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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Chiefs Fall To Rams, 31-17

After a hot start to their preseason, the Chiefs looked sloppy last night in a 31-17 loss to the lowly St. Louis Rams. Kansas City's defense struggled, giving up two quick touchdowns against the Rams' first-string offense and 17 total first half points.

The defensive performance has to be worrisome for Chief fans. Kansas City gave up a quick touchdown on St. Louis' opening possession, then allowed the Rams to score only a few minutes later after a costly Jonathan Baldwin fumble. The Rams, who were one of the worst offensive teams in all of football last year, gained 151 yards in the first quarter alone. The Chiefs' D looked great against Arizona, but the Cardinals have some of the worst quarterback play in the league. The Chiefs have a very talented defense, and they are missing their best cornerback, so this may have simply just been a random poor showing.

Offensively, Kansas City didn't fare much better. Cassel played the entire first half, and he put up decent numbers as the Chiefs mustered 10 points. However, turnovers plagued the team all night, as the Chiefs committed four turnovers - three of them fumbles. With the Rams' offensive clicking early, the turnovers proved to be the difference in the game. The team's backups didn't play very well either, as the Chiefs only score in the second half came late in the game, when Brady Quinn hit Jeremy Horne for a 38 yard touchdown.

Many have predicted the Rams to make some improvements this season under new head coach Jeff Fisher, and St. Louis looked sharp last night after getting blown out by the Colts in their first preseason game. The facts are what they are, however, and St. Louis is coming off a dismal 2-14 season in which they averaged 12 points a game. Hopefully this loss will get the attention of the Chiefs' younger players and will help the team get focused with the regular season only a couple weeks away.

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Chiefs Conclude Camp, Prepare for Rams

The Chiefs 2012 training camp is officially over, as the team held its final practice yesterday. The team has made some strides, looking very good in its first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals and establishing a depth chart. However, Kansas City has also suffered a few key injuries, and has several questions to answer with the regular season approaching.

The biggest question for Chiefs fans is the status of All-Pro wide receiver Dwayne Bowe – and at the moment, we don’t have an answer. The team failed to reach a long-term deal with their best wide receiver, and Bowe is currently holding out for a better deal. Some speculate that the team may choose not to resign Bowe, as the Chiefs will have several other important players who will need to be resigned in the near future, including Branden Albert, Jovan Belcher, Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Siler and Dustin Colquitt. Jonathan Baldwin, the team’s 2011 first round pick, had an impressive camp, and the team has other reliable receivers such as Steve Breaston. There is no denying, however, that Bowe makes the Chiefs a better team, and Kansas City is running out of time to get something done.

The Chiefs have also dealt with several injuries, and Brandon Flowers, Cameron Sheffield, DeQuan Menzie and Cyrus Gray will all miss the team’s second preseason game tomorrow against the St. Louis Rams. Flowers’ injury is the most concerning, as his hurt foot has yet to heal. Flowers should be ready to go by the time the regular season starts, but it would be nice for the Chiefs’ best corner to get some preseason reps in.

Kansas City travels to St. Louis tomorrow for its second preseason game. The Rams’ looked terrible in their first preseason contest, getting destroyed by the Indianapolis Colts 38-3. Many thought St. Louis would be improved this year, with Sam Bradford maturing and new head coach Jeff Fisher running the team, but their first preseason game was a disappointment. Kansas City looked very sharp in its first preseason game, and tomorrow’s game will be a good opportunity for the team to continue to work in its new offense.

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Chiefs Training Camp Updates

The Chiefs have one preseason game under their belt, and the 2012 NFL regular season is only a few weeks away. The team is still practicing, and there are several important updates that have recently come out of camp.

The biggest concern the team has is the foot injury of starting cornerback Brandon Flowers. Flowers has a bruised heel which has kept him out of practice since July 31. Initially, the coaching staff thought Flowers would only miss a few practices; however now the team is worried that he might not make it back for the team’s regular season opener on Sept. 9 against the Atlanta Falcons. Flowers is a critical component to the Chiefs defense, and it is very concerning that his foot has yet to heal properly. Time is still on the team’s side, and hopefully Kansas City’s top corner can get healthy before the regular season starts.

One of the biggest position battles has been at nose tackle, where Anthony Toribio continues to impress coaches and hold down the starting spot. This has drawn the ire of many Chiefs fans, as Poe was considered a reach by many and now it appears that the team’s first round pick isn’t good enough to win a starting position. Kansas City has done a poor job of drafting defensive tackles in the past, which is likely part of the reason Chiefs fans are so on edge, but this seems like an overreaction. Poe has talent, and Toribio has had an extremely productive camp. The rookie should be given a little more time to learn the ropes, and Chiefs fans should be happy there is good depth at a position that is critical to the team’s 3-4 alignment.

Finally, it appears that Brady Quinn is still the second string quarterback – although this could change in the near future. Quinn was not impressive in the team’s first preseason game against the Cardinals, and he has rotated with Ricky Stanzi in practice lately as the number two QB. If Quinn has another unimpressive performance in the team’s next preseason game, Stanzi will likely get a shot to win the backup QB position behind starter Matt Cassel.

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Royals Shut Out A's - Jeremy Guthrie Continues To Dominate

Almost a month ago, the Royals traded the struggling Jonathan Sanchez for Jeremy Guthrie, a pitcher who was also in the middle of a bad season. At first it appeared that the Royals failed to gain anything from the trade, as Guthrie struggled in his first start in Kansas City. Now, that trade appears to be a steal, as the new Royals pitcher is in the middle of an incredible pitching streak and could become a mainstay in Kansas City’s rotation.

Last night against the A’s, Guthrie completely shut down an Oakland team that has been one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season and is currently fighting for a playoff spot. Guthrie only allowed three singles in seven innings, adding a season-high eight strikeouts to completely dominate Oakland. The Royals would use a hot fifth inning to put the A’s away and wound up winning 5-0, improving the team’s record to 50-65 on the season.

It appears that Guthrie is coming into his own in Kansas City, as the pitcher currently has a 15 inning scoreless streak and three strong consecutive starts. He will be a free agent after this season, but it appears that the team may have plans to resign him and offer him a starting position next year. A change of scenery may have been all that Guthrie needed, and he claims that working with Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland has given his game a significant boost. For the moment, it appears that he has impressed both general manager Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost, and may be part of the team’s future, even though Kansas City will be getting several talented pitchers back from injury next season.

The Royals face the A’s again tonight at home in the second game of the teams’ three game series. Will Smith (3-4) will start for Kansas City, while Brandon McCarthy (6-3) will start for the A’s. The game starts at 7:10 a.m.

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