Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

[artoodeetoo]

DAYS LATER, DUENEZ GRAND SLAM STILL MAKING WAVES
History-making ball, bat headed to Cooperstown
By artoodeetoo
09/23/2019

It's been several days since Samir Duenez hit a pinch-hit grand slam on Thursday night, the first pinch-hit grand slam in league history to be hit in the player's first MLB at-bat on the first pitch.

However, the event is still reverberating throughout the league. Duenez has been invited onto several MLB talk shows to talk about the hit, and received standing ovations whenever he came to plate during the Chicago series.

The ball and the bat used to hit it are on their way to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. While the young Royals fan's name who caught the ball was not released, they reportedly received a nice gift package in exchange for the history-making piece of memorabilia -- 2020 home game tickets to a game of their choice, a jersey signed by the team and coaching staff, and an invite to meet with players and coaches at Spring Training in February.

"To witness a part of baseball history is something I won't soon forget," said manager Ned Yost. "Even if Samir doesn't hit another homerun in his career, it's something that he's not likely to forget anytime soon, either."

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ROYALS 2019 ROSTER/STATISTICS UPDATE

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MLB STANDINGS UPDATE

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KANSAS CITY ROYALS (85-71) @ MINNESOTA TWINS (71-85)



PITCHING MATCHUPS

09/24: RHP Jake Junis (12-5, 3.97) vs RHP Trevor Clifton (0-0, 0.00)
09/25: RHP Trevor Oaks (13-7, 3.48) vs LHP Adalberto Mejia (3-10, 6.14)
09/26: RHP Luis Cessa (11-8, 3.70) vs RHP Shelby Miller (4-11, 4.56)

GAME RECAPS

September 24th, 2019
Kansas City (86-71) 8, Minnesota (71-86) 1
Winner: Jake Junis (13-5) Loser: Trevor Clifton (0-1) Save: Eric Skoglund (1)

ROYALS CLINCH DIVISION; ROLL OVER TWINS

Salvador Perez drove in three runs as part of a 3-for-3 game, and Peter Alonso hit his 28th homerun of the season as the Royals rolled to an 8-1 victory at Target Field, notching their eighth consecutive victory while wrapping up their first division title since 2015. Making possibly his final start of the regular season, Jake Junis won his 13th game, going six innings while allowing just one run, striking out six with two walks. Billy Hamilton went just 1-for-5, but his one hit was a bases-clearing double in the sixth. Brian Goodwin also had three hits for the Royals, falling just a homerun short of the cycle.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (86-71) 8, Minnesota (71-86) 1
Baltimore (67-90) 2, Toronto (69-88) 7
Seattle (66-91) 2, Tampa Bay (66-92) 3
Detroit (57-100) 1, Cleveland (81-77) 4
Boston (97-60) 1, NY Yankees (107-51) 14
Oakland (68-89) 2, LA Angels (74-83) 10
Texas (72-85) 8, Houston (104-53) 10

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Philadelphia (83-75) 6, Miami (59-98) 5 (Final/10)
Atlanta (82-74) 6, NY Mets (102-55) 4 (Final/11)
St. Louis (92-65) 4, Pittsburgh (73-84) 6
Chi. Sox (71-86) 6, Milwaukee (78-80) 1
Cincinnati (50-108) 4, Chi. Cubs (98-60) 11
Washington (78-79) 11, San Diego (70-87) 2
LA Dodgers (101-57) 8, Colorado (93-65) 3
Arizona (69-89) 4, San Francisco (76-82) 14

September 25th, 2019
Kansas City (86-72) 1, Minnesota (72-86) 2 (Final/11)
Winner: Gabriel Moya (2-7) Loser: Tim Hill (0-2) Save: None

WIN STREAK STOPPED AT EIGHT; TWINS WIN IN WALK-OFF

An RBI on a fielder's choice from Adalberto Mondesi was the only run the Royals could churn up, as Minnesota's Mitch Garver singled home the winning run in the 11th inning in the Royals' 2-1 loss to the Twins, snapping their eight-game streak. Trevor Oaks got the start, allowing just one earned run over seven innings, but didn't factor into the decision as he tried to wrest the team lead in victories back after Jake Junis' 13th win last night. Tim Hill came in for the 11th inning, and sandwiched two walks around a base hit. Jorge Lopez came in to try to get them out of the inning, but Garver's single walked them off.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Detroit (57-100) @ Cleveland (81-77) -- PPD
Kansas City (86-72) 1, Minnesota (72-86) 2 (Final/11)
Baltimore (68-90) 6, Toronto (69-89) 2
Seattle (66-92) 1, Tampa Bay (67-92) 2
Boston (97-61) 3, NY Yankees (108-51) 4
Oakland (69-89) 8, LA Angels (74-84) 6
Texas (73-85) 7, Houston (104-54) 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Philadelphia (83-76) 1, Miami (60-98) 5
Atlanta (82-75) 3, NY Mets (103-55) 6
St. Louis (93-65) 3, Pittsburgh (73-85) 1
Chi. Sox (71-87) 1, Milwaukee (79-80) 3
Cincinnati (50-109) 2, Chi. Cubs (99-60) 12
Washington (79-79) 9, San Diego (70-88) 8
LA Dodgers (102-57) 15, Colorado (93-66) 8
Arizona (70-89) 5, San Francisco (76-83) 2

September 26th, 2019
Kansas City (86-73) 4, Minnesota (73-86) 5
Winner: Shelby Miller (4-7) Loser: Nathan Karns (3-3) Save: John Curtiss (12)

ROYALS DROP SQUEAKER TO MINNESOTA

Despite homeruns from Peter Alonso and Erick Mejia, the Royals couldn't muster a comeback as they dropped the rubber match of their final series of the year, falling 5-4. Mejia's homerun was his first career MLB homerun, and Alonso needs just one more to join the 30 2B/30 HR club as a rookie. He'd be the first Royals rookie in team history to reach that plateau, even over greats such as George Brett and Lou Piniella. Nathan Karns suffered the loss, just his third of the season, allowing two earned runs in one and two-third innings of work. Drew Smith pitched the final two innings, retiring all six hitters he faced, including three by way of strikeout. Kansas City now begins their final series of the season, as they travel to Cincinnati to finish the 2019 regular season before facing the Astros in the ALDS.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Detroit (58-100) 8, Chi. Sox (71-88) 7
Kansas City (86-73) 4, Minnesota (73-86) 5
Baltimore (68-91) 4, Toronto (70-89) 5
Seattle (66-93) 1, Boston (98-61) 3
Oakland (69-90) 4, Houston (105-54) 5

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Atlanta (82-76) 1, NY Mets (104-55) 6
St. Louis (94-65) 4, Pittsburgh (73-86) 3
Washington (80-79) 9, San Diego (70-89) 7

MAJOR NEWS/INJURIES/TRANSACTIONS
09/23: Cardinals' Abreu, Royals' Alonso named Players of the Week
09/23: Diamondbacks 3B Jake Lamb day-to-day with back strain
09/23: Mets take over top spot in new Power Rankings
09/23: Indians secure Wild Card spot; will play Boston in Fenway
09/24: Phillies 2B Scott Kingery hits for cycle
09/24: Dodgers secure NL West title
09/24: Kansas City wins first AL Central title for first time since 2015
09/25: Dodgers' Bellinger and Rox' Eiji Ri suspended three games each for dustup
09/25: Cubs claim NL Central championship with 12-2 win over Cincinnati
09/26: Dodgers take another hit; Puig out for playoffs with knee injury

[artoodeetoo]

KANSAS CITY ROYALS (86-73) @ CINCINNATI REDS (50-109)



PITCHING MATCHUPS

09/27: RHP Jimmy Nelson (8-4. 4.36) vs LHP Amir Garrett (2-6, 6.98)
09/28: RHP Cody Ponce (0-0, 0.00) vs RHP Anthony DeSclafani (3-6, 5.20)
09/29: LHP Eric Skoglund (0-1, 2.08) vs RHP Luis Castillo (7-14, 4.31)

GAME RECAPS

September 27th, 2019
Kansas City (86-74) 7, Cincinnati (51-109) 8
Winner: Raisel Iglesias (7-10) Loser: Richard Lovelady (7-6) Save: None

REDS MOUNT HUGE COMEBACK, WALK ROYALS OFF

With three runs each in the eighth and ninth innings from Cincinnati, the Royals fell 8-7 to the worst-record-in-baseball Reds, who now move to 51-109 on the season. The normally-steady Richard Lovelady was charged with the loss, allowing three earned runs in just one-third of an inning, as his early-season control issues reared its ugly head. Corey Knebel couldn't slam the door, as he sandwiched two hits around a strikeout, with the second hit off the bat of Tucker Barnhart that brought home the winning run. After eight straight wins, the Royals have now lost three straight, all on the road. Eugenio Suarez hit his eighth homerun of the season in the eighth with the Reds down 7-2 off Joe Palumbo, setting the stage for the ninth-inning rally.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
LA Angels (74-85) 0, Texas (74-85) 6 (G1)
Texas (74-86) 2, LA Angels (75-85) 8 (G2)
Baltimore (68-92) 3, NY Yankees (109-51) 4
Seattle (66-94) 3, Boston (99-61) 6
Tampa Bay (67-93) 3, Toronto (71-89) 5
Oakland (69-91) 2, Houston (106-54) 9
Detroit (59-100) 4, Chi. Sox (71-89) 3 (Final/11)
Cleveland (81-78) 3, Minnesota (74-86) 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (86-74) 7, Cincinnati (51-109) 8
Atlanta (82-77) 9, Washington (81-79) 11
Chi. Cubs (99-61) 3, Pittsburgh (74-86) 4
Philadelphia (83-77) 1, NY Mets (105-55) 3
St. Louis (95-65) 12, Milwaukee (79-81) 4
Arizona (70-90) 2, Colorado (94-66) 3
Miami (61-98) 6, San Diego (70-90) 4
San Francisco (77-83) 12, LA Dodgers (102-58) 5

September 28th, 2019
Kansas City (86-72) 1, Minnesota (72-86) 2 (Final/11)
Winner: Cody Ponce (1-0) Loser: Anthony DeSclafani (3-7) Save: None

ROYALS BASH FIVE HOMERUNS IN LOPSIDED VICTORY

Kansas City hit five homeruns, including a grand slam from Brian Goodwin, as they rolled to a 13-4 victory at Cincinnati to stop a three-game losing streak. Peter Alonso continued his torrid hitting in the month of September, hitting two more homeruns to raise his season total to thirty-one, a Royals rookie record. Cody Ponce went six innings in his first MLB start, allowing four earned runs with eight strikeouts. Cheslor Cuthbert and Samir Duenez also hit homeruns in the contest.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Texas (74-87) 3, LA Angels (76-85) 8
Baltimore (69-92) 5, NY Yankees (109-52) 0
Seattle (66-95) 4, Boston (100-61) 13
Tampa Bay (68-93) 8, Toronto (71-90) 2
Oakland (69-92) 6, Houston (107-54) 10
Detroit (60-100) 4, Chi. Sox (71-90) 3
Cleveland (82-78) 6, Minnesota (74-87) 5

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (87-74) 13, Cincinnati (51-110) 4
Atlanta (82-78) 1, Washington (82-79) 10
Chi. Cubs (100-61) 5, Pittsburgh (74-87) 3
Philadelphia (83-78) 2, NY Mets (106-55) 3
St. Louis (95-66) 1, Milwaukee (80-81) 6
Arizona (70-91) 2, Colorado (95-66) 4
Miami (61-99) 6, San Diego (71-90) 4
San Francisco (78-83) 3, LA Dodgers (102-59) 0

September 29th, 2019
Kansas City (86-73) 4, Minnesota (73-86) 5
Winner: Josh Fields (6-5) Loser: Jimmy Herget (4-6) Save: Corey Knebel (32)

ROYALS RALLY TO WIN SEASON FINALE

Brian Goodwin's eighth-inning two-run homerun propelled the Royals over the Reds in a 4-3 victory. Kansas City finishes the season with an 88-74 mark, while the Reds fell to 51-111. Eric Skoglund scattered eight hits over six innings, fanning five with four walks. He also hit a two-run homerun in the third inning, the first Royals pitcher to hit a homerun in the interleague era. Corey Knebel notched the save, his 32nd of the season, fanning his 100th batter of the season in the process. The Royals will begin their playoff series on October 4th, as they travel to Houston to begin the ALDS in a rematch of the 2015 ALDS.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Texas (74-88) 3, LA Angels (77-85) 5
Baltimore (70-92) 8, NY Yankees (109-53) 0
Seattle (66-96) 5, Boston (101-61) 6 (Final/10)
Tampa Bay (69-93) 4, Toronto (71-91) 2
Oakland (69-93) 3, Houston (108-54) 4
Detroit (60-101) 4, Chi. Sox (72-90) 5
Cleveland (82-79) 5, Minnesota (75-87) 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Atlanta (82-78) @ Washington (82-79) -- PPD
Kansas City (88-74) 4, Cincinnati (51-11) 3
Chi. Cubs (101-61) 4, Pittsburgh (74-88) 2
Philadelphia (84-78) 4, NY Mets (106-56) 1
St. Louis (96-66) 4, Milwaukee (80-82) 3 (Final/14)
Arizona (70-92) 6, Colorado (96-66) 14
Miami (61-100) 6, San Diego (72-90) 4
San Francisco (79-83) 3, LA Dodgers (102-59) 0

MAJOR NEWS/INJURIES/TRANSACTIONS
09/27: Cubs LHP Jon Lester activated from the disabled list; will pitch in NLDS
09/28: Angels RHP Charlie Morton (shoulder) placed on 10-day disabled list
09/29: Red Sox place DH J.D. Martinez (back strain) on 10-day disabled list
09/29: Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (elbow) placed on 10-day disabled list
09/29: Dodgers' Turner ruled out for postseason

[artoodeetoo]

SEATTLE CLEANS HOUSE; FIRES BOTH MANAGER AND GM
Three other skippers also out of a job
10/01/2019
By Anthony Castrovince, MLB.com

When Jerry Dipoto was hired in 2015, he promised to be a different kind of general manager; one that took emotion out of decision-making with the heavier utilization of statistical trends and sabermetrics. Fast-forward to the end of 2019, and the results from Jack Zduriencik have not been much different -- five years, five losing seasons.

In one fell swoop, team president Kevin Mather, who oversees most of the executive personnel in the organization, pink-slipped both Dipoto and manager Scott Servais on the day after the regular season ended. Servais, 52, went just 308-340 in four seasons. Mather announced that a search for a new day-to-day executive would take place immediately.

"We're going to conduct an exhaustive search, and bring the right person in who can restore faith in the franchise," Mather said in his season-ending press conference. "There are plenty of brilliant baseball minds out there, but fit is important, as well."

Three other managers were also shown the door this morning -- Baltimore's John Russell, who lasted just one season after being promoted from his role as bench coach in 2018; Toronto's John Gibbons, whose second stint with the Blue Jays is over, and in a bit of a surprise, Tampa Bay parted ways with manager Kevin Cash.

Despite having one of the younger rosters in the league at season's end, the Rays' executive group found Cash's 378-432 record not good enough to get a sixth season as the Rays' skipper.

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ALDS ROSTER SET
Phillips, Mejia notable omissions
By artoodeetoo
10/04/2019

Kansas City's playoff roster for the ALDS against Houston is now set, with five outfielders, six infielders, two catchers, and twelve pitchers. Of the twelve pitchers, three are starters with Jimmy Nelson, Trevor Oaks, and Danny Duffy as the starters. Luis Cessa, who made nearly thirty starts this season, is not slated to start any of the games, but is going to come out of the bullpen.

Drew Smith, Nathan Karns, and Jorge Lopez are other right-handers that can come out of the bullpen for multiple innings. Notably absent from the pitching staff is Jake Junis, but it is thought that he'd be the fourth starter in a seven-game series. The Royals are also carrying two southpaws -- Tony Cingrani and Richard Lovelady.

Despite being cleared to play near the end of the season, Brett Phillips was not added to the roster. Instead, Jorge Soler will take his place, giving the Royals a right-handed power bat off the bench. Samir Duenez was also a surprise addition, making only fourteen at-bats in September, but hit a couple of homeruns.

Also, it's worth noting that there is only one true infield reserve in Hunter Dozier (Duenez is just a left-handed throwing 1B). If injuries strike in the middle infield, the Royals are going to have to get creative in how they align their defense.

Dozier is mainly a corner infielder, as he has not played shortstop since the lower minors. Cheslor Cuthbert has played some second base (2016), so he'd likely get the nod, even though he wasn't extremely comfortable there that season in the limited time he spent.

The full roster by position is below:

CATCHERS: 13 Salvador Perez, 36 Cam Gallagher
INFIELD: 8 Nicky Lopez, 17 Hunter Dozier, 19 Cheslor Cuthbert, 22 Peter Alonso, 27 Adalberto Mondesi, 67 Samir Duenez
OUTFIELD: 4 Alex Gordon, 6 Billy Hamilton, 12 Jorge Soler, 16 David Peralta, 25 Brian Goodwin
PITCHERS: 23 Richard Lovelady, 34 Trevor Oaks, 39 Blake Treinen, 41 Danny Duffy, 43 Drew Smith, 46 Josh Fields, 47 Corey Knebel, 52 Jorge Lopez, 54 Jimmy Nelson, 55 Nathan Karns, 56 Tony Cingrani, 85 Luis Cessa

[artoodeetoo]

ROYALS DIVISIONAL SERIES PREVIEW
Royals facing team with best home record in MLB
By artoodeetoo
10/05/2019

ROYALS SUPERLATIVES
Overall Record: 88-74 (1st, AL Central)
Home Record: 49-32
Away Record: 39-42
Extra Innings: 10-10
One-run Games: 25-31
Last 10 Games: 7-3

ASTROS SUPERLATIVES
Overall Record: 108-54 (1st, AL West)
Home Record: 62-19
Away Record: 46-35
Extra Innings: 5-7
One-run Games: 27-15
Last 10 Games: 8-2

PITCHING PROBABLES
Game 1: RHP Jimmy Nelson vs RHP Lance McCullers, Jr.
Game 2: RHP Trevor Oaks vs RHP Gerrit Cole
Game 3: RHP Brad Peacock vs LHP Danny Duffy
Game 4 (IN): RHP Lance McCullers, Jr. vs RHP Jimmy Nelson
Game 5 (IN): RHP Trevor Oaks vs RHP Gerrit Cole

On paper, this looks to be a mismatch as the Astros rank in the top five in every offensive and defensive/pitching category, and have the star power to back up the numbers -- Paul Goldschmidt has been the best player in baseball since being acquired before the July 31st deadline, and that's including the pantheon of standouts they already have on the roster; many of them around the last time the Astros were in the World Series in 2017, winning it over the Dodgers.

Kansas City lags far behind in some offensive categories, mostly the power categories (13th in homeruns, 11th in extra-base hits, 9th in slugging, 7th in OPS), but are comparable elsewhere. They'll be led by rookie phenom Peter Alonso, who is likely the shoo-in for the AL Rookie of the Year (and may possibly get MVP votes), despite not arriving from the minor leagues until late May.

2019 All-Star third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert, who drove in the eighth-most runs in the AL (118), and outfielder Brian Goodwin (.308/.376/.515) are the other main offensive threats. Billy Hamilton (65), and Raul Mondesi (43) helped the Royals lead all of baseball in steals, with Nicky Lopez's twenty-one steals giving the Royals the only threesome in baseball with two 40-base stealers and one with at least twenty.

However, the Royals can certainly compete pitching-wise. The Royals ranked first in the Junior Circuit with a 4.10 starter's ERA, and are slightly better overall (3.98 for Houston, as opposed to Kansas City's 3.95). In an interesting move, Royals manager Ned Yost announced that Jimmy Nelson, not Danny Duffy, will start Game 1 at Houston against ace Lance McCullers, Jr.

In fact, Duffy won't make his first post-season start until Game 3, which is more than ten days since his most previous start. It's a risk, but one that Yost seems to be willing to take to get a more favorable matchup. Duffy will face off against righty Brad Peacock in that matchup.

"It's all about the ballpark and matchups," said Yost in his post-season press conference a few days ago, when he announced the move following a question from the media. "Jimmy's been the best at keeping the ball down this season between both his stops, here and Milwaukee, so we hope that continues."

Nelson has been solid since coming over in a mid-season deal from the Brewers; racking up a 4-0 record in eleven starts with the Royals, striking out fifty-three in 66 1/3 innings. Trevor Oaks, who statistically was the Royals' best pitcher this season, will get the ball in Game 2 against right-hander Gerrit Cole.

As is the key with most underdog teams in the playoffs, the Royals need to steal one in Houston before getting their two games in Kansas City. That will be a tall task as the Astros had the best home record in baseball, amassing a 62-19 mark at Minute Maid Park.

"I think they're a far better team now than they were four years ago, obviously," Yost quipped when asked about the 2015 ALDS where the Royals prevailed in five games, going on to win the World Series that year. "Those guys that were just breaking into the league then, didn't really know how good they were. It's not all that surprising that they've reached the heights they have."