One Royal Way (OOTP 23)

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PITCHING MATCHUPS
06/13: RHP Brady Singer (4-1, 5.44) vs RHP Logan Webb (4-4, 3.08)
06/14: LHP Daniel Lynch (5-3, 4.35) vs LHP Carlos Rodon (4-3, 3.74)
06/15: RHP Zack Greinke (1-5, 4.57) vs LHP Matt Boyd (1-0, 0.00)

WHO'S HOT?
None.

WHO'S NOT?
Bobby Witt, Jr., Kansas City -- 1-for-24 (.041), 4 BB, 7 K

KANSAS CITY INJURED LIST
RHP Jonathan Bowlan (elbow) -- 60-day IL
RHP Taylor Clarke (knee) -- 10-day IL
RHP Carlos Hernandez (back) -- 10-day IL
RHP Brad Keller (elbow) -- 10-day IL
LHP Richard Lovelady (elbow) -- 60-day IL
SS Adalberto Mondesi (knee) -- 60-day IL
OF Edward Olivares (quad) -- 10-day IL
LHP Gabe Speier (shoulder) -- 10-day IL

SAN FRANCISCO INJURED LIST
None.

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Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: San Francisco Giants

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | June 16th, 2022

Kansas City Royals at San Francisco Giants
Jun 13, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (27-33)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	2
San Francisco Giants (28-32)	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	1	X	5	9	0
W: Logan Webb (5-4) L: Brady Singer (4-2) S: Darien Nunez (6)

Monday, June 13th, 2022
San Francisco-area native Logan Webb handcuffed the Royals as he's done to many teams in the past few seasons, striking out eight while scattering six hits and one run in a 5-1 Royals defeat to open a three-game series in San Francisco.

Ryan O'Hearn barreled up a fastball against Webb in the fifth inning, sending it into McCovey Cove, some 400 feet away from the plate. But it was the only run the Royals would score. Andrew Benintendi and Salvador Perez each had two hits, as well as O'Hearn, and Bobby Witt Jr. singled in the ninth and stole a base to snap an 0-for-19 skid.

With four earned runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings, Brady Singer didn't pitch terribly, walking just two with six strikeouts. He also had some soft hits against him that found holes in the defense, but it was of little consolation to the ultra-competitive Singer.

Catcher Joey Bart did most of the damage, going 3-for-4 with a homerun and three RBI against Singer, and veteran Evan Longoria also collected a trio of hits.

Kansas City Royals at San Francisco Giants
Jun 14, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (27-34)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	4	7	1
San Francisco Giants (29-32)	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	3	X	8	10	0
W: Carlos Rodon (5-3) L: Daniel Lynch (5-4) S: None

Tuesday, June 14th, 2022
The Giants jumped all over Daniel Lynch in the first inning, tagging him for three earned runs, and they were able to keep the Royals at arm's length for the remainder of the contest in an 8-4 defeat at Oracle Park.

Steven Duggar collected four hits in the game, with two doubles, two runs scored, three RBI, and a homerun. With two more hits, including a homerun in the second straight game, Joey Bart also was a heavy contributor to the Royals' loss.

Down 5-1 in the eighth with two outs and two men on, Carlos Santana drilled a three-run homerun against Carlos Rodon to pull the Royals to within just one. But the Giants struck with three more in the bottom of that inning, pushing the deficit back to four against reliever Amir Garrett.

Since his return to the lineup, Santana has been playing like a man possessed, with a .314/.471/.600 slash line, including a cartoonish 11/6 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and an average exit velo of 98.5 MPH.

"He looks like the guy that we hoped to get when we signed him," said manager Mike Matheny. "Now, we just need to start putting some W's behind these performances."

Royals starter Daniel Lynch was beset by some shoddy defense in that three-run first, as a booted ball by Whit Merrifield set up two more runs in that stanza. Overall, Lynch wasn't bad -- 5 IP, 2 ER (4 R), 2 BB, and three K -- but wasn't good enough to overcome a currently-struggling offense that has scored just fifteen runs in the last six games.

Kansas City Royals at San Francisco Giants
Jun 15, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (28-34)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	7	1
San Francisco (29-33)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
W: Scott Barlow (3-1) L: Tyler Rogers (0-2) S: Gabe Speier (2)

Wednesday, June 15th, 2022
A four-run outburst in the top of the 10th inning helped the Royals salvage the final game of the series, as they moved to 5-3 in extra inning games this season with a 4-0 win over the Giants.

Michael Taylor and Carlos Santana each collected a pair of hits; with Santana now reaching base safely in his last ten games, nine of them by hits.

Like a heavyweight fight, Zack Greinke and Matt Boyd traded goose eggs through six innings. Just one out into the seventh, Greinke had to be pulled due to what was later disclosed as a hamstring injury. Mike Matheny listed him as day-to-day, although they noted they would re-evaluate later today.

Boyd ended up going nine innings, scattering just three hits and a walk while fanning seven in a tidy 103 pitches. Manager Gabe Kapler briefly considered leaving him in for the 10th, but instead went to righty Tyler Rogers, who was charged with all four runs in the loss.

Scott Barlow went two innings to pick up the victory, his third in relief. He has six straight scoreless outings in June, covering five innings. He has seven strikeouts to no walks, with four singles allowed in that same span.

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Royal Rumblings

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | June 16th, 2022

Greinke Placed On IL; Hernandez Activated: Right-hander Zack Greinke (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL, and is expected to be out the next few weeks. Carlos Hernandez, who went on the IL with back tightness on June 2nd, will take his place as he's being activated in time for the team's series at Oakland this weekend.

Greinke's injury is the latest setback for a Royals pitching staff that has been a MASH unit for much of the season. Hernandez, Brad Keller, and now Greinke have all seen time on the injured list, along with relievers Gabe Speier, Taylor Clarke, and Scott Barlow.

Matias Getting His Mojo Back: Lost in the prospect revitalization efforts the past few seasons has been right fielder and former Top 100 prospect Seuly Matias, who was once thought to at least be a comparable peer to others like Bobby Witt, Jr., Nick Pratto, and Vinnie Pasquantino.

Sure, Matias still hit a lot of homeruns in 2021 -- he hit eighteen in all between three stops, which included a brief stint with the Royals' Arizona Gold squad on a 'rehab' assignment -- but an alarmingly high strikeout rate seemed to be dooming him to a fourth-OF type role with his still very-good defense.

However, he's turned things around in 2022; and especially in the last week. He's hit seven homeruns in his last five games, and is hitting a promising .252/.318/.543 in 237 plate appearances with Double-A NW Arkansas. In fact, he was named the Texas League Player of the Week for his efforts for the week ending June 12th.

He still strikes out a lot, as his 26% rate would attest to. But it's a large improvement over last year's 36%, and his walk rate has maintained a steady rate of 8.5%, which is right near his career average of 8.4%.

"He's always had, and will have, some swing-and-miss in his game," said Naturals manager Chris Widger, who was also his manager back in 2019 when Wilmington was an affiliate of the organization. "But he's an incredibly inquisitive and hard-working kid. And he's still just twenty-three. To me, that's still right-on-schedule for where he should be at that age."

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PITCHING MATCHUPS
06/17: LHP Foster Griffin (0-1, 5.40) vs RHP Homer Bailey (1-5, 5.57)
06/18: LHP Angel Zerpa (0-0, 0.84) vs RHP Daulton Jefferies (3-8, 2.25)
06/19: RHP Brady Singer (4-2, 5.59) vs RHP Paul Blackburn (3-0, 2.27)

WHO'S HOT?
RHP J.T. Ginn, Oakland -- 15 IP, 11 K, ER (3 starts)
RHP Daulton Jefferies, Oakland -- 12 IP, 2 ER, 11 K (2 starts)

WHO'S NOT?
OF Kyle Isbel, Kansas City -- 1-for-26 (.038), 5 BB, 3 R
3B Bobby Witt, Jr., Kansas City -- 2-for-24 (.083), 5 K
IF Sheldon Neuse, Oakland -- 1-for-22 (.045), 3 BB

KANSAS CITY INJURED LIST
RHP Jonathan Bowlan (elbow) -- 60-day IL
RHP Taylor Clarke (knee) -- 10-day IL
RHP Zack Greinke (hamstring) -- 10-day IL
RHP Brad Keller (elbow) -- 10-day IL
LHP Richard Lovelady (elbow) -- 60-day IL
SS Adalberto Mondesi (knee) -- 60-day IL
OF Edward Olivares (quad) -- 10-day IL
LHP Gabe Speier (shoulder) -- 10-day IL

OAKLAND INJURED LIST
RHP Deolis Guerra (elbow) -- 60-day IL
RHP Frankie Montas (forearm) -- 60-day IL
OF Chad Pinder (shoulder) -- 10-day IL
RHP Trey Supak (shoulder) - 60-day IL

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Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Oakland Athletics

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | June 20th, 2022

Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics
Jun 17, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (29-34)	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	7	10	0
Oakland Athletics (29-37)	1	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	6	7	1
W: Dylan Coleman (1-2) L: A.J. Puk (0-3) S: None

Friday, June 17th, 2022
Behind a strong performance from Whit Merrifield, who collected four hits, including the game-winning hit in the top of the 12th, the Royals managed to out-last the A's by a 7-6 score.

Dylan Coleman picked up the victory, going two innings, while allowing one unearned run, the runner at second to begin the 11th.

Salvador Perez got the Royals on the board in a hurry, as the first three Royals that came to the plate against Homer Bailey all reached safely prior to Perez launching a 433-foot blast to center for a grand slam to put the Royals up 4-0.

Oakland began quickly chipping away at that lead, scoring three times over the next two innings to nearly erase the opening deficit. The A's never led throughout the game, only tying the score on two occasions -- with a single run in the seventh, and a single run in the 11th.

Lefty Foster Griffin soldiered through five innings, allowing four earned runs with just one walk and five punchouts. Nicky Lopez was 2-for-6 with a stolen base, his fourth of the season.

Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics
Jun 18, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (30-34)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	2
Oakland Athletics (29-38)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
W: Matt Peacock (2-1) L: Daulton Jefferies (3-9) S: Scott Barlow (8)

Saturday, June 18th, 2022
With an RBI single in the second inning, little did Michael A. Taylor and the Royals know that's all they would require in a 1-0 victory over Oakland to secure a series victory, and their first three-game winning streak since sweeping the Mariners on the road from April 22nd through the 24th.

Taylor's single scored Carlos Santana, who reached base with a single in that inning. Bobby Witt, Jr., walked following Santana; and then MJ Melendez, making his first start in right field, moved him to third on a deep fly to center.

Through four innings, Angel Zerpa was in the midst of another solid start when it was derailed by a finger blister that forced him from the game after just 4 1/3 innings. He had struck out three with two walks and three scattered hits.

Matt Peacock picked him up with 3 2/3 scoreless before giving way to Scott Barlow, who picked up his eighth save by working around a two-out walk.

Whit Merrifield continued his string of solid performances, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a stolen base, his team-high 10th of the season.

Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics
Jun 19, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (30-35)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Oakland Athletics (30-38)	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	5	7	0
W: Paul Blackburn (4-0) L: Daniel Lynch (5-5) S: Colin Peluse (2)

Sunday, June 19th, 2022
Kansas City wrapped up the second part of their West Coast, Bay Area swing with a 5-0 loss at Oakland, but the Royals are still at .500 on the current trip despite the defeat, heading into the three-game series beginning tomorrow with the Halos, who own the AL's best record.

The A's Paul Blackburn and Colin Peluse, both righties, combined to throw a five-hit shutout, with Blackburn striking out seven on his way to his fourth win in as many decisions this season. Peluse picked up the three-inning save, his second of the season, as the A's crossed the 30-win plateau.

After cruising through the first five innings with little trouble, Daniel Lynch ran into some real trouble in the sixth, allowing a base hit to Tony Kemp to lead off the frame, and then three straight walks to break the 0-0 stalemate.

After striking out Shea Langeliers for the first out, Kevin Smith doubled to score two, and after another strikeout, Nick Allen's single scored two more to finally force Lynch from the game in favor of Collin Snider.

With a hit and a walk, Andrew Benintendi was the only Royals player to reach base safely more than once. Allen and Smith both had two hits and two RBI for the victorious A's.

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Royal Rumblings

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | June 20th, 2022

Pratto To Debut Tonight: Kansas City re-shuffled their roster ahead of the beginning of this week's three-game series against the Angels. First, and this is a big one -- fresh off being named the International League's Player of the Week for the last week, Nick Pratto will be making his MLB debut tonight against the Angels. He learned of the news on Saturday that he'd be getting the call-up in time for Monday.

"I think we've seen about all we need to see with Nick, after a slow start, he's looked like the guy from the last few years," said team president Dayton Moore. "Ryan (O'Hearn) has looked pretty solid in recent games, but with Carlos (Santana) back, he needs to maintain regular at-bats, and he'll get that down in Omaha."

O'Hearn was optioned to Triple-A, despite showing some signs of being a contributor in recent weeks. In addition, outfielder Kyle Isbel was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, and infielder Emmanuel Rivera was activated from his rehab assignment.

Pratto will get to make his debut at first base in front of his family in southern California, who were notified of the move on Saturday night. With the move, Whit Merrifield will head back to right field, while Nicky Lopez and Bobby Witt, Jr., will shift over one spot on the infield to accomodate Rivera, who was tearing the cover off the ball against Triple-A pitching.

"He's earned a shot at a regular role on this team," said GM J.J. Picollo, when asked about Rivera's progress. "He's been one of the hardest-working guys in the organization, always looking to get better. And it's nothing against Kyle (Isbel) right now, but we need him to work on some things, maybe play some center field down in the minors."

Left-hander Foster Griffin was optioned back to Omaha along with Isbel, making way for Kris Bubic to return to the major league squad. Bubic has been having great success since being sent down in late April, racking up a 5-2 record with a 2.78 ERA for the Storm Chasers.

He capped off his run with an eight-inning performance in which he allowed just two earned runs with nine strikeouts (no walks!), throwing a tidy 108 pitches in a 3-2 win at Memphis.

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Last edited by artoodeetoo; 06-01-2022 at 11:47 PM.