitching for the first time in a long time. He allowed three single runs (though one scored after he exited) on six hits and a walk over 7.1 innings. He struck out five. Two of the runs came via solo homeruns. He threw 87 pitches, 62 for strikes.

Lefty Tim Collins picked up his second victory in two days.

Next up for the Royals, another road trip. They head to St. Louis to play the reigning World Series champions for three games this weekend.

*After Francoeur was ejected in the 2nd inning, many joked that he should join the crowd in the right field seats for Frenchy Quarter Night.

**Manager Ned Yost was ejected later in the game (the fourth inning).

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.

The KC Royals ruined the return of their former ace, as they beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1.

Zack Greinke’s return to Kauffman Stadium started out on a sour note. Alex Gordon led off the bottom of the first inning with a homerun. From there, Greinke was virtually spotless.

However Luis Mendoza was even better. He looked alot like the pitcher who dominated during spring training. Mendoza did not allow a hit until Ryan Braun singled leading off the 7th inning (it was an infield single).

After two throwing errors on that play, Mendoza then walked Aramis Ramirez. That was all for Mendoza and in came Aaron Crow. Taylor Green flied out to left field and Gordon threw Braun out at the plate, thus bailing out Crow. But Crow coughed up a run when Rickie Weeks singled to tie the game at 1-1.

Mendoza threw just 74 pitches, 46 for strikes. He walked two while striking out four.

With Francisco Rodriguez on the mound to start the 8th inning, Gordon led off with a double. Chris Getz then sacrificed him to third base. Billy Butler then delivered an RBI single to give the Royals the lead.

Royals closer Jonathan Broxton made it interesting in the 9th inning. Ramirez singled to lead off the inning (he was then pinch run for). On a strikeout, Carlos Gomez stole second base and went to third base on a Weeks’ single.

With runners at the corners,  Broxton struck out George Kottaras and got pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad to ground out to end the game.

On offense, Gordon, Butler, and Jeff Francoeur each had two hits.

*Chris Getz returned from the DL, started at second base, and went 1-for-3 batting in the two-hole. Johnny Giavotella was sent back to Triple-A.

**I was a little disappointed that I never received an ESPN text alert that Mendoza had a no-hitter. Apparently Colby Lewis’ with Texas over just five innings was more important.

 vs. 

After being swept in Pittsburgh, the KC Royals returned home to continue Interleague Play and welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to Kauffman Stadium for a three-game series beginning today (Tuesday).

With the loss of Prince Fielder this offseason, the Brewers find themselves in fourth place (28-32) in the National League Central. They have a sputtering offense, which is one of the worst in baseball. Their .240 team batting average ranks 25th overall (though the Royals were just swept by the second-worst offense in the game).

The power is still there, as the Brewers have hit 71 homeruns (compared to just 44 for the Royals). But they strike out at an alarming rate (486 in 2018 at-bats), whereas the Royals have struck out the least amount in baseball (355 in 1999 at-bats).

Tuesday: Luis Mendoza (2-3, 5.36 ERA) vs. Zack Greinke (7-2, 3.13 ERA)

With Felipe Paulino on the DL, the Royals are giving Mendoza another crack at the rotation. Hopefully he can show some signs of the guy who dominated in spring training.

The Royals welcome back Greinke for the first time since trading him away. He has been awful on the road for the Brewers, but Kauffman Stadium is like a second home for him.

Wednesday: Luke Hochevar (3-7, 6.57 ERA) vs. Randy Wolf (2-5, 5.45 ERA)

Both of these pitchers pitched well in their last start. However both have struggled this season and could easily be lit up. Look for a possible power surge for the Royals, as Wolf gives up the long ball (though he’s only given up six so far this season).

Thursday: TBA vs Shaun Marcum (5-3, 3.50 ERA)

Will we see the return of Jonathan Sanchez from the DL? I hope not, but I’m not sure what else the Royals could throw out there (maybe Nate Adcock).

Marcum has won three straight starts and is having yet another solid first half. He has gone at least six innings in every start but three (but those he lasted at least five innings). In 12 starts, he has only given up four or more runs three times and he lost two of those games.

Seven.

Count them seven homeruns hit in the KC Royals 9-7 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Either pitchers were leaving pitches out over the plate or the wind was really blowing out in Maryvale, Arizona.

The first homerun came in the 2nd inning, when Yuniesky Betancourt put the Royals on the board against Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo. In the 3rd inning, Eric Hosmer connected on his first of two 2-run homeruns in the game.

The Brewers finally got on the board in the 5th inning against Royals starter Bruce Chen, with a solo homerun from Mat Gamel.

The Royals came right back with another homerun, this time a solo shot from Mike Moustakas to up the lead to 5-1.

Chen was chased from the game in the 7th inning after Alex Gonzalez‘ two-run homerun. Lefty Tim Collins came on to retire the Brewers in order. Chen‘s final line: 6+IP, 7H, 3R, 1BB, 6K.

Sean O’Sullivan didn’t help his cause in making the Opening Day roster with his effort today. He lasted just 2/3 of an inning and gave up three runs (granted two scored after he was out of the game) on four hits.

Hosmer hit another two-run homerun in the 7th inning. Max Ramirez also hit a two-run homerun in the 8th inning.

Alex Gordon, Hosmer, Moose, and Yuni each collected two hits.

*Chen was named the Opening Day starter, followed by Luke Hochevar and Jonathan Sanchez for the three game series against the LA Angels.

Felipe Paulino is one of the leading candidates for one of the two final spots in the KC Royals rotation. However today’s performance did nothing to help his case.

He allowed five runs on six hits and three walks over just 2.2 innings. Of his 78 pitches, 44 were thrown for strikes. The Royals lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-3.

Lefty Tommy Hottovy, who is fighting for one of the final spots in the bullpen, allowed one of the two inherited runners to score. In 2.1 innings of relief, he allowed two hits and no runs. He also struck out three.

The other lefty, Tim Collins, also pitched well. He allowed one hit over his scoreless inning of relief. However just ten of his 20 pitches were strikes.

Right-hander Louis Coleman is expected to be one of the seven relievers to makes the Opening Day roster. However he didn’t pitch well today. He allowed two hits and two runs in his one inning of work. He gave up a two-run homerun to Scooter Gennett (one of his four hits).

Another righty competing for a bullpen spot is Kelvin Herrera. He pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

There wasn’t a whole lot of offense for the Royals in the loss. No player had more than one hit. Eric Hosmer went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Minor leaguer Terry Evans hit a homerun in the 8th inning.

*Jeff Francoeur was ejected in the 4th inning while arguing balls and strikes (he was called out on strikes).

The KC Royals announced today that they have signed free agent Yuniesky Betancourt to a one year deal.

Yuni played shortstop for the Royals from 2009-2010 before being included in the deal that sent ace Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Royals believe that Yuni will be the utility fielder they have been searching for:

“We have been looking for a utility infielder who could play short, third and second base and we feel Yuni is a great fit,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a statement. “He brings a right-handed bat with some power and is a guy we know fits in well in the clubhouse.”

Last year with the Brewers, Yuni hit .252 with 27 doubles, 13 homeruns, and 68 RBIs while starting at short. He hit .310 during the postseason, while driving in six in 11 games.

It will be interesting to see how Yuni adjusts to life picking splinters off the bench.

The World Series begins tonight as the Texas Rangers make their second consecutive appearance in the Fall Classic against the St. Louis Cardinals. With the National League winning the All-Star Game, the Cardinals will have home-field advantage.

If you follow the KC Royals, you may be thinking “Why should I care about the 2011 World Series?” Well, if you like baseball in general, it should be a good series. You can also watch a few former Royals try to win a title, which is every professional’s goal.

The Rangers have four former Royals that will be with the team in the World Series. Speedy outfielder Endy Chavez made two starts against the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. He went 0-for-4. Expect to see him get a few pinch-running opportunities. If you watched Game 6 of the ALCS, you probably saw Andres Blanco as their head cheerleader, greeting teammates at the top of the dugout steps after big plays, waving his towel. Because of a stress fracture in his back, Blanco has not been on the Rangers playoff roster. Esteban German has been on the playoff roster, but has yet to appear in a game. That could change with the first two games being played in St. Louis (and possibly four total). Catcher Matt Treanor was not on the ALCS roster (but was on the ALDS roster) though he could be added to the World Series roster with their need for an extra bat (and catcher).

If you happened to watch the NLCS, Octavio Dotel and his high socks toed the rubber in just about every game. He pitched in four of the Cardinals six games against the Milwaukee Brewers, including the World Series clincher. Dotel is a big reason why the Cardinals are in the World Series. In four LCS games, he allowed one earned run on two hits over four innings. He also struck out five, which seemed to be Ryan Braun every time they faced each other. You may just root for the Cardinals because they are a fellow Missouri team.

Who are you rooting for?

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