Royals Offense Stalls, Team Drops Series To Rays

After sweeping the white sox over the weekend, the Royals came back down to earth a bit, dropping two out of three to the Tampa Bay Rays. Kansas City’s lone win came in an epic, extra-innings pitching duel between Like Hochevar and David Price.

David Price is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but on Tuesday, Kansas City’s Luke Hochevar went toe-to-toe with the All Star. Hochevar only allowed one hit while striking out ten, absolutely dominating the Rays and looking like the player the Royals thought they were getting when they selected him first overall in the 2006 MLB draft. Price was nearly as effective, striking out eight while only allowing three hits. The game was scoreless until the 10th inning, when Eric Hosmer hit a two-out single to score Jeff Francoeur. From there, Kansas City’s Kelvin Herrera held the lead, giving him his first victory in the major leagues.

Unfortunately for the Royals, their bats never quite woke up in this series, as they scored only five times over the three game span against the Rays. On Monday, the team only mustered one run off of Jeremy Hellickson, and today, the team got only three on the scoreboard against James Shields. The Rays are the best pitching team in the American League, boasting a 3.27 team ERA, and Kansas City may just have to be thankful they picked up one win thanks to Hochevar’s dominating performance. The team didn’t have many highlights from the plate, but Alcides Escobar did hit an RBI triple in the eighth inning.

The team’s upcoming schedule should provide the Royals with an opportunity to pick up a few more wins, as the team heads to Boston for a four game series with the struggling Red Sox. Game one in the series will be Friday night at 6:10 p.m. Bruce Chen (9-10) will start for Kansas City, and Jon Lester (7-10) will start for Boston.

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Guthrie Flirts With No-Hitter, Royals Sweep White Sox

Jeremy Guthrie has been on fire lately, and that trend continued yesterday. Guthrie took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the Royals defeated the White Sox 5-2. The win gave Kansas City a sweep over their AL Central rival, and the team has been playing winning baseball over the past two weeks.

The hit that broke up Guthrie’s no-hitter attempt has been a controversial subject. Paul Konerko hit a ground ball that shortstop Alcides Escobar had to dive for. Escobar was able to make an accurate throw to first baseman Eric Hosmer, however the throw took a bounce that Hosmer was unable to field. It appeared the play should have been an error on Hosmer, however the official scorer Del Black decided that Escobar had to make too tough a play which resulted in an infield single. As a result, Guthrie didn’t even get a victory, as Chicago tacked on two runs later in the 8th inning. Luckily, Kansas City got some great hitting from Salvador Perez, who drove in runs in the 6th and 8th to twice give Kansas City the lead.

Dayton Moore has taken some heat this year, particularly for trading Melky Cabrera to the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez, who was a complete disaster for the Royals. However, he should be commended for trading Sanchez for Guthrie, who has been absolutely lights-out over his past several starts. Guthrie has likely earned a permanent spot in the Royals’ rotation, and could be part of the team’s future plans. With some key pitchers returning from injury next season, suddenly one of Kansas City’s biggest weaknesses – starting pitching – has a potentially bright future.

Kansas City’s sweep of Chicago improved the team’s record to 54-66 on the season, and the team will look to continue its winning ways when it travels to Tampa Bay for a three game series with the Rays. The first game starts tonight at 6:10 p.m., and Will Smith (4-4) will start for the Royals. Jeremy Hellickson (7-8) will be the starting pitcher for the Rays.

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Royals Win Third Straight Game

The Royals have been playing some pretty good baseball lately, winning their third straight game last night with a dominating 8-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Kansas City has now won seven out of its past 10 games, and has improved its record to 48-63 on the season.

One big reason the team is winning games is due to a suddenly hot offense, led by Billy Butler and Alex Gordon. Both players homered in the first inning last night, giving the Royals a commanding 4-0 lead early on. Butler has three homers in the past week, and has raised his average to .303 for the season with 23 home runs and 72 RBI. Gordon has also cranked up the offensive production, raising his season average to .294. Gordon is batting .347 since the All-Star break, and while he has failed to provide the Royals’ offense with power, his ability to get on base in front of players like Butler has been very valuable, as has his defense in the outfield.

The Royals have also gotten some strong pitching performances recently, only giving up five total runs over the past three games. The biggest surprise was the recently-acquired Jeremy Guthrie, who was dominate in an eight-inning performance against the White Sox. Guthrie was acquired when Kansas City traded Jonathan Sanchez, and it appeared as if the team had merely swapped one struggling pitcher for another. If Guthrie can turn things around and continue to pitch well, he could find a permanent spot in Kansas City’s rotation entering next season.

The Royals will be back in action tonight, facing the Orioles in game two of the teams’ four-game series. Luke Hochevar (7-9) will start for Kansas City, while Miguel Gonzalez (3-2) will start for Baltimore. The game will begin at 6:05 p.m.

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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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Walks Once Again Doom Royals In Loss To Angels

The Royals’ pitching staff has struggled all season long, particularly with allowing walks. The team leads the American League with 344 walks this season, and two key walks ended up being difference makers in the team’s 6-3 loss to the LA Angels last night.

Midway through the game, Kansas City was locked in a tight 2-2 draw, thanks to RBIs early in the game from Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain. However, once the sixth inning hit, the Royals’ shaky pitching once again reared its ugly head. Howie Kendrick drew a leadoff walk, and then scored on a single by Maicer Izturis. After the Royals tied the game again when Bryan Pena drove in Eric Hosmer, Kansas City’s Greg Holland sunk the team’s chances with an awful walk in the eighth. The Royals had already gotten two outs in the inning, and Holland faced Peter Bourjos, who entered the at-bat with a measly .223 batting average. Holland walked Bourjos on four straight pitches, and then gave up a three-run single to Kendrys Morales that essentially was the ball game.

The Royals have been walking batters an alarming rate this season, and once it again it came back to haunt them in a crucial situation. Holland’s mistake wasted a decent outing from Chen, who gave up three runs and give hits in 5 1/3 innings. Chen is now 0-2 with a 9.25 ERA in his last five starts, after a hot streak in which he went 7-2 over his previous 10 outings.

Kansas City will face the Angels in LA again tonight at 9:05 p.m. Will Smith (1-3) will start for the Royals, while Garrett Richards (3-1) will take the mound for the Angels.

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Royals Drop Series To Mariners, Resign Jason Kendall

On one of the hottest days of the year, the Royals had absolutely no answer for the red-hot Felix Hernandez, only producing one run in a 6-1 loss to the Mariners yesterday. The loss means that despite an easy post All Star break schedule, the team has yet to win a series since play resumed.

Hernandez worked through the eighth, only allowing a run when Chris Getz hit a single in the 5th to drive home Eric Hosmer. The Royals had a great chance to get back into the game in the eighth inning, when the team loaded the bases with only one out. Hernandez, who leads the league in strikeouts, fanned Alcides Escobar and got Billy Butler to ground out, ending any hope the Royals had for a comeback.

Seattle’s offense was led by Jesus Montero, who homered and drove in four runs of rookie Will Smith. Smith had pitched well in Triple-A Omaha before being called up due to the struggles the Royals have had in the bullpen, and despite his poor performance yesterday, he will likely get several more chances to earn a permanent spot in the rotation.

The Royals were busy making some deals as well, most notably their resigning of catcher Jason Kendall to a minor league contract. Kendall played for Kansas City in 2010 before missing all of 2011 due to injury. At 38, it is hard to imagine that Kendall has much left in the tank, but he played well for the team in 2010 and is a former three-time All Star. If the injury bug that has bitten the Royals pitching staff hits Kansas City’s offense, we may very well see Kendall called up sometime before the season ends.

Kansas City begins a three game series with Minnesota tonight to conclude the team’s ten game home stand. Luke Hochevar (6-8) will start for the Royals, and Nick Blackburn (4-5) will start for the Twins. Game one begins tonight at 7:10 p.m.

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Billy Butler's Walk Off Gives Royals Much-Needed Win Over Mariners

After losing four of its first five games since the All Star break, the Royals desperately needed something to give the team hope as it tries to crawl back in contention in the American League. Leave it to the team’s All Star, Billy Butler, to come up huge when the team needed him most. Butler hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth last night, giving the Royals a much needed 8-7 victory over the Mariners. With the win, Kansas City moved to 39-51 on the season, 10.5 games out in the AL Central.

Butler’s heroics saved what could have been a disaster for the Royals, as Kansas City blew a four run lead late in the game thanks to some horrendous pitching from its bullpen. Bruce Chen provided the team with a quality start, and Kansas City’s offense was rolling early thanks to big hits from Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas. The team also got a two run homer from the hot-hitting Lorenzo Cain, who is now 10-20 in the midst of a six game hitting streak. However, after building what seemed to be an insurmountable lead, Kansas City’s Jose Mijares and Aaron Crow gave up three runs in the seventh. Had Butler not saved the day with his walk-off, this would have been an extremely tough loss for Royals fans.

Kansas City’s entire pitching staff struggled all series long, giving up 26 runs over three games and wasting a pretty good offensive series from the Royals. With the troubles on the mound, the Royals have called up lefty Will Smith, who is 3-0 with a 1.30 ERA in his last four starts at Triple-A Omaha. To make room for Smith, the team optioned Ryan Verdugo, who struggled in his major league debut on Tuesday.

Smith will pitch for the Royals today in the team’s final game of its series with the Mariners. He will face Felix Hernandez (7-5). The game will begin at 1:10 p.m. at Kauffman Stadium.

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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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Previewing The Royals' Upcoming Series

The Royals’ game against the Detroit Tigers was postponed last night, meaning that Kansas City will officially start the series tonight. If there was ever a time for the Royals to turn its season around and pick up some much-needed wins against an AL Central opponent, this is it. The Tigers are in a tailspin, losing eight of their last 10 games. To make matters worse for Detroit, the team recently lost Delmon Young to a seven game suspension.

After a ridiculous losing streak, Kansas City has responded well, winning three of its last four games. However, the Royals may have dug themselves in too deep a whole to get back to respectability this season. The schedule is about to get tougher, with New York and Boston coming to town, and series with first place teams like Texas and Baltimore on the horizon. Both the Yankees and Red Sox have been inconsistent this season, and the team’s seven game home stand against these two may very well be the make-or-break point of the season.

Kansas City will face Detroit tonight at 6:05 p.m. Luke Hochevar (2-1) will start for the Royals, fresh off his best performance of the season. He will face Rick Porcello (1-2), who has struggled this season.

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Royals 2012 Home Opener Preview - Kansas City News

The Royals 2012 home opener is just hours away! After starting the season off with a road trip out west, Kansas City will play its first home game this afternoon at 3:10 p.m. The Royals (3-3) will take on the struggling Cleveland Indians (1-4).

For the second year in a row, Luke Hochevar (1-0) will get the start in Kansas City’s home opener. Hochevar looked impressive in his first outing of the season, allowing only two runs in 6 innings pitched against the Angels. While Cleveland has looked terrible so far this season, the Royals will face one of the league’s better pitchers in Derek Lowe. In his only start this season, Lowe threw seven scoreless innings against Toronto to lead the Indians to their only win of the season. The pitching matchup suggests that this could be a very low scoring affair; however Hochevar has struggled against Cleveland in the past. In 2011, the Royals’ Ace went 1-2 against the Indians with a 5.31 ERA. Derek Lowe has struggled against the Royals in his career, with a 5.72 ERA in games played in Kansas City.

After a disappointing end to its series against the A’s, Kansas City has a great opportunity to take this series and build some momentum. The Royals’ next three series are at home, and several AL Central matchups loom in the near future as well. A hot start could catapult this team into playoff contention, and this year, the Royals seem capable of living up to their early hype.

This will be the first home opener for both Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, as both were called up from the minor leagues during last season. The Indians went 12-6 against the Royals last season, and won 4 out of the 5 games played in Kansas City.

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Royals Take Series Against Indians

With a strong performance from Danny Duffy and some timely hitting, Kansas City was able to defeat Cleveland today, 5-3. The win gave Kansas City a series victory over their struggling AL Central rival, and the Royals have now won eight of 12.

Duffy, who was filling in for the injured Kyle Davies, was able to escape several jams and struck out six in five innings of work. He gave up eight hits, but was also able to pick off two runners. Joakim Soria picked up the save, his 20th in 26 chances.

Offensively, the Royals were aided by Alex Gordon, who has been putting on a clinic during Kansas City's hot streak. In the month of July, Gordon batted .323 with four home runs and 13 RBI, and has raised his average on the season to .302. Gordon's emergence, paired with strong seasons from Jeff Francoeur and Billy Butler, has given the Royals offense some much-needed consistency.

Kansas City has tomorrow off, then starts a home series against Baltimore on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 pm