It took over three and a half hours, but the KC Royals finally beat the LA Angels, 9-5.

Both teams’ pitching left something to be desired.

The Royals scored seven runs in the top of the 3rd inning. That’s right SEVEN. They sent 11 men to the plate. Jarrod Dyson walked to leadoff the inning and scored on a Billy Butler two-run single. Dyson would later triple in a run later in the inning.

In that inning, the Royals collected five hits and worked three walks. The Angels starter, Barry Enright, lasted three batters into the third. His replacement, Mark Lowe, allowed all three inherited runners to score in the 3rd inning, along with four of his own. He needed 36 pitches to get through the inning.

Royals starter Wade Davis definitely wasn’t on. He needed 103 pitches to get just one out in the 6th inning. He allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks. He struck out two.

Kelvin Herrera once again struggled and for some reason, manager Ned Yost let him pitch two innings. Well, Herrera probably won’t be pitching on Friday, as he threw 44 pitches (just 23 for strikes). He allowed yet another homerun, a solo shot by Mike Trout.

On the positive side, the Royals pitchers got into trouble and for the most part, worked out of it. The Angels collected 12 hits, but only went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They left ten men on base.

Back to the offense.

The Royals collected 13 hits, five for extra bases. Every starter except Eric Hosmer had at least one hit and every one scored a run except Salvador Perez. Lorenzo Cain, Perez, and Elliot Johnson each had two hits. Cain hit two doubles and drove in three runs. Perez had two RBIs. Alex Gordon went 3-for-4.

The Royals now head to Oakland (with a day off on Thursday) for three games. James Shields gets the Friday night start versus the A’s Jarrod Parker.

*On the negative side, Dyson left the game late with a sprained ankle.

**The Royals TV broadcast honored the passing of Fred White earlier in the day with a half-inning of silence.

The KC Royals lost their series opener to the visiting NY Yankees by an 11-6 final.

Wade Davis had another subpar outing, as he allowed seven runs in five-plus innings. He allowed two 2-run homeruns in the second, with one being hit by Lyle Overbay (his sixth of the season). Overbay also drove in two runs later on doubles and another in the ninth on a single.

Davis allowed to batters to reach in the sixth and was relieved by lefty Bruce Chen (who had pitched well this season out of the bullpen). Unfortunately, Friday night was not more of the same.

Chen allowed two singles, a double, and a triple in the 6th inning, to go along with two more runs charged to Davis and three runs charged to him before he finally recorded the third out.

Meanwhile, the Royals offense was virtually nonexistent. They struck out consistently: 11 times, by everyone at least once besides Eric Hosmer. They did hit two homeruns, a solo shot by Mike Moustakas and a three-run shot by Jarrod Dyson (his first of the season).

The two teams continue their series on Saturday, with a great pitching matchup: Andy Pettitte versus James Shields.

The KC Royals were thumped out of first place in the American League Central by the last place Cleveland Indians on Monday night. They lost 9-0.

Who would have thought that Ubaldo Jimenez would decide to pitch like the pitcher the Indians thought they were acquiring? Well, he did tonight. He held the Royals to just one hit over seven innings. That hit was an infield single by Billy Butler. Yup, the slowest guy on the team. It came in the 4th inning.

Ubaldo allowed two hits to lead off the 8th inning, which chased him from the game. Still, the Royals could not score. Ned Yost pinch-hit George Kottaras for Salvador Perez (really?) and Terry Francona countered with lefty Nick Hagadone, who struck him out. Hagadone then got a weak ground out by Elliot Johnson (who pinch-hit for Chris Getz) before striking out Alex Gordon to end the threat.

The Royals went down without a fight in the 9th inning against Cody Allen, as he struck out pinch-hitter Miguel Tejada for the second out.

Jason Kipnis during spring training. I had to post an Indians pic because there were not Royals highlights.

What compounded the Royals offense being completely shut down was the poor pitching by starter Wade Davis. He allowed a solo homerun to Jason Kipnis in the first inning, the first of the season for him and his .185 batting average.

It all completely unraveled for Davis in the 5th inning, when the Indians scored six runs. He allowed a one out double to Michael Brantley (who had three hits) and then walked Kipnis (?). Asdrubal Cabrera (he of the .225 average) doubled in the first run of the inning. Then after recording an out, Nick Swisher singled in a run and Carlos Santana doubled in another. After a coaching visit, the seldom-used Ryan Raburn hit a three-run homerun. Out was Davis and in was Luke Hochevar who got out of the inning with a strikeout.

Raburn added another homerun in the 8th inning off Kelvin Herrera (can he stop giving up homers already?). He went 4-for-4 on the night to raise his average to a whopping .208.

The night could have been a whole lot worse for Davis if not for the two double plays turned and Lorenzo Cain throwing a runner out at the plate.

What was lost in the blowout was the solid pitching from three of the Royals four relievers. Hochevar, Aaron Crow, and Tim Collins combined to throw 3.1 scoreless innings of relief. Only Hochevar allowed a baserunner (a one out single in the sixth).

The Royals now welcome Tampa Bay to town, who have been in town since Sunday night. Former Ray James Shields will start the opening game versus Alex Cobb (who has a 1.82 ERA).

I was a happy girl this afternoon, as MLB Network picked up the KC Royals-Atlanta Braves game on Wednesday afternoon. It’s not too often that the baseball network airs Royals games, so today was a great day. It was made even greater with a Royals win.

The win was great for many reasons:

1. Wade Davis looked very good. He mixed in his off speed pitches very well, especially in the later innings. He only allowed five hits while striking out seven. Davis did not issue a walk and threw 62 of his 92 pitches for strikes.

Davis took a line drive off his butt that resulted in an out. He was helped out in his final inning by Chris Getz. With Juan Francisco on first base and two outs, Chris Johnson blooped a ball down the right field line. Getz dove to try and make the catch, but it rolled behind the tarp. Getz quickly got to his feet and threw a one hopper home to get Francisco at the plate by about two steps. That play kept the shutout and lead in place.

2. Kelvin Herrera recovered from last night’s home run barrage to pitch a scoreless 8th inning. He faced Jason Heyward again and got him to ground into a force out to end the inning.

3. Greg Holland is BACK. His fastball had movement, as did his off speed pitches. He struck out the Braves middle of the order (Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, and Dan Uggla) on 14 pitches.

4. The Royals ended the Braves winning streak at ten games and gave them just their second loss of the season.

5. Jeff Francoeur was the offensive hero in his return to Atlanta. He even received a good amount of cheers from the sparse Braves crowd. I’m sure they wish they had changed their tune when he delivered the game’s only RBI single in the 4th inning. That came with two outs.

Alcides Escobar scored the game’s only run, as he went 2-for-4 and Lorenzo Cain went 3-for-4.

The Royals have another day off on Thursday before playing in Boston for three games over the weekend. It will be the Red Sox first time back at Fenway since the Boston Marathon bombing.

The KC Royals swept the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night, 3-0 and played through some crazy fog and cold weather. It also happened to be the official 40th anniversary of Kauffman Stadium.

Billy Butler quickly got the fans that were actually in attendance into the game (just over 10,000 though I doubt that many showed up) with a solo homerun in the bottom of the first. The pitching made that lone run hold up.

Somehow, starter Wade Davis escaped jam after jam. After striking out the first two batters he faced, he then loaded the bases. But Davis got out of the inning with a pop up. In the second, he again loaded the bases before striking out two (one of which was Joe Mauer, who struck out last night to end the game with the bases loaded) and getting out of the inning.

Davis lasted five innings, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out six. Lefty Bruce Chen followed with three scoreless innings of relief.

With a save situation, manager Ned Yost went with Kelvin Herrera instead of Greg Holland (and you wonder why people talk about a closer controversy). Herrera struck out the side around a double to pick up his second save of the season.

Jeff Francoeur added a solo homerun in the 7th inning and Alcides Escobar drove in another run later that inning. After struggling on the road to start the season, Salvador Perez has really heated up at home. He went 3-for-4 tonight to improve his average to .263.

*The Royals will enjoy the chilly off day on Thursday before welcoming the Toronto Blue Jays to town over the weekend.

**After not committing an error this season until last night, the Royals committed two tonight (one each by Escobar and Lorenzo Cain).

The KC Royals ruined the Philadelphia Phillies home opener with a 13-4 victory.

It didn’t start out so well for the Royals.

Wade Davis struggled in his first start wearing the Kansas City uniform, as he allowed four runs on nine hits over just four innings. He also allowed two solo homeruns in the 2nd inning. He did however have a quick 1-2-3 fourth inning.

Then the Royals offense went to work.

In the 5th inning against Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick, the Royals put together three straight one out singles to load the bases with Alcides Escobar coming to the plate. Kendrick induced a ground out, with the out coming at the plate. Eric Hosmer followed with a two-run single to cut the Phillies lead to 4-2.

With two outs and one on base in the 6th inning, Chris Getz doubled and the Phillies elected to intentionally walk pinch-hitter Billy Butler to load the bases. That brought up lefty Alex Gordon and the Phillies went to lefty reliever Jeremy Horst. Gordon cleared the bases with a triple into the right-center field gap to give the Royals the lead.

They didn’t stop there. The Royals ended up scoring 13 straight runs over the game’s final five innings to send Phillies fans home early. Getz gave the Royals another bases clearing triple in the 7th inning. He shockingly fell a homerun short of the cycle (3-for-5).

Meanwhile, the Royals bullpen was lights out and it started with Bruce Chen. In his first relief appearance of the season, Chen struck out two in his one inning of work. JC Gutierrez followed with a perfect inning of relief. Lefty Tim Collins walked one and struck out three in his two innings of work. Luke Hochevar finished off the Phillies with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Let’s talk some more about the Royals offense. They collected 19 hits, six of which went for extra bases. The top three in the order (Gordon, Escobar, and Hosmer) went 9-for-16 with eight RBIs and six runs scored. They also only struck out once. Mike Moustakas went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.

*Hopefully, the Royals have some offense left for tomorrow because I’ll be at the game. Luis Mendoza makes his first start of the season against John Lannan of the Phillies, who will be making his debut.

**For more from a Phillies standpoint, check out View from Section 116.

To many, right-hander Wade Davis was the throw-in in the James Shields deal. However, according to Shields himself, fans (and the other MLB teams) need to watch out for the “Silent Assasin”.

Wade Davis via Keith Allison/Flickr

Though many teams see Davis as a reliever, especially after his success in the bullpen with Tampa Bay in 2012, the KC Royals will give him every opportunity to earn a spot in their 2013 rotation. That is something the fierce competitor is most looking forward to. That and a loyal fan base that should fill Kauffman Stadium if the team wins.

In 54 relief appearances in 2012 (70.1 innings), he allowed 48 hits and walked 29, compared to 87 strikeouts. Opponents hit a measly .189 against him. However, the Royals already have a few strong right-handed relievers. So they want him to channel last year’s aggressiveness over each start in the future.

In both 2010 and 2011, Davis made 29 big league starts. As a starter, he gave up around 23 homeruns a season and walks around 62 a season. As a starter, he hasn’t been a big strikeout guy: 218 over 352 innings.

In 2011, he pitched at Minnesota twice (two fairly solid starts) and at Chicago in his second start of the season (6IP, 5H, 2R, 3BB, 4K). He was lit up a bit in Detroit (6IP, 8H, 5R, 4ER, 2BB, 4K).

In 2011, Davis threw 184 innings, which was a career-high, but he only threw 70.1 innings in 2012. If he is used as a starter, it will be interesting how the Royals stretch him out. Will there be any innings limits?

Why must the KC Royals make big moves later at night and not during the winter meetings?

According to the bottom line on MLB Network, Royals have traded top prospect Wil Myers (and others) to the TB Rays for James Shields and Wade Davis (and a player to be named later). Oh but Myers isn’t the only big name heading to Tampa.

The Royals also traded top pitching prospect Jake Odorizzi. Yup. Let that sink in.

And then former top pitching prospect Mike Montgomery. And third baseman Patrick Leonard, who had a great season in rookie ball.

Why didn’t the Royals make this move while they were in Nashville when it was really getting heat so the media could really get involved? Instead, they do it when many on the East Coast are sleeping.

I get that the Royals desperately needed an ace and Big Game James is certainly an ace. I’m a big fan of his, but will the Royals actually contend over the next two seasons? Sure, Shields has been in a rebuilding situation before and helped carry the team to success, but are the Royals there yet?

Davis is sort of an in-betweener. He can start and relieve, but he was better out of the bullpen in 2012 for the Rays than he had been as a starter. But do the Royals need another reliever?

Is two years of Shields worth giving up six years of what Myers is projecting to be?

Let me know what you think.

It could be the worst deal ever, especially if Myers and Odorizzi do what many Royals fans were hoping for and if Montgomery turns into the pitcher many thought he would be two years ago.

It was a missed call that helped give the KC Royals the win over the visiting TB Rays. With two outs and the Royals clinging to a 5-4 lead, Melky Cabrera hit a line shot to left field and the Rays Sam Fuld came charging in and dove to make the catch. Or did he? The replays showed that he made another great catch, but the umpire ruled it a hit and another run scored for the Royals (if it was ruled a catch, it would have ended the inning).

The Royals took advantage of the call and tacked on two more runs in the 6th inning to increase their lead to 8-4.

It was another one of those frustrating outings for Royals starter Luke Hochevar. He gave up a run in the top of the first inning on back-to-back doubles from Johnny Damon and Ben Zobrist. He then walked Casey Kotchman, threw a wild pitch, and walked Evan Longoria to load the bases with nobody out. Hochevar battled back to strike out Matt Joyce and got BJ Upton to fly into a double play. Upton hit a fly ball to Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who threw home to get Zobrist at the plate to end the inning.

The Royals got to Rays starter Wade Davis in the bottom of the first inning. Alex Gordon and Cabrera delivered back-to-back doubles to get the inning started. With one out, Eric Hosmer doubled in Cabrera. With two outs, Mike Moustakas finally came through in the clutch with an RBI single to give the Royals a 3-1 lead.

Once Hochevar got through the first inning, he seemed to be in cruise control until the top of the 6th inning (which is usually when he falls apart). After walking Kotchman again with one out, Longoria hit a two-run homerun. Joyce followed with a solo homer to cut the Royals lead to 5-4. Upton followed with a single and stole second base. After Hochevar hit Fuld with a pitch, that was the end of the night for Hochevar. Louis Coleman came on to retire the next two batters to end the inning and keep the lead in tack.

Tim Collins, Blake Wood, and Nate Adcock (yes Adcock is still on the team) pitched three scoreless innings of relief as the Royals won 10-4.

Offensively for the Royals, they pounded out 16 hits (five for extra bases) and were 8-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Every Royals hitter (except for Mike Aviles) had at least one hit. Aviles entered for the injured Alcides Escobar (he left with a bruised shin). The first five batters in the Royals order (Gordon, Cabrera, Butler, Hosmer, and Francoer) went a combined 12-for-24 with 8 RBIs and seven runs scored. It was really nice to see the Royals offense clicking.

*Rumor has it that Rays prospect Desmond Jennings was scratched from his game for Triple-A Durham and promoted to the big leagues. Infielder Reid Brignac was demoted, but all the speculation surrounds Upton (because he was pulled from this game late). Many have him being traded, so we will see.

vs.

Anymore, it seems like the KC Royals are playing a contending team every night. This weekend is no different, as they welcome the Tampa Bay Rays into town for a three-game series. The Rays are coming off a series split with the NY Yankees at home, while the Royals took 2-of-3 from the Chicago White Sox. It is expected to be ungodly hot this weekend in Kansas City (like almost every part of the country), so the series may go to the team that handles the heat better.

This will be the first matchup between the Royals and Rays this season (they head to Tampa the second week of August). After the way the season started for the Rays (and the loss of so many players in the offseason), many expected them to lay down and fold. Instead, they regrouped and relied on their pitching staff and sit 7.5 games back in the American League East.

The offense has been a struggle, as they rank near the bottom of the AL in batting average and OBP, and middle of the pack in runs scored, homeruns, and RBIs. Unfortunately, they rank near the top in strikeouts. Casey Kotchman has come in and taken the first base job and is hitting .333 (though he is not a power threat). Johnny Damon has been a nice addition (.275) and Matt Joyce was the talk of the AL early in the season (he has since cooled off to a .288 average). Sam Fuld is still diving all over the outfield making great catches, but his offense has slowed down to a halt (.244). Evan Longoria and BJ Upton have struggled all season long (both are hitting below .240). Ben Zobrist has been up-and-down, but he’s been one of their most consistent hitters (.265).

That pitching staff consists of CY Young award candidate David Price, the resurgent “Complete Game” James Shields, and the young arms in the rotation. The Rays bullpen was supposed to be in shambles, after losing pretty much everybody from 2010. Insert Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Peralta, who have come in and shut the door in the late innings. The Rays are beginning to lighten Peralta’s load, as he leads the AL in appearances (and his arm is tired). Lefty JP Howell is back and the young guys (like Brandon Gomes, Cesar Ramos, and Jake McGee) have done a nice job.

The Royals miss the Rays front-line starters, but will have to face the young up-and-comers. On Friday night, Wade Davis will return from the DL to make his first start since the beginning of the month. In a small sampling, Alex Gordon (1-for-3) and Mitch Maier (.400) have good numbers against Davis. He will be opposed by Luke Hochevar, who is coming off a very good start against the Minnesota Twins (two runs on three hits over seven innings). Longoria and Upton love hitting against Hochevar (.500 and .300 respectively).

On Saturday, Jeff Niemann will take the mound for the Rays. He is 3-0 with a 0.71 ERA in his career against the Royals. In his last start against the Boston Red Sox, he completely dominated, allowing just two hits over eight scoreless innings (he struck out 10). Brayan Pena is 2-for-4 in his career against Niemann. He will be opposed by Jeff Francis, who has not won since June 10^th but was solid in his last outing. Francis will be making his first start against the Rays.

Rookie Alex Cobb will be making his first start against the Royals on Sunday afternoon. He was recalled from Triple-A Durham to face the Yankees last week and was solid. Cobb allowed just two runs over six innings against the Yankees. He will be opposed by Felipe Paulino, who has only won one of his last eight starts. Like Cobb and Francis, it will be Paulino’s first start against the Rays.

Pitching Matchups:

Friday: Luke Hochevar (5-8, 5.23 ERA) vs. Wade Davis (7-6, 4.25 ERA)

Saturday: Jeff Francis (3-11, 4.62 ERA) vs. Jeff Niemann (4-4, 3.94 ERA)

Sunday: Felipe Paulino (1-3, 3.60 ERA) vs. Alex Cobb (2-0, 3.09 ERA)