The KC Royals and Cleveland Indians played two on Sunday, one in the afternoon and the other at night. The night game was the makeup of Friday night’s rainout, which made many in Kansas City unhappy (with the time because it cannot be televised due to ESPN and the ticket exchange policy).

The Royals took Game 1 of the doubleheader by a 9-0 score. They then lost the night game, 10-3.

Jeremy Guthrie during 2013 ST against Cleveland.

Jeremy Guthrie outdueled Indians ace Justin Masterson (who had been masterful so far this season). Guthrie pitched 6.2 shutout innings. He allowed six hits and three walks while striking out five. He left the game with two men on base in the seventh and lefty Tim Collins entered to face Michael Brantley. He flied out on the second pitch to end the inning.

Luke Hochevar followed with two scoreless innings of relief. He struck out the side in the 8th inning around an Asdrubal Cabrera double. In the ninth, he struck out two more.

The offense went to work in the second after a two out walk to Mike Moustakas. Back-to-back doubles by Jeff Francoeur and Jarrod Dyson gave the Royals the 2-0 lead. After Masterson struck out the side in the third, Dyson drove in another run (after another Moose walk). Alcides Escobar hit a solo homerun in the 5th inning to give the Royals a 4-0 lead.

They chased Masterson from the game in the seventh. Escobar drove in the first inning on a ground out. After a wild pitch and a walk to Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer singled to drive in a run. That brought in right-hander Matt Albers, who hit the first batter he faced before walking in a run. That was the second time in two games that an Indians reliever has walked in a run. And guess who worked that walk? MOOSE!

Alex Gordon hit a two-run homerun off lefty Scott Barnes in the 8th inning. Barnes was the Indians 26th man for the doubleheader.

In Game 1, Gordon, Francoeur, and Dyson each collected two hits in the win.

» Continue reading “Royals Win One, Lose One to Indians”

The KC Royals continue to win this spring with their pitching, as they beat San Diego in Peoria, 5-4.

James Shields made his Cactus League debut with one perfect inning. Lefty Will Smith was the first Royals pitcher to three innings, as he allowed one run on two hits. He struck out five.

The Royals then received two scoreless innings from Juan Gutierrez and Sugar Ray Marimon, before the Padres got to Ryan Verdugo for three runs in just 2/3 of an inning.

Blaine Boyer got out of the jam in the 7th inning, before Atahualpa Severino and Nate Adcock finished out the game with scoreless baseball.

On offense for the Royals, no one had more than one hit. Most of the offense came from second base. Johnny Giavotella went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Chris Get went 1-for-2 with a run scored, a stolen base, and an RBI.

Ervin Santana will make his Royals debut on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. He is expected to throw two innings. Aaron Crow and Greg Holland are also expected to pitch.

Mat Latos will make his spring debut for the Reds and be followed by Sean Marshall, Jonathan Broxton, and Sam LeCure.

If the KC Royals keep playing like this, the fourth place Cleveland Indians will catch them in the American League Central standings before the season ends. The Indians beat the Royals 8-5 in the first game of the three game series.

The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2nd inning, but starter Will Smith quickly gave the lead back up. Before you knew it, the Indians led 8-1 heading into the 6th inning.

Smith lasted just three innings and allowed six of the eight runs on nine hits and two walks. Everett Teaford came on in relief and allowed one of Smith‘s runs before giving up two of his own in the next inning.

Meanwhile, Indians starter David Huff picked up his third win of the season. Two of those wins have come against the Royals. He allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out five. Billy Butler hit a two-run homerun in the 6th inning.

The Royals got back into the game in the top of the 8th inning against Indians reliever Scott Maine. Three straight hits to lead off the inning put two runs on the board and a runner on second base with nobody out. Unfortunately, Joe Smith came on and put away the Royals without allowing another run.

Indians closer Chris Perez put away the Royals in the 9th inning, 1-2-3.

The Royals collected 11 hits, but went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Jason Bourgeois was picked off first base after picking up a single to lead off the game. The majority of the Royals offense came from the middle of the order (or the 3-4-5 guys). Alex Gordon, Butler, and Salvador Perez combined to go 7-for-12 with five runs scored and four RBIs.

*Shortstop Alcides Escobar and first baseman Eric Hosmer both underwent MRIs on their injured shoulders and both were held out of Friday night’s game. Escobar‘s shoulder showed no damage, while Hosmer was still awaiting results.

**Jake Odorizzi will get his second crack at the Indians on Saturday in Cleveland. No word on who will catch him.

The KC Royals staved off elimination for another day, as they beat the visiting Cleveland Indians, 5-3.

In the very first inning, Jarrod Dyson used his wheels to produce a run. He walked to leadoff and stole second base. He then scored on Alcides Escobar‘s double. After Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez struck out Alex Gordon, Billy Butler drove in Escobar with a single.

Jimenez never really settled down, but the Royals couldn’t put him and the Indians away. The kicker was Brayan Pena‘s leadoff triple in the bottom of the 4th inning, but he was left standing on third base.

Will Smith

After rookie Thomas Neal led off the 5th inning with a single, fellow rookie Cord Phelps homered to tie the game at 2-2. It was the second of Phelps‘ career. After a single by Shin-Soo Choo brought a coaching visit, Royals starter Will Smith induced a double play before getting out of the inning.

The Royals came right back to retake the lead in an UGLY inning for the Indians. With Jimenez still on the mound, the Royals worked two walks around a fly out. After a Jeff Francoeur single loaded the bases, Jimenez was gone and in came Chris Seddon.

Eric Hosmer grounded to third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, who’s throw home pulled catcher Carlos Santana off home plate (or did it?) and everyone was ruled safe (and the run scored). Pena hit a sac fly to put another run on the board and Irving Falu singled to give the Royals a 5-2 lead.

That was it for Seddon and in came Frank Herrmann, who threw just two pitches before Falu was thrown out trying to steal second base (with a runner on third).

All-in-all, it was a solid start by Smith. He scattered eight hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out five in picking up his sixth win of the season.

Aaron Crow allowed an unearned run in the 8th inning when Jason Bourgeois missed a fly ball in center field (which scored Santana from first base).

Kelvin Herrera picked up his second save of the season (if Greg Holland isn’t pitching every day, Herrera is). It could have been eventful, considering he allowed a single and a walk, but Frenchy threw out Choo trying to stretch a single into a double.

On offense for the Royals, Butler picked up three hits (two doubles) and Falu collected two hits. They went just 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

*DON’T FORGET: Jake Odorizzi will be making his big league debut on Sunday afternoon against the Indians. Go to the park and support him!

LA Angels slugger Mark Trumbo hit a three-run homerun in the 2nd inning off KC Royals starter Will Smith to give them a 4-0 lead. The Royals went on to lose 4-3.

Smith allowed six hits over the first two innings. He allowed just one more over the next three.

The Royals chipped away, with single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings. In the third, Tony Abreu hit his first homerun as a Royal. In the other two innings, Jeff Francoeur drove in the runs (with a ground out and a single).

After that though, the Royals didn’t really do much on offense. Mike Moustakas singled in the bottom of the 9th inning with one out and Jarrod Dyson pinch-ran for him. He was caught trying to steal second base and Frenchy flied out to end the game.

Check out what manager Ned Yost had to say about the injury-riddled seasons of Dyson, Chris Getz, and Lorenzo Cain. Is he hinting about them not really being in the Royals’ plans for the future?

Yost used the same relievers: Louis Coleman, Aaron Crow, Kelvin Herrera, and Greg Holland. Those four combined to give up three hits over four scoreless innings. They also struck out six.

Jake Odorizzi with the Blue Rocks

*With Triple-A Omaha being eliminated Saturday night, the Royals called up a few reinforcements (and no Wil Myers was not one of them). Unfortunately, none of them got into the game. Those called up were: pitchers Nate Adcock, Tommy Hottovy, and Jake Odorizzi, catcher Adam Moore, and infielder Irving Falu.

Odorizzi is expected to begin his Major League career in the bullpen, as Yost mentioned they do NOT want him to make a start against a contending club. The Royals do play two series against Cleveland and they are looking to get him a start then. For more on Odorizzi‘s promotion, click HERE.

The KC Royals received great starting pitching from Will Smith and pounded out 16 hits en route to their 9-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Let’s start with Smith.

He scattered seven hits and three walks over seven shutout innings. He struck out seven. The Twins had at least one baserunner in every inning, but Smith was helped out by two caught stealings and two double plays.

The offense gave Smith a lead in the 2nd inning. Jeff Francoeur singled in one run and Lorenzo Cain tripled in two more. In the third, Salvador Perez drove in a run with a sac fly to give the Royals a 4-0 lead.

Then the offense went quiet…until the 8th inning.

Eric Hosmer led off the inning with a double and scored on Johnny Giavotella’s single. After Cain was hit by a pitch and a pitching change, Alcides Escobar tripled in two more runs. A wild pitch drove in the Royals final run of the inning.

Hosmer would hit a solo homerun in the ninth to finish off their scoring. He went 3-for-5 with three runs scored from the 8-spot. Gio followed him in the order and also went 3-for-5. Cain fell a homerun short of the cycle. Everyone had a hit except Mike Moustakas.

*Lefty reliever Francisley Bueno finished serving his two day suspension, a holdover from the 2008 season when he was with Atlanta. He will be active beginning on Wednesday.

The KC Royals and Minnesota Twins played two on Saturday and the first game was delayed due to more rain. The Royals were swept in the DH.

Game 1 was a well-pitched game, but the Royals fell 3-1. Twins rookie Cole De Vries has just four wins on the season. He is now 3-0 against the Royals. He allowed a run on seven hits over 6.2 innings. All seven of the hits were singles.

Meanwhile, Will Smith allowed three runs on nine hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four. Vin Mazzaro followed with three scoreless innings of relief.

Game 2 was ugly from the start for the Royals, as Luke Hochevar lasted 1.2 innings. He gave up eight runs, even after the Royals scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

However, the Royals offense battled back, but it was just too much, as they lost 8-7. They out-hit the Twins, 14-9, but collected just two extra-base hits.

The 3-4-5 hitters (Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and Salvador Perez) went a combined 9-for-14 with four runs scored and three RBIs. David Lough made his first start of the 2012 season (in right field and batting leadoff) and went 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Everett Teaford came on in relief and threw 5.1 scoreless innings of relief. He threw 56 pitches, 34 for strikes. Kelvin Herrera followed with two hitless innings of relief.

Luis Mendoza will take the hill on Sunday afternoon as the Royals try to salvage at least one game of the series. Esmerling Vasquez will be making his first big league start (and Twins debut).

*What is it about the Twins? The Royals are just 4-9 against them this season and have won just one game in each series.

**As part of the September callups, the Royals brought up catcher Manny Pina from Double-A and outfielder David Lough from Triple-A.

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”

I guess you can’t get great starting pitching every night. Everyone has a clunker once in awhile. Tonight it was Will Smith‘s turn. The KC Royals lost the opening game to their three-game series in Tampa, 5-1.

Smith lasted just 3.2 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks. He did strike out four, but threw 74 pitches.

Alex Gordon had two outfield assists or it could have been worse for Smith. In the 2nd inning when Elliot Johnson drove in a run with a two out single, Gordon threw Jose Lobaton out at third base just after Sean Rodriguez scored.

The Royals came right back to tie the game at 1-1 on Gordon‘s two out RBI single. But Smith gave it right back.

Desmond Jennings tripled off the right field wall (on a ball I thought could have been caught by Lorenzo Cain). He scored on a wild pitch.

The 4th inning was Smith‘s undoing. With one out and a runner on second base, Lobaton singled in a run. Johnson then singled and after a coaching visit, Jennings doubled in a run. It would have been more if Gordon‘s throw (via the relay by Alcides Escobar) didn’t get Johnson at the plate. It was also a great block of the plate by catcher Salvador Perez. That ended Smith‘s night.

Lefty Everett Teaford entered and escaped the jam. He did however give up a run in his 2.1 innings of work. That came via a Jeff Keppinger homerun.

Jeremy Jeffress was dominant in his one inning of work. He struck out two of the three batters he faced on 17 pitches.

» Continue reading “Royals Can’t Stop the Hot Rays”

Where was this pitching staff for the first four months of the season? Heading into tonight’s game, the KC Royals staff had a 2.80 ERA over their last seven games (5-2). It was just as good against Oakland, as they won 3-2.

Will Smith has a lot to be smiling about.

Tonight it was Will Smith‘s turn again. In his last start, he dominated Baltimore. He wasn’t as dominant against the A’s, but he was still strong. The 2nd inning was a bit of a struggle, as he allowed three hits and a run. With runners on second and third base, he induced two straight ground outs to keep the game tied at 1-1.

Josh Donaldson homered in the 4th inning to break Smith‘s string of seven straight outs. The only innings that the A’s had base runners against Smith were the 2nd and the 6th.

It looked as though Smith was going to be the hard luck loser, as A’s starter Brandon McCarthy was cruising along after giving up a run in the first inning.

Then the Royals broke through with two outs in the 7th inning.

Eric Hosmer doubled and scored on Lorenzo Cain‘s double to tie the game at 2-2. That ended McCarthy’s night. In came Sean Doolittle. Chris Getz battled through an eleven pitch at-bat and on that last pitch, he doubled in Cain to break the tie.

That left the game up to the Royals bullpen to hand Smith his fourth big league victory. Aaron Crow struck out two of the three batters in the 8th inning (the strikeouts came on just seven pitches). Greg Holland allowed a leadoff single in the 9th inning, but rebounded to retire the next three hitters, two via the strikeout.

*In case you didn’t hear, outfielder Melky Cabera received a 50-game suspension for testing positive for testosterone. He will miss the rest of the season and the SF Giants are in playoff contention. Click HERE for some of his former Royals teammates’ reactions.

Does the trade for since traded Jonathan Sanchez look so bad now?

**For more on the A’s, check out Oaktown Breakdown.