Royals Swept By Mariners

The Royals have been in a total funk since the 2012 MLB All Star break, and their poor play has lead to another embarrassing sweep. This time, the Royals were downed by the lowly Mariners, losing game four in heartbreaking fashion, 7-6. The loss dropped the team to 41-60 on the season, and Kansas City is now dead last in the AL Central.

Today's game featured a furious rally late, but the Royals once again were undone by some poor pitching late in the game. After Seattle raced out to a 5-2 lead, Kansas City tied it up with clutch hits from Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer. However, the team quickly gave up runs due to some poor pitching and fielding from Jose Mijares, who committed a throwing error after allowing several players to get on base.

The sad news for Royals fans is that the season is essentially over now, as the team has continued to dig a hole it cannot get out of. The team has gone 4-13 since play resumed, despite several series against easy opponents. Kansas City has continued to get some great play from several of its players, most notably All Star Billy Butler, but injuries to the pitching staff has been too damaging to overcome.

The team has two upcoming home series next, hosting the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers. Game one against Cleveland will be Tuesday, July 31st, and Luke Hochevar (6-9) will get the start for Kansas City.

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Royals Drop First Series After All Star Break To White Sox

The 2012 MLB All Star game has come and gone, and the Royals kicked off the second half of the 2012 MLB season with a home series against the Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately, Kansas City dropped two of three in the series, falling to 38-49 for the season.

It was an up and down series for Kansas City, as the team first lost a 14 inning marathon Friday night before rallying for a 6-3 victory Saturday. In today's rubber match, the Royals faced one of the best pitchers in the league in Chris Sale, and could only muster a single run in a 2-1 loss. The poor offensive performance wasted a strong pitching effort from Luis Mendoza, who only allowed two runs and four hits in over seven innings of work.

While the series loss is disappointing, the team has a great opportunity to pick up some wins and get back into contention with its upcoming series. The Royals' next seven games are all at home, against the struggling Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins. The team hits the road for a three game series with the Angels before beginning another four game series with the Mariners in Seattle. If there was ever a stretch in the season in which the Royals could make a move, it is the next couple of weeks. We will see if the team can take advantage of the weak schedule or if Kansas City is once again heading towards a mediocre final record.

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Mike Moustakas Leads Royals To Rout Over Blue Jays

Mike Moustakas had a huge game, leading the Royals to an 11-3 rout over the Blue Jays. The win improved Kansas City’s record to 36-42 on the year, and the team is only 5.5 games out of first in the latest AL Central standings.

Entering the game, Moustakas was in the middle of his worst slump of the season, hitless in his last 14 at bats. After striking out in his first plate appearance, Moustakas belted a double to score Yuniesky Betancourt in the third. This must have been what got the monkey off Moustakas’ back, as he blasted a grand slam in the seventh to turn the contest into a route. Despite the prior slump, Moustakas is having a very strong season for the Royals, and the offensive barrage in yesterday’s game was just a glimpse of the young first baseman’s power.

While Moustakas grabbed the headlines with his grand slam, several other Royals had strong games as well. Salvador Perez hit a two run homer, and Betancourt and Alex Gordon also drove in runs. As a team, the Royals tallied 14 hits last night, a season high. Also, Kansas City got a good pitching performance from Everett Teaford, who threw seven strong innings against one of the best offenses in the major leagues to earn his first win of the season. Given the Royals' injury woes at pitcher, we will likely see Teaford get a shot to join the rotation on a permanent basis for the rest of the season.

The Royals will try to keep their hot bats going tonight against Toronto, as the Jays’ Brett Cecil (1-1, 6.06 ERA) has struggled this season. Vin Mazzaro (3-2) will start for Kansas City. The game will start at 6:07 p.m.

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Bruce Chen Continues To Pitch Well As Royals Blank Twins

Bruce Chen gave up only four hits and kept Minnesota off the scoreboard, allowing a lone run scored in the second inning to be good enough for the Royals to earn a 1-0 victory over the Twins. The win moved Kansas City’s record to 24-30 on the season, and the team is currently only 6.5 games out of first place.

The big story from last night is Chen, who has rebounded from an awful start to the season to win for the fifth time in his last six starts. With injuries depleting the Royals’ pitching staff, it was imperative that Chen step up and pitch like an All-Star if the Royals were going to have any shot at respectability this season. The veteran has done that and more, and Chen will be a big factor in how far the Royals go this season.

Kansas City’s lone run came off a Bryan Pena RBI single, as Chen’s performance wasted a fantastic effort by Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano. The Royals also got a nice boost from its bullpen, as Greg Holland and Jonathan Broxton both pitched well to preserve the shut out. Broxton now has 14 saves this season.

The Royals will face the Twins again tonight at 7:10 p.m. in Kansas City. Felipe Paulino (3-1), who is in the midst of a phenomenal pitching stretch himself, will take the mound for Kansas City. He will face Minnesota’s Nick Blackburn (1-4), who has really struggled this season and currently holds an 8.37 ERA.

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Royals Back In Contention With Win Over Rangers - Kansas City News

After an embarrassing 12 game losing streak, it looked like the Royals were headed towards another disappointing season. However, Kansas City has won four games in a row and suddenly finds itself back in contention in the AL Central. Last night, the Royals beat the Texas Rangers 7-4, improving their record to 15-20.

The story of last night’s game was Vin Mazzaro, who made his season debut against the best offense in the American League. Mazzaro was called up to replace Danny Duffy, who was recently lost for the season due to an elbow injury. The young right hander gave up three runs over five innings, keeping the Rangers in check while the Royals offense got big hits from Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas and Bryan Pena to take the lead. Kansas City also got a strong pitching performance from reliever Tim Collins, who struck out five of the six batters he faced in two innings of work.

The question now is can Kansas City keep its momentum going? The loss of Duffy is a huge blow to the starting pitching rotation, and the Royals have some tough series coming up. The good news is the Royals have a puncher’s chance to reach the top of the AL Central standings, something that was unimaginable a few weeks ago.

Kansas City will look to keep its winning streak alive tonight, when they begin a three game series with Baltimore. Felipe Paulino (1-1) will start for the Royals, while Tommy Hunter (2-2) will get the start for the Orioles.

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Home Runs Help Royals End 12 Game Losing Streak

The Royals 12 game losing streak started with a home sweep at the hands of the Indians, so it was fitting that Kansas City ended its horrendous slide against the team that started it all. Backed by several key home runs, the Royals creamed the Indians 8-2, ending its 12 game losing streak and improving its record to 4-14 on the season.

The Royals relied on the long ball last night, and Kansas City’s big three delivered. Billy Butler started off the offensive barrage with a two run blast in the first, and later added a solo shot in the ninth. Eric Hosmer’s two-run home run in the fifth made it 4-0, while Alex Gordon belted a three run home run in the ninth to ensure the streak was over.

There is no way to sugar coat this win – things were getting beyond desperate for Kansas City and the Royals needed to get the monkey of their backs. Not only did the team pick up a much-needed win, but Butler, Gordon and Hosmer all should get a good deal of confidence after great days at the plate. Luke Hochevar also pitched very well, giving Royals fans hope that he can produce the way he did after the All-Star break last season.

Kansas City wraps up its series with Cleveland today before traveling to Minnesota to begin a three game series with the Twins. Luis Mendoza (0-2) will start for the Royals, while Josh Tomlin (1-1) will get the nod for the Indians.

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Royals Swept By Indians, Off To Terrible Start - Kansas City News

After a promising road trip to start the year, the Royals season has completely fallen apart during the team’s recent home stand. The Royals lost their sixth straight game at home last night to Detroit, which lead to two troubling outcomes – the Royals are winless at home for the season, and Kansas City is now alone in last place in the AL Central.

Kansas City’s offense completely disappeared during its series against the league-leading Tigers. The Royals only scored six runs combined for the entire series, wasting three good outings from its starting pitching. The only player who has consistently produced at the plate this season is Billy Butler. Butler is batting .375 so far this season, with 2 home runs, 9 RBI and 6 doubles. The other big bats in the Royals lineup have yet to consistently produce, and hopefully Butler will get some help from his teammates soon.

The main problem for Kansas City has been consistency. The nights the Royals get strong pitching, its offense disappears. The nights Kansas City’s bats come alive, the pitching and defense struggle. The team has shown some flashes here and there, and for the most part, the starting pitching has been solid. The team must find some consistency and soon, or it will suffer yet another lackluster season.

The Royals have a good opportunity to turn things around Friday, when they start a four game home series with the Blue Jays. Luke Hochevar (1-1) will try to atone his dismal start last week in which he allowed seven runs in the first inning of the Royals’ home opener. He will face Kyle Drabek (2-0), who has pitched extremely well this season.

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Royals Swept By Indians - Kansas City News

After surviving a tough road trip out west, the Royals returned home to face one of the worst teams in the league and hopefully gain some momentum in its first division matchup of the season. Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong for Kansas City did, and the Royals were swept by the Cleveland Indians.

After an impressive start in his first appearance of the season, Luke Hochevar got absolutely rocked by the Indians in the Royals' home opener. Hochevar allowed seven runs in the first inning alone, and Kansas City fell to Cleveland 8-3. In the second game of the series, Kansas City fell behind 9-2 before eventually tying the game at 9-9 after a furious comeback. The Royals couldn’t keep the momentum going, and Cleveland prevailed in extra innings, 11-9.

It appeared that the Royals were going to salvage game three of the series early, when Kansas City took a 3-0 lead off of the struggling (and recently suspended) Ubaldo Jimenez. Cleveland erased that deficit in a hurry, scoring six runs in the third inning and cruising to a 13-7 victory. That loss dropped the Royals to 3-6 on the season, and Kansas City current sits in fourth place in the AL Central standings.

The entire series was an ugly one for Kansas City. After a fantastic start to the season, the Royals’ starting pitching was terrible all weekend. The Indians officially have Kansas City’s number, and the Royals will have to find a way to start winning more games against division opponents.

Kansas City starts another AL Central series today against the Detroit Tigers. Danny Duffy (1-0) will get the start for the Royals, and will face one of the best pitchers in the game in Detroit’s Justin Verlander (0-1).

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Royals Fall to Blue Jays 9-8

Kansas City's comeback effort came up just short, as the Royals lost a back-and-forth slugfest to the Blue Jays, 9-8. Despite three run home runs from Melky Cabrera and Billy Butler, Kansas City was undone by poor pitching. The loss dropped the Royals to 26-36 for the season, nine games behind Cleveland in the AL Central standings.

Early on, it appeared that Kansas City was in a good position to pick up the win. After falling behind 2-0 early, Cabrera blasted a three run shot to give the Royals a 4-2 lead. That lead would disappear quickly, however, as Jayson Nix hit a three run home run of his own to give Toronto the lead. The Blue Jays then seemingly put the game out of reach in the sixth inning, as Adam Lind hit a grand slam to give Toronto a 9-4 lead.

The Royals wouldn't quit, and made an impressive late charge to get back in the game. Butler's three run homer in eighth cut the lead to two runs, and Alex Gordon doubled in the ninth to make it a one run game.

It is a shame that such an impressive offensive performance came in a losing effort. The Royals get another shot at Toronto this afternoon. Luke Hochevar, who has really struggled over the last couple of games, will get the start for Kansas City.

Royals Swept by Twins

Kansas City earned a rare sweep of Minnesota earlier in the year, and the Twins returned the favor over the weekend. Kansas City couldn't get anything going against Minnesota's Brian Duensing this afternoon, and fell 6-0.

There weren't many positives that emerged from the disastrous weekend, but the Royals have to be encouraged by the sudden improvement by Joakim Soria. Soria has now had two impressive outings since losing his closer role, and he may be promoted back to that spot now that he appears to be pitching at an all-star level once again. The Royals were right to take Soria out of the closer spot, as he quickly went from one of the game's best to a disaster in a terrible two week stretch. Luckily, Soria has responded, and he should find himself closing Kansas City's games again soon.

The loss dropped Kansas City to 25-34 overall and nine games back of Cleveland in the AL Central. The Royals begin another home series Monday night against Toronto, and Felipe Paulino will get the start. Paulino has yet to give up an earned run as a Royal.

Royals Drop Series to Cardinals in Wild Fashion

The Royals dropped a wild 9-8 game to the Cardinals, losing the 1-70 series and falling to 22-24 overall. The loss moves Kansas City to eight games back of Cleveland in the AL Central.

The Royals pitching yesterday was downright terrible at times, as Kansas City walked 13 batters. However, St. Louis was called for only walk, which upset catcher Matt Treanor and manager Ned Yost so much that they both were ejected during the seventh inning. Kansas City had fallen behind by as much as six runs, but was able to battle back and tie up the game before eventually losing in extra innings. Kansas City's poor pitching and defense (the team's streak of 11 games without an error was broking) wasted a terrific offensive effort from the Royals, as Alex Gordon, Wilson Betemit and Jeff Francoeur all homered during the comeback.

The Royals have an opportunity to get a once promising season back on track in its next series against Baltimore. Danny Duffy has showed some promise, and he will get the start tonight against the Orioles.

Are the Royals Finished?

It looks like the end of the line for the Kansas City Royals. A four game losing streak has lowered Kansas City's record to 20-21, and the Royals are now in third place in the AL Central. It appears that the magic Kansas City had early in the year has run out, and the Royals are still a team of the future.

Monday's disaster against Cleveland was the culmination of poor pitching and a stale offense. Kansas City didn't look a whole lot better in last night's 7-3 loss either. The Royals' pitching staff has been hit by the injury bug, which has forced them to call up more young players and attempt to patch up what was already an average at best rotation. Adding to the Royals' woes is the fact that Kansas City's offense has nearly vanished into thin air suring the team's six game losing streak. When you can't pitch well or get hits, you probably aren't going to win many games.

If the losing continues, the Royals will have no other choice but to groom the team for next year. Kansas City has already called up some of its top prospects, and may bring up several more. At least the team has shown some promise for the future, no matter how the 2011 shapes up.

Royals Drop Home Series to A's - Francis Still Winless

The Royals finally hit a speed bump at home, dropping its latest series to the Oakland A's. Kansas City lost the final game of the series 5-2, dropping its record at the K to 15-8 this year. The Royals are 18-16 overall, and still remain in second place in the AL Central.

Jeff Francis yet again failed to earn a win, and the Royals starter might hit Independance day before he notches a victory at this rate. Francis isn't pitching terribly, and the Royals had an idea of what they were getting with the veteran. The lefty has a career ERA of 4.79 and an overall record of 55-54, and this season his ERA sits at 5.09. The Royals just need Francis to pitch decently and keep them in games, and he was able to do that in his last start. The Royals offense couldn't get anything going against the A's Tyson Ross, who is off to a solid start this season.

Kansas City is off today, and travels to New York to face the Yankees tomorrow. The matchup with the Yankees gives the Royals an opportunity to prove if they are for real or not to the entire nation. Don't hold your breath.

Royals Fall to A's

The Royals' offense was flying high, and fireworks Friday at the K seemed like a good omen that Kansas City's bats would remain hot. However, Gio Gonzalez had other ideas. The young lefty baffled the Royals all night, and Kansas City fell to Oakland 3-2.

Kansas City wasted a great effort from Sean O'Sullivan, who only gave up three runs in eight innings of work. O'Sullivan gave up all of his runs in the deciding fifth inning, but otherwise was just as good as Gonzalez.

Eric Hosmer made his much anticipated debut to mixed results. He drew two walks and stole a base early, but ended up striking out in his final two plate appearances. Hosmer, who led the minor leagues in hitting, likely needs some time to adjust to major league pitching - and he should eventually provide Kansas City's offense with a boost.

The loss dropped Kansas City to 17-15 on the season, and the Royals currently sit alone in second place in the AL Central - five games behind the surprising Cleveland Indians.