Billy Butler Hits Game Winning Home Run, Royals Beat Angels

Billy Butler hit his first walk off home run to give Kansas City a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The victory gave Kansas City a much-needed series win, and improved the Royals' record to 25-30 on the season.

Butler's ninth inning blast was originally ruled a double, as the ball bounced off some padding past the outfield wall and landed back in play. Officials later correctly ruled that Butler had hit a home run after watching a video replay of the at bat.

While Butler won the game with his homer, the Royals' Alcides Escobar kept Kansas City in the game with a tremendous defensive play in the eighth. Los Angeles loaded the bases, and former Royal Alberto Callaspo hit a hard grounder that appeared out of Escobar's reach. However, the shortstop not only made the stop but threw Callaspo out at first, preventing the Angels from scoring and keeping Kansas City in the game. Escobar has been brutal at the plate this season, but his defense has earned him a spot in Kansas City's starting lineup.

While Butler and Escobar made the big plays, Kansas City's pitching staff deserves most of the credit. Since being aquired from the Colorado Rockies, Felipe Paulino has pitched extremely well. He only gave up four singles in five scorless innings yesterday, and has yet to give up a run as a Royal. Kansas City's pullpen finished off what Paulino started, and Tim Collins picked up the win.

Royals Fall to Orioles

Kansas City fell to Baltimore 5-3 last night, and has now lost 8 of its last 10 games. Royals closer Joakim Soria continued to struggle and gave up a two run walkoff homerun to Adam Jones.

Kansas City appeared to be in position to win the game, entering the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead. However, Soria quickly gave up two doubles which allowed Baltimore to tie the game. He then delivered a fastball that Jones, who hadn't hit a homer in over a month, blasted into the bleachers to send Kansas City on its way to another late inning loss.

Soria's meltdown wasted a solid effort from rookie pitcher Danny Duffy, who was in position to pick up his first major league win before Baltimore's late game heroics. Duffy gave up two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings, and has looked good in his first two starts as a Royal. Duffy's emergence could be a big boost for a pitching staff that is struggling, and the fact that he is only 22 years old has to have Kansas City fans excited about the future.

Alex Gordon homered for the second time in two games, and Billy Butler hit an RBI single to give Kansas City its 3-0 lead. The Royals play again tonight at 6:05.

Eric Hosmer is the Real Deal

Just when it looked like the Royals' season was starting to slip away, Kansas City rebounded to take a series from the Yankees. Rookie phenom Eric Hosmer led the charge in an 11-5 beatdown at Yankee Stadium last night, blasting two homers to give him three for the series.

Hosmer had a lot of hype surrounding him when he was called up to the major leagues, and rightfully so. He was leading the minor leagues in hitting and had been billed as one of Kansas City's top prospects. How quickly he adjusted to the major leagues has many now billing him as the next big thing, and I am one of them. The guy just destroyed the Yankees in one of the biggest and most intimidating stadiums in all of sports. Clearly, he is ready for prime time, and he could be a piece the Royals build around for the next ten years - if Kansas City can hold on to him.

Hosmer's power has already had a positive effect on the rest of Kansas City's lineup. Billy Butler had four hits yesterday, and he other hitters can expect protection as long as Hosmer is blasting home runs. The Royals had a lot of guys who could hit and get on base, and the addition of a power hitter may be what pushes Kansas City's offense from good to great.

The Royals travel to Detroit today to face the Tigers' Justin Verlander, who is fresh off of tossing a no hitter. Should be a great test for Hosmer and the rest of Kansas City's offense.

Royals Win In Extra Innings Again

The first place Royals (no that is not a misprint) won its second consecutive thriller, beating the White Sox 7-6 in extra innings. This is the second straight win for the Royals in extra innings, as Kansas City came back to beat the Angels on Sunday.

The Royals have now won four straight games for the first time since September of 2009. The team has used some late-game magic in all four of its wins - and its only loss came when an Alex Gordon blast fell just inches short of a game-winning home run. The Royals' late-game heroics should have relief pitchers and closers around the league terrified, as this team has proved it will go down swinging every night.

This time, Melky Cabrera was the hero, singling home Chris Getz to give Kansas City another walkoff win. The Royals' offense is producing, with new players such as Cabrera and Matt Treanor mixing well with Billy Butler (on pace for another strong season) and Alex Gordon (finally playing like the player we thought he could be).

This feels a bit like the 2003 season, the last time the Royals finished with a winning record. That year, Kansas City had an endless supply of late-game heroics and breakout seasons from several players. While still early, the Royals start may signal that the team could be ready to contend sooner than most expected.

Royals Winning Ways Puts Team in an Interesting Position

In case the circus following Lebron James’ free agency or the World Cup distracted you, you may have noticed that the Royals have slowly crawled out of mediocrity to put together a solid 2010 season. Despite the signs of improvement, the organization is now faced with an interesting decision: continue to push for a playoff spot or start to give younger prospects a chance to gain valuable experience and plan for the future.

The Royals are 27-23 since Ned Yost took over and has won 10 of its last 13. The club is talking playoffs, and in the weak AL Central that notion may not be too far fetched. Reigning Cy Young winner Zack Grienke appears to have found his other-worldly form, the team has an all-star closer in Joakim Soria, and the batters have an excellent .283 average overall.

Despite all the success, the Royals need to realistically assess how good their team really is and its chances to snag the division title and earn a playoff spot. Much of the team’s success can be attributed to strong seasons from veteran players such as Jose Guillen and Scott Podsednik, who are not getting any younger.

The Royals will have to keep a realistic approach in the next several weeks about where they stand in the division. Billy Butler and Grienke, the team’s best hitter and pitcher, benefited immensely from playing time at a young age, and top prospects like Kila Ka’aihue could do the same and help the club build a building block for the future. It will be interesting to see what the club does in the next month or two, but the new position the Royals find themselves in shows the team may slowly be crawling out of the cellar.