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 Get Hammered By Tigers As Hochevar Struggles

The Royals entered last night’s game with a chance to turn their season around. They were facing a struggling Detroit Tigers team and a pitcher who had been lit up all season long. So naturally, Kansas City got hammered by Detroit, 9-3. The Royals are now 0-4 against the Tigers this season, and the loss dropped Kansas City to 6-16 for the season and a half game out of last place in the AL Central.

If there is one thing MLB teams can take away from this game, it is that a game against the Royals is the best cure to end any sort of skid. Rick Porcello entered the game with a 15.26 ERA in his last two outings, and held the Royals’ offense in check all game. The Tigers as a team had dropped 10 of its last 12 games and recently lost Delmon Young to a suspension, but Detroit managed to come out hot and cruised to another victory over Kansas City.

Royals’ fans have to be frustrated with Luke Hochevar and his Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde routine. Hochevar has now made a career out of either pitching very well or getting hammered, and this season has been no different. Hochevar has looked like an All-Star in his two wins, and looked like a minor leaguer in his two losses. He gave up five runs in the first inning alone, and by the time he was pulled, Detroit had put nine up on the board against the former first overall draft pick. Hochevar certainly has the potential to be a top pitcher, but he has to find some consistency.

The lone bright spot for Kansas City’s offense was a two RBI game from Alex Gordon and a triple from Jarrod Dyson. Don’t expect the Royals’ offense to fair much better tonight, as Justin Verlander will be taking the mound for Detroit. He will face the Royals’ Jonathan Sanchez, who has struggled this season. The game begins today at 12:05 p.m.

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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.