Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

05/21: RHP Luis Severino (3-5, 5.09) vs LHP Danny Duffy (0-3, 4.60)
05/22: LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-3, 4.12) vs RHP Tanner Roark (3-3, 3.91)
05/23: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (4-1, 4.70) vs RHP Jose De Leon (4-0, 3.03)
05/24: LHP James Paxton (5-1, 2.48) vs LHP Luiz Gohara (2-1, 4.44)

GAME RECAPS

Thursday, May 21st, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
NY Yankees (22-21) 5, Kansas City (22-21) 6
Winner: Richard Lovelady (1-2) Loser: Aroldis Chapman (2-2) Save: None
HR-NYY: Luke Voit (6), Mike Tauchman (1), Aaron Hicks (9) HR-KC: Salvador Perez (9), Alex Gordon (2)

MONDESI WALKS THE YANKEES OFF

Kansas City overcame a four-run deficit in the second inning; scoring two each in the bottom of the second and third, one in the fifth, and then Adalberto Mondesi's walk-off triple in the ninth to score Bubba Starling from first base to hand the Royals a 6-5 victory against the Yankees to kick off a four-game home set.

In his first start since returning from the disabled list, Danny Duffy lasted just one and one-third inning before leaving with what was termed as a hamstring injury. He had surrendered back-to-back homeruns in the second before bowing out, as his velocity had dropped from the low 90's to the mid 80's.

Heath Fillmyer replaced him, and gave up three earned over the next three and one-third with four strikeouts. The final three and one-third were shutout innings, with Scott Blewett, Bryan Brickhouse, and Richard Lovelady all spinning scoreless outings.

Salvador Perez, Maikel Franco, and Mondesi all had two hits in the contest, with Perez hitting his team-best ninth homerun of the season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Houston (32-12) 5, Chi. Sox (21-22) 3
NY Yankees (22-21) 5, Kansas City (22-21) 6
Oakland (10-32) 1, Cleveland (25-19) 2
Tampa Bay (33-12) 3, Minnesota (22-20) 4
Detroit (22-21) 2, LA Angels (28-17) 5

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Atlanta (22-20) 2, Miami (17-28) 8
Philadelphia (23-19) 7, Pittsburgh (23-21) 2
NY Mets (20-26) 0, San Diego (26-17) 4
Washington (24-19) 3, Arizona (24-21) 8
LA Dodgers (18-25) 0, San Francisco (20-23) 2

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Arizona activates LHP Robbie Ray from rehab assignment
Angels activate RHP/OF Shohei Ohtani (shoulder) from 15-day IL

Friday, May 22nd, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
NY Yankees (22-22) 3, Kansas City (23-21) 4
Winner: Tanner Roark (4-3) Loser: Jordan Montgomery (2-4) Save: Connor Sadzeck (1)
HR-NYY: Clint Frazier (3), Gleyber Torres (8) HR-KC: None

SADZECK, ROYALS HOLD YANKEES OFF AGAIN

New York made things interesting in the ninth against Connor Sadzeck, but the big righty eventually slammed the door for his first save as the Royals won their second straight over the Yanks 4-3.

Tanner Roark went a season-high eight and one-third innings, eventually being replaced by the aforementioned Sadzeck. He fanned six with three walks and five hits allowed, allowing three runs, all due to homeruns.

Nicky Lopez was 1-for-2 with two RBI, while Adalberto Mondesi had two hits for the third straight game, also scoring twice.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Boston (22-22) 3, Baltimore (14-30) 4
Seattle (24-21) 5, Toronto (16-29) 1
Cleveland (25-20) 3, Texas (19-27) 10
Houston (33-12) 5, Chi. Sox (21-23) 4
NY Yankees (22-22) 3, Kansas City (23-21) 4
Tampa Bay (34-12) 5, Minnesota (22-21) 2 (Final/13)
Detroit (22-22) 0, LA Angels (29-17) 5
Washington (24-20) 7, Oakland (11-32) 8

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
NY Mets (21-26) 11, Arizona (24-22) 3
Cincinnati (13-32) 4, San Diego (26-18) 1
Atlanta (23-20) 8, San Francisco (20-24) 2
Milwaukee (31-14) 2, Miami (17-29) 0
St. Louis (16-28) 2, Chi. Cubs (30-15) 3
LA Dodgers (19-25) 9, Colorado (20-23) 5
Philadelphia (23-20) 4, Pittsburgh (24-21) 5

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Padres place LHP Eric Lauer (torn rotator cuff) on 60-day IL
White Sox send RHP Robert Gsellman to Triple-A for rehab stint

Saturday, May 23rd, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
NY Yankees (22-23) 5, Kansas City (24-21) 6 (Final/11)
Winner: Scott Blewett (2-0) Loser: Craig Kimbrel (1-5) Save: None
HR-NYY: Gary Sanchez 2 (11), Gleyber Torres (9) HR-KC: Adalberto Mondesi (7)

ROYALS OVERCOME EARLY HOMERUN BARRAGE

Despite three homeruns against Jose De Leon in the early going, the Royals managed to come back from a 5-1 deficit to post an extra-inning victory by a 6-5 count in eleven innings.

Salvador Perez walked the Yankees off for the second time in three games with a two-out single against Zach Britton in the 11th, scoring Alex Gordon with the winning run from third base.

De Leon allowed five earned runs, all on Yankee homeruns, but fanned seven with no walks. Scott Blewett earned the win in relief, his second win of the season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Boston (23-22) 8, Baltimore (14-31) 5
Seattle (25-21) 5, Toronto (16-30) 4
Cleveland (25-21) 0, Texas (20-27) 2
Houston (33-13) 2, Chi. Sox (22-23) 13
NY Yankees (22-23) 5, Kansas City (24-21) 6 (Final/11)
Tampa Bay (34-13) 7, Minnesota (23-21) 8
Detroit (22-23) 0, LA Angels (30-17) 7
Washington (24-21) 0, Oakland (12-32) 9

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
NY Mets (22-26) 6, Arizona (24-23) 3
Cincinnati (13-33) 1, San Diego (27-18) 3
Atlanta (24-20) 9, San Francisco (20-25) 2
Milwaukee (32-14) 2, Miami (17-30) 0
St. Louis (16-29) 0, Chi. Cubs (31-15) 5
LA Dodgers (20-25) 16, Colorado (20-24) 4
Philadelphia (23-21) 4, Pittsburgh (25-21) 8

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Boston places IF Brock Holt (knee) on 15-day IL; retro to 05/22/2020
Angels place 3B Anthony Rendon (shoulder) on 15-day IL; retro to 05/22/2020
Pirates place RHP Nick Burdi (elbow) on 15-day IL; retro to 05/19/2020

Sunday, May 24th, 2020 - First pitch, 1:15 CST
NY Yankees (22-24) 5, Kansas City (25-21) 10
Winner: Luiz Gohara (3-1) Loser: James Paxton (5-2) Save: None
HR-NYY: Gary Sanchez (12), Luke Voit (7) HR-KC: Salvador Perez (10), Jorge Soler (8), Ryan McBroom (1)

GET OUT THE BROOMS!

Homeruns from Salvador Perez, Jorge Soler, and Ryan McBroom propelled the Royals past the Yankees by a 10-5 count, sweeping the Yankees out of Kansas City with four straight losses. Soler appears to have broken out of a long slump, going 6-for-18 in the series with a double, homerun, three RBI, and even a triple.

Luiz Gohara picked up his third victory of the season, allowing one earned run over almost one-hundred pitches and five innings. He fanned five and surrendered just four hits, although he did walk four as he looked to be running out of gas in the fifth. Righties Scott Blewett and Connor Sadzeck both struggled a bit out of the bullpen, but the Royals had a 6-1 lead at the time that Gohara came out of the contest.

McBroom was the player of the game, going 3-for-4, including a three-run homerun in the second inning. He also scored three times. Whit Merrifield also had three hits and three RBI, while Soler chipped in with two hits.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Boston (23-23) 4, Baltimore (15-31) 7
Seattle (26-21) 11, Toronto (16-31) 4
Cleveland (25-22) 2, Texas (21-27) 4
Houston (34-13) 7, Chi. Sox (22-24) 3
NY Yankees (22-24) 5, Kansas City (25-21) 10
Tampa Bay (34-14) 1, Minnesota (24-21) 4
Detroit (22-24) 3, LA Angels (31-17) 5
Washington (25-21) 4, Oakland (12-33) 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
NY Mets (23-26) 11, Arizona (24-24) 2
Cincinnati (14-33) 4, San Diego (27-19) 2
Atlanta (25-20) 7, San Francisco (20-26) 3
Milwaukee (32-15) 4, Miami (18-30) 5
St. Louis (17-29) 5, Chi. Cubs (31-16) 1
LA Dodgers (21-25) 5, Colorado (20-25) 2
Philadelphia (24-21) 7, Pittsburgh (25-22) 5

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Yankees place OF Giancarlo Stanton (oblique) on the 15-day IL; retro to 05/23/2020

UP NEXT: Seattle (26-21) @ Kansas City (25-21) -- May 25th, 2020 @ 9:05 CST

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

05/25: RHP Jake Junis (2-4, 4.00) vs LHP Marco Gonzales (4-1, 2.15)
05/26: LHP Danny Duffy (0-3, 4.96) vs RHP Homer Bailey (1-4, 7.27)
05/27: RHP Tanner Roark (4-3, 3.81) vs LHP Yusei Kikuchi (3-4, 4.53)
05/28: RHP Jose De Leon (4-0, 3.79) vs RHP Vladimir Garcia (3-1, 5.45)

GAME RECAPS

Monday, May 25th, 2020 - First pitch, 9:05 CST
Kansas City (26-21) 3, Seattle (26-22) 0
Winner: Jake Junis (3-4) Loser: Marco Gonzales (4-2) Save: Richard Lovelady (6)
HR: None

ROYALS STAY HOT WITH SHUTOUT VICTORY

Three Royal pitchers combined to toss a three-hit shutout, with Jake Junis spearheading the effort with six and one-third innings as the Royals took a 3-0 victory to open a second straight four-game series at home. Jake Diekman went one and two-third innings in relief of Junis, striking out four of five Mariners he faced. Richard Lovelady got the save, working around a one-out single to pick up his sixth of the season.

Whit Merrifield had three more hits, and now has seven since coming off the injured list earlier in the week. Jorge Soler also had two more hits, including an RBI and a stolen base. Ryan McBroom continues to tear the cover off the ball, collecting two more hits in the win.

Winners of six of their last seven games, the Royals will look to make it a season-best six straight victories tomorrow night against the Mariners. First pitch is at 9:05 with Danny Duffy facing off against former Royal Homer Bailey.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Toronto (16-32) 6, NY Yankees (23-24) 11
Kansas City (26-21) 3, Seattle (26-22) 0
Detroit (23-24) 5, Texas (21-28) 1
Baltimore (15-32) 3, Tampa Bay (35-14)
Houston (34-14) 1, Minnesota (25-21) 7
LA Angels (32-17) 7, Oakland (12-34) 4

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Chi. Cubs (31-17) 3, Pittsburgh (26-22) 17
San Diego (27-20) 7, Atlanta (26-20) 8
Arizona (24-25) 0, St. Louis (18-29) 2
San Francisco (20-27) 1, LA Dodgers (22-25) 10

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Braves place RHP Chris Martin (elbow) on 15-day IL; retro to 05/24/2020
Twins activate SS Jorge Polanco from 15-day IL
Royals send IF Hunter Dozier to minors for rehab assignment

***ROYALS HEADLINES***

DOZIER TO BEGIN REHAB: Hunter Dozier has reported to Omaha to begin a rehab stint, according to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Dozier is not expected to be down in the minors more than a couple of weeks at most, as he'll begin his rehab at High-A Wilmington before heading to both Double-A and Triple-A prior to heading back to the big club.

Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 - First pitch, 9:05 CST
Kansas City (27-21) 5, Seattle (26-23) 4
Winner: Bryan Brickhouse (1-0) Loser: Austin Adams (0-2) Save: Richard Lovelady (7)
HR-KC: None HR-SEA: Domingo Santana (7)

ROYALS RALLY LATE FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN

In the top of the ninth, RBI hits from Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi against Seattle closer Austin Adams turned a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead, which Richard Lovelady held in the bottom of the ninth as the Royals notched their sixth straight victory with a 5-4 decision. Lovelady worked around a leadoff double by pinch-hitter Tim Beckham to secure the save, his seventh of the season.

Franco was 3-for-4 in the contest, including the game-tying single in the ninth. Mondesi was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double, with the ninth-inning double scoring the go-ahead run in Brett Phillips.

Bryan Brickhouse fanned two in one scoreless inning of work to earn his first MLB victory. Danny Duffy struggled in his five innings of work, allowing three earned runs, walking four, and fanning three with 96 total pitches thrown. The Mariners actually took the lead in the seventh on a balk from reliever Tim Hill, who ended up getting out of the inning without any more damage after the balk.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Toronto (16-33) 2, NY Yankees (24-24) 7
Kansas City (27-21) 5, Seattle (26-23) 4
Detroit (23-25) 8, Texas (22-28) 9
Baltimore (15-33) 1, Tampa Bay (36-14) 3
Milwaukee (33-15) 3, Boston (23-24) 1
Colorado (21-25) 8, Chi. Sox (22-25) 0
Houston (34-15) 1, Minnesota (26-21) 7
LA Angels (33-17) 4, Oakland (12-35) 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Cleveland (25-23) 1, Washington (26-21) 3
Chi. Cubs (32-17) 9, Pittsburgh (26-23) 2
Cincinnati (14-34) 2, Philadelphia (25-21) 3 (Final/10)
Miami (18-31) 2, NY Mets (24-26) 4
San Diego (28-20) 5, Atlanta (26-21) 2
Arizona (24-26) 0, St. Louis (19-29) 2
San Francisco (21-27) 6, LA Dodgers (22-26) 5

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Phillies place OF Bryce Harper (thumb) on 15-day IL; could miss four to five weeks

Wednesday, May 27th, 2020 - First pitch, 9:05 CST
Kansas City (27-22) 0, Seattle (27-23) 1
Winner: Yusei Kikuchi (4-4) Loser: Tanner Roark (4-4) Save: Austin Adams (14)
HR: None

COSTLY ERROR SNAPS SIX-GAME STREAK

A Maikel Franco fielding error with two outs allowed Dan Vogelbach to score from third base, which ended up being the only run scored the entire game in a 1-0 defeat to the Mariners, snapping a six-game winning streak. It wasn't as if the Royals didn't have chances to score against Yusei Kikuchi, as they left runners in scoring position three different times throughout the game.

Kikuchi put together one of his best performances of the season, allowing no earned runs over six and two-third innings. He surrendered four hits and four walks while fanning seven. On the other side, Tanner Roark was brilliant as well, allowing just the one unearned run, striking out four while allowing five hits as the hard-luck loser.

Nicky Lopez was the only Royal to collect more than one hits, going 2-for-4. Jorge Soler and Alex Gordon both went 1-for-3 with a walk, with Gordon's hit the team's only extra-base hit of the contest. After a rocky ninth last night, Austin Adams picked up his AL-best 14th save of the season with a clean ninth.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Toronto (17-33) 4, NY Yankees (24-25) 2
Kansas City (27-22) 0, Seattle (27-23) 1
Detroit (24-25) 6, Texas (22-29) 1
Baltimore (15-34) 0, Tampa Bay (37-14) 4
Milwaukee (33-16) 4, Boston (24-24) 6
Colorado (22-25) 8, Chi. Sox (22-26) 2
Houston (35-15) 2, Minnesota (26-22) 1
LA Angels (34-17) 7, Oakland (12-36) 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Cleveland (25-24) 7, Washington (27-21) 3
Chi. Cubs (32-18) 0, Pittsburgh (27-23) 4
Cincinnati (14-35) 2, Philadelphia (26-21) 6
Miami (18-32) 2, NY Mets (25-26) 6
San Diego (28-21) 3, Atlanta (27-21) 10
Arizona (24-27) 1, St. Louis (20-29) 2
San Francisco (21-28) 1, LA Dodgers (23-26) 10

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Yankees RHP Luis Severino (elbow) placed on 60-day IL after surgery

***ROYALS HEADLINES***

KELLER RETURNS: Right-hander Brad Keller is scheduled to return from the 15-day injured list tomorrow, and is scheduled to make his first start in a little over two weeks tomorrow against the Mariners. Keller has been out since May 12th with a lower back strain, and will not rehab in Omaha prior to returning, according to manager Mike Matheny.

Thursday, May 28th, 2020 - First pitch, 9:05 CST
Kansas City (27-23) 6, Seattle (28-23) 11
Winner: Yusei Kikuchi (4-4) Loser: Tanner Roark (4-4) Save: Austin Adams (14)
HR-KC: Salvador Perez (11), Adalberto Mondesi (8), Jorge Soler (9) HR-SEA: Omar Narvaez (3), Dan Vogelbach 2 (10)

ROYALS CAN'T SURVIVE EARLY ONSLAUGHT

In his first start back from the injured list, Brad Keller showed some major signs of rust in allowing eight earned runs over just two and one-third innings; with the Mariners salvaging a series split in an 11-6 victory.

He fanned just two with three walks, allowing six hits to take the loss, his third of the season so far.

Dan Vogelbach homered twice and went 3-for-4 in the win for Seattle, while Omar Narvaez also got in on the homerun action with his third dinger of the season. The Royals hit three homeruns of their own, but two of them came in the late innings with the Royals already down 11-4 at the time.

Salvador Perez, Jorge Soler, and Adalberto Mondesi all had two hits, with one homerun apiece. Ryan McBroom was 1-for-4 with two RBI, and Nick Heath also drove in a run with a groundball out.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Toronto (17-34) 12, NY Yankees (25-25) 13
Kansas City (27-23) 6, Seattle (27-23) 11
Baltimore (15-35) 1, Tampa Bay (38-14) 2
Colorado (22-26) 5, Chi. Sox (23-26) 6 (Final/11)
Boston (25-24) 12, Minnesota (26-23) 5
LA Angels (35-17) 2, Houston (35-16) 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Cincinnati (14-36) 2, Philadelphia (27-21) 8
San Diego (28-22) 3, Atlanta (28-21) 4 (Final/10)
Arizona (25-27) 2, St. Louis (20-30) 1
San Francisco (21-29) 4, LA Dodgers (24-26) 6 (Final/10)

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Nationals activate OF Victor Robles (back) from 15-day IL

UP NEXT: Kansas City (27-23) @ Detroit (24-25) -- May 29th, 2020 @ 7:05 CST

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

05/29: LHP Luiz Gohara (3-1, 3.99) vs RHP Sandy Baez (0-7, 7.68)
05/30: RHP Jake Junis (3-4, 3.58) vs LHP Matt Hall (0-1, 6.00)
05/31: LHP Danny Duffy (0-3, 5.02) vs RHP Domingo German (5-2, 3.27)

GAME RECAPS

Friday, May 29th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Kansas City (27-24) 1, Detroit (25-25) 6
Winner: Sandy Baez (1-7) Loser: Luiz Gohara (3-2) Save: None
HR-KC: None HR-DET: Jake Robson (1)

TIGERS PULL AWAY IN THE END

With four of their six runs after the fifth inning, the Tigers were able to pull away after gaining a 2-1 lead, en route to a 6-1 win over the visiting Royals. Luiz Gohara allowed four earned in six innings, striking out five with nine hits allowed.

After losing his first seven decisions, Sandy Baez picked up the victory for Detroit with five strong innings, allowing just one run with eight strikeouts, five hits, and one walk.

Meibrys Viloria drove in the Royals' only run with a sac fly in the second inning. Adalberto Mondesi, Brett Phillips, and Alex Gordon all had two hits for the Royals, while Whit Merrifield and Mondesi collected two and one steals, respectively. Mondesi leads all of baseball with twenty-five steals through today's action.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Baltimore (15-36) 10, Cleveland (26-24) 11 (Final/15)
Oakland (12-37) 4, Texas (23-29) 10
Kansas City (27-24) 1, Detroit (25-25) 6
Pittsburgh (28-23) 7, NY Yankees (25-26) 1
Boston (26-24) 5, Minnesota (26-24) 2
Toronto (17-35) 2, Seattle (29-23) 6
LA Angels (35-18) 2, Houston (36-16) 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Milwaukee (33-17) 0, Philadelphia (28-21) 4
Arizona (26-27) 3, Washington (27-22) 2
San Diego (29-22) 8, NY Mets (25-27) 4
Tampa Bay (39-14) 4, Cincinnati (14-37) 2
Miami (18-33) 2, Atlanta (29-21) 6
Colorado (22-27) 4, San Francisco (22-29) 5
Chi. Cubs (33-18) 2, St. Louis (20-31) 1
Chi. Sox (23-27) 5, LA Dodgers (25-26) 6

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Yankees activate IF DJ LeMahieu from 15-day IL
Twins activate RHP Alex Colome from 15-day IL
Rangers send RHP Ian Gibaut to Triple-A for rehab stint

Saturday, May 30th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Kansas City (27-25) 5, Detroit (26-25) 9
Winner: Matt Hall (1-1) Loser: Jake Junis (3-5) Save: None
HR-KC: None HR-DET: Christin Stewart (11)

ROYALS DROP FOURTH STRAIGHT

With their 9-5 defeat at the hands of the Tigers, the Royals dropped their fourth game in a row, which is a season-long losing streak. They've twice lost three in a row, with April 28th through May 2nd and May 13th through May 15th both being three-game skids.

Christin Stewart drove in a season-high five runs for the Tigers in their winning effort, hitting a three-run homerun as part of a five-run third inning, and later had a two-run single in the fifth to further increase their lead. Kansas City scored all of their runs in one inning (top of the third) up until the ninth, when they plated two against Jordan Zimmermann.

Jake Junis struggled through four and one-third, allowing seven runs (six earned), with four strikeouts and a pair of walks. Matt Hall picked up the victory for the Tigers, as he was the second straight Tiger starter to pick up his first win of the season. In six and one-third, Hall allowed eight hits while striking out five, dropping his ERA from 6.00 to 2.84.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Baltimore (15-37) 6, Cleveland (27-24) 7
Oakland (12-38) 9, Texas (24-29) 10
Kansas City (27-25) 5, Detroit (26-25) 9
Pittsburgh (28-24) 7, NY Yankees (26-26) 8 (Final/11)
Boston (26-25) 4, Minnesota (27-24) 5
Toronto (18-35) 4, Seattle (29-24) 2
LA Angels (35-19) 6, Houston (37-16) 7 (Final/10)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Milwaukee (34-17) 6, Philadelphia (28-22) 5
Arizona (26-27) 3, Washington (27-22) 2
San Diego (29-23) 1, NY Mets (26-27) 7
Tampa Bay (39-15) 2, Cincinnati (15-37) 4
Miami (18-34) 4, Atlanta (30-21) 8
Colorado (22-28) 8, San Francisco (23-29) 11
Chi. Cubs (34-18) 6, St. Louis (20-32) 3
Chi. Sox (23-28) 5, LA Dodgers (26-26) 6

[b]MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Cubs activate RHP Michael Pineda from 60-day IL; sent to rehab with Triple-A

Sunday, May 31st, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Kansas City (27-26) 2, Detroit (27-25) 4
Winner: Matt Boyd (4-5) Loser: Danny Duffy (0-4) Save: Kevin Ginkel (10)
HR-KC: Alex Gordon (3) HR-DET: Brett Lawrie (5), Adeiny Hechavarria (4)

OFFENSE CONTINUES TO SPUTTER AS ROYALS GET SWEPT

Danny Duffy went the distance for the Royals in a 4-2 defeat, allowing a pair of two-run homeruns in the contest. He pitched pretty well outside of those two mistakes, striking out eleven over eight innings and ninety-two pitches to help give a tired bullpen a much-needed break.

"You know, four runs allowed, most nights we should score enough to overcome that," said manager Mike Matheny. "But the guy on the other side is pretty good himself."

He's referring to Matt Boyd, who allowed just one run over six innings, fanning eight with no free passes. The Royals would later score against C.D. Pelham, but couldn't get anything going against either Joe Jimenez or closer Kevin Ginkel, who earned his 10th save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Alex Gordon hit his third homerun in the first inning, a solo shot to left field. Salvador Perez was 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the eighth.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Baltimore (15-38) 3, Cleveland (28-24) 4
Oakland (13-38) 7, Texas (24-30) 6
Kansas City (27-26) 2, Detroit (27-25) 9
Pittsburgh (28-25) 1, NY Yankees (27-26) 4
Boston (27-25) 6, Minnesota (27-25) 5
Toronto (18-36) 4, Seattle (30-24) 5
LA Angels (36-19) 3, Houston (37-17) 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Milwaukee (34-18) 1, Philadelphia (29-22) 3
Arizona (28-27) 9, Washington (27-24) 2
San Diego (29-24) 0, NY Mets (27-27) 7
Tampa Bay (39-16) 4, Cincinnati (16-37) 6
Miami (18-35) 2, Atlanta (31-21) 17
Colorado (23-28) 3, San Francisco (23-30) 2
Chi. Cubs (34-19) 4, St. Louis (21-32) 5 (Final/130
Chi. Sox (23-29) 2, LA Dodgers (27-26) 4

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Colorado RHP Jeff Hoffman (back) placed on 15-day IL; retro to 05/30/2020

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

2020 DRAFT PREVIEW
Majority of pundits think KC goes prep route
06/01/2020
By artoodeetoo

The Royals' selection last year of Bobby Witt, Jr., was a historic one, as he and his father, Bobby Sr., became the first father-son duo to go in the draft's first three picks in league history. How do they follow that selection up?

Witt, Jr., would be the centerpiece of most minor-league systems, but they don't have a ton of star power at the top to go with him that's in the lower minors. Pitchers like Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, and Daniel Lynch are on the cusp of the big leagues, so GM Dayton Moore and crew may feel like they need to get the next wave of pitching talent in the lower minors developing while the aforementioned hurlers are poised to hit the big stage in the coming season or two.

Most mocks have the Royals going with high school talent, whether a position player or pitcher. The pitcher that has been linked the most to Kansas City is Mick Abel (more on him later), a 6-foot-6 righty from Portland that is committed to Oregon State, and will likely take a significant financial commitment to pry away from that pledge. However, with a $7.275MM draft pool to play with, the Royals do have some flexibility if they need to overpay for the right player(s).

Kansas City's system is also pretty weak in the middle infield, despite the selection of Witt last year. This is a deep draft of high school middle infielders, so they may not feel inclined to do so with the top pick, but guys like Daylen Reyes, Aaron Nixon, and Jordan Carrion are first round talents, and even Tank Espalin out of California could sneak into the top group.

Witt may also profile as a third or second baseman down the road, which could free up a spot for another shortstop in this draft class. In fact, Witt has made fifty-one starts at third base (mainly out of necessity), but has performed admirably as a defender at that position.

Top collegiate prospects like Emerson Hancock, Spencer Torkelson, and Austin Martin figure to be out of reach for the Royals by the time they pick ninth overall. The four below players are the most talked about players that have been linked to the Royals:

MICK ABEL, RHP, PORTLAND (OR) JESUIT: Abel is a tall, lanky right-hander with a solid fastball-slider-changeup combination, and a developing 12-6 curveball that projects out to be an average MLB offering. It's likely going to take a pretty big signing bonus to get him out of his commitment to play for Oregon State, but the Royals have a fairly large bonus pool to play with at roughly $7.25MM.

JARED KELLEY, RHP, REFUGIO (TX): Lacking the classic size that Abel has, Kelley is still regarded as the number-one or two prep pitcher in this class. His two-seamer is considered as one of the best in the entire class (high school or college), and has devastating secondary pitches with a nice overhand curve and a solid straight change. As with most top high school players, signability will be an issue, but it's hard to see a team passing up on him in the top ten picks to try and pry him away from Texas.

ROBERT HASSELL, OF, THOMPSON'S STATION (TN) INDEPENDENCE: There are doubts that the smooth-swinging left-handed hitter will ever reach his lofty power potential, but plays above-average defense and has enough arm strength to play any outfield position. His gap-to-gap prowess would fit well in cavernous Kauffman Stadium, and his level swing produces lots of hard contact and few strikeouts. He's committed to Vanderbilt currently.

MASYN WINN, RHP/IF, KINGWOOD (TX): The Arkansas commit and two-way player is a bit of a wildcard -- his tiny frame (5-foot-8, 180 pounds) and live arm lend itself to playing shortstop or second base (or the outfield!) at a high level defensively, but brings mid 90's heat and a pretty nice curveball-changeup combo on the mound. He's also pretty wiry strong for his size, and reminds scouts of Kolten Wong on both sides of the ball.

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

06/01: RHP Carlos Carrasco (1-5, 3.58) vs RHP Tanner Roark (4-4, 3.38)
06/02: RHP Danny Salazar (2-3, 3.93) vs RHP Brad Keller (2-3, 5.63)
06/03: RHP Corey Kluber (5-1, 4.02) vs LHP Luiz Gohara (3-2, 4.33)

GAME RECAPS

Monday, June 1st, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Cleveland (29-24) 9, Kansas City (27-27) 4
Winner: A.J. Cole (4-0) Loser: Jose De Leon (4-1) Save: Brandon Kintzler (1)
HR-CLE: Jose Ramirez (8) HR-KC: None

NINTH-INNING COLLAPSE

Two costly errors by third baseman Maikel Franco led to five unearned runs in the ninth inning alone, as the Indians parlayed those errors into a 9-4 victory at Kansas City to begin a three-game series. Richard Lovelady was charged with all five of the unearned runs, but did manage to get two outs via strikeout before giving way to Scott Blewett, who got the final out.

The loss is the team's sixth straight, which completely negates the six-game winning streak they had prior to this skid with a home sweep of the Yankees, and winning the first two games of a road trip in Seattle. But they lost the final two against the M's, and then were swept out of Detroit before falling in tonight's game.

Tanner Roark stumbled through four and two-third innings before being pulled; he had thrown over ninety pitches at that point. Jose De Leon pitched two and one-third, fanning five with just one run allowed. Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, the Royals tied it on a double from Adalberto Mondesi, and Salvador Perez singled home Mondesi.

Cleveland took the lead for good the following at-bat, as De Leon walked Carlos Santana to lead off the seventh, and came around to score on a single before Tim Hill managed to end the inning on a double play ball to Mondesi at short.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Minnesota (27-26) 3, Toronto (19-36) 5
NY Mets (27-28) 3, Detroit (28-25) 7
Cleveland (29-24) 9, Kansas City (27-27) 4
Pittsburgh (29-25) 8, Baltimore (15-39) 5
Chi. Sox (24-29) 3, Tampa bay (39-17) 1
NY Yankees (28-26) 6, Boston (27-26) 4
Texas (25-30) 5, Houston (37-18) 2
Oakland (13-39) 7, LA Angels (37-19) 12
Atlanta (32-21) 7, Seattle (30-25) 3 (Final/10)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Chi. Cubs (34-20) 1, Cincinnati (17-37) 6
LA Dodgers (27-27) 1, Milwaukee (35-18) 2 (Final/14)
Philadelphia (29-23) 1, Miami (19-35) 2
Colorado (24-28) 6, San Francisco (23-31) 2

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Orioles place LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow) on the 15-day IL; retro to 05/28/2020
Red Sox place RHP Durbin Feltman (oblique) on the 15-day IL; retro to 05/29/2020

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Cleveland (29-25) 0, Kansas City (28-27) 4
Winner: Brad Keller (3-3) Loser: Danny Salazar (2-4) Save: None
HR-CLE: None HR-KC: Brett Phillips (8)

KELLER, ROYALS SNAP SKID

Behind seven shutout innings from Brad Keller, the Royals stopped their season-long six-game losing streak in a 4-0 victory over the Indians. Bryan Brickhouse and Connor Sadzeck combined to throw the final two innings in shutout fashion in relief of Keller.

The big right-hander allowed just four hits and a walk, fanning four. He actually would have gone longer according to manager Mike Matheny, had it not been for a hamstring issue that popped up during the seventh.

"He had only thrown about eighty-five or so pitches at that point," he said. "He's a big, durable guy that can go 100, 110 most nights if he's on."

Brett Phillips hit his eighth homerun of the season for the Royals, who rose back to a game over .500 with the win. Adalberto Mondesi was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, and Maikel Franco was also 2-for-4 in the contest.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Minnesota (27-27) 2, Toronto (20-36) 3
NY Mets (27-29) 4, Detroit (29-25) 9
Cleveland (29-25) 0, Kansas City (28-27) 4
Pittsburgh (29-26) 2, Baltimore (16-39) 4
Chi. Sox (24-30) 6, Tampa Bay (40-17) 8
NY Yankees (29-26) 3, Boston (27-27) 0
Texas (25-31) 2, Houston (38-18) 5
Oakland (14-39) 6, LA Angels (37-20) 3
Atlanta (33-21) 9, Seattle (30-26) 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
St. Louis (21-33) 5, Colorado (25-28) 6
Chi. Cubs (34-21) 3, Cincinnati (18-37) 4 (Final/10)
LA Dodgers (28-27) 7, Milwaukee (35-19) 3
Philadelphia (29-24) 1, Miami (20-35) 7
San Francisco (24-31) 5, Arizona (28-28) 4
Washington (28-24) 6, San Diego (29-25) 5

[b]MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Astros place RHP Roberto Osuna (elbow) on 15-day IL; retro to 06/01/2020
Mets place IF Jeff McNeil (foot) on 15-day IL; retro to 05/29/2020
Rangers LHP Kolby Allard (elbow) placed on 60-day IL; will have TJ procedure
Blue Jays RHP David Phelps (shoulder) placed on 60-day IL; was hit by line drive

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Cleveland (30-25) 12, Kansas City (28-28) 2
Winner: Corey Kluber (6-1) Loser: Luiz Gohara (3-3) Save: None
HR-CLE: Tyler Naquin (2) HR-KC: None

ROYALS DIG EARLY HOLE; GET BLOWN OFF FIELD

Corey Kluber was his vintage self, striking out eight over seven innings of work as the Indians scored ten of their twelve runs in the first four innings in a 12-2 rout.

Luiz Gohara slogged through just two and two-third innings, allowing eight earned runs. He surrendered seven hits and four walks, striking out four.

Salvador Perez was the only Royal to collect more than one hit, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. He also walked in the fifth inning.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Minnesota (28-27) 6, Toronto (20-37) 1
Cleveland (30-25) 12, Kansas City (28-28) 2
Pittsburgh (30-26) 5, Baltimore (16-40) 2
Chi. Sox (25-30) 4, Tampa Bay (40-18) 2
NY Yankees (30-26) 5, Boston (27-28) 2
Texas (25-31) 2, Houston (38-18) 5
Oakland (14-40) 6, LA Angels (38-20) 8
Atlanta (33-22) 0, Seattle (31-26) 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
St. Louis (21-34) 3, Colorado (26-28) 6
Chi. Cubs (35-21) 5, Cincinnati (18-38) 3
LA Dodgers (29-27) 9, Milwaukee (35-20) 7 (Final/11)
Philadelphia (29-25) 3, Miami (21-35) 7
San Francisco (24-32) 3, Arizona (29-28) 5
Washington (28-25) 5, San Diego (30-25) 6 (Final/11)

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Toronto trades RHP Drew Rucinski to the Angels for outfielders Andrew Bash and Matt Woods
Miami acquires Leonys Martin from the White Sox for three prospects
Rangers place IF Nick Solak (oblique) on 15-day IL; could miss five to six weeks

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

06/04: RHP Jake Odorizzi (8-1, 3.20) vs RHP Jake Junis (3-5, 4.18)
06/05: RHP Julio Teheran (2-1, 4.44) vs LHP Danny Duffy (0-4, 4.93)
06/06: RHP Jose Berrios (2-5, 3.77) vs RHP Tanner Roark (4-4, 3.55)
06/07: RHP Kyle Gibson (1-3, 4.66) vs RHP Jose De Leon (4-1, 4.10)

GAME RECAPS

Thursday, June 4th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Minnesota (28-28) 4, Kansas City (29-28) 13
Winner: Jake Junis (4-5) Loser: Jake Odorizzi (8-2) Save: None
HR-MIN: Miguel Sano (8) HR-KC: Hunter Dozier 2 (6), Jorge Soler 3 (12), Brett Phillips (9), Adalberto Mondesi (9)

ROYALS BURY TWINS WITH HOMERUN BARRAGE

The Royals hit seven -- count 'em, seven -- homeruns against the Twins as they boatraced the Twins to open a four-game home series by a 13-4 count. Jorge Soler hit three of the seven homeruns, reaching base all five times he came to the plate as he was also walked twice. Hunter Dozier also got in on the multi-homerun act with two of his own, while Brett Phillips and Adalberto Mondesi each hit one.

Jake Junis wasn't dominant (three ER in six IP), but fanned six with no walks and allowed just six hits to pick up his fourth victory. Jake Odorizzi took the loss, allowing four homeruns in a start for only the second time in his career. Jake Diekman and Bryan Brickhouse finished up for the Royals, tossing three scoreless innings between them.

Miguel Sano also homered for the Twins, but was largely overshadowed by the Royals' offensive onslaught. Nelson Cruz's first-inning RBI triple gave him three for the season, tying a career-high set back in 2010 with the Rangers. Both Cruz and Eddie Rosario each collected a pair of hits for Minnesota.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Minnesota (28-28) 4, Kansas City (29-28) 13
Toronto (21-37) 11, Baltimore (16-41) 3
Cleveland (30-26) 1, Oakland (15-40) 7
Detroit (29-26) 4, Boston (28-28) 9

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
NY Mets (27-29) @ Philadelphia (29-25) -- PPD, Rain
St. Louis (21-35) 5, Colorado (27-28) 9
Washington (28-26) 1, San Diego (31-25) 2 (Final/10)
Chi. Cubs (35-22) 2, Cincinnati (19-38) 3 (Final/11)
LA Dodgers (30-27) 8, Milwaukee (35-21) 4

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Colorado places LHP Cole Hamels (shoulder) on the 15-day IL; could miss up to three weeks

Friday, June 5th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Minnesota (28-29) 2, Kansas City (30-28) 6
Winner: Danny Duffy (1-4) Loser: Julio Teheran (2-2) Save: Richard Lovelady (8)
HR-MIN: Mitch Garver (8) HR-KC: Alex Gordon (4), Salvador Perez (12)

ROYALS WIN BEHIND DUFFY GEM

In six and one-third innings, Danny Duffy allowed zero runs and just four baserunners (three hits, one HBP) while striking out eight in a 6-2 Royals victory. The effort was good enough for his first win, which is the latest date for his first victory in any season of his career.

Salvador Perez broke a 0-0 tie in the sixth, slamming a three-run homerun for his twelfth homerun of the season. Alex Gordon would later add a two-run shot in the seventh, just one half-inning after the Twins pulled to within one in the top of the seventh.

Nicky Lopez and Meibrys Viloria each had two hits for the Royals, with Viloria adding a triple as one of his two hits.

Whit Merrifield had to leave in the third inning after being struck by a pitch on his right wrist. MRI results were not available at the end of the game, according to manager Mike Matheny.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Minnesota (28-29) 2, Kansas City (30-28) 6
Toronto (22-37) 5, Baltimore (16-42) 2
Cleveland (30-27) 3, Oakland (16-40) 4
Seattle (31-27) 5, Houston (40-18) 12
Texas (25-33) 8, LA Angels (39-20) 9
Detroit (29-267 2, Boston (29-28) 3
St. Louis (21-36) 2, Tampa Bay (41-18) 10

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
NY Mets (27-30) 1, Philadelphia (30-25) 6 (G1)
NY Mets (28-30) 5, Philadelphia (30-26) 1 (G2)
LA Dodgers (30-28) 7, Chi. Cubs (36-22) 12
Atlanta (33-23) 1, Washington (29-26) 2
Colorado (27-29) 3, Pittsburgh (31-26) 6
San Francisco (24-33) 1, Miami (22-35) 6
NY Yankees (30-27) 0, Cincinnati (20-38) 7
San Diego (31-26) 4, Milwaukee (36-21) 5
Chi. Sox (25-31) 3, Arizona (30-28) 9

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Brewers place 1B Ryan Zimmerman (elbow) on 60-day IL; will miss remainder of season
Angels place SS Andrelton Simmons (ankle) on 15-day IL; retro to 06/02/2020

Saturday, June 6th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Minnesota (29-29) 6, Kansas City (30-29) 3
Winner: Jose Berrios (3-5) Loser: Tanner Roark (4-5) Save: Andrew Vasquez (13)
HR-MIN: Jorge Polanco (5), Jonathan Schoop (5) HR-KC: Maikel Franco (4)

LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT

The Royals were able to get a few men on base against Andrew Vasquez in the ninth, but the big lefty shut the door and secured their 6-3 defeat to the Twins to snap a short two-game win streak.

Tanner Roark got the ball for Kansas City, and labored through six innings with six earned runs and eleven hits allowed. He struck out three with one walk. Jose Berrios earned the victory, striking out seven in six innings with just one earned run.

Maikel Franco led the Royals with two RBI on 3-of-4 hitting, including two doubles and a homerun. Brett Phillips doubled home a run in the eighth, and was 1-for-4 on the night.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Minnesota (29-29) 6, Kansas City (30-29) 3
Toronto (23-37) 12, Baltimore (16-43) 7
Cleveland (30-28) 2, Oakland (17-40) 19
Seattle (31-28) 5, Houston (41-18) 6 (Final/14)
Texas (25-34) 6, LA Angels (40-20) 7
Detroit (30-27) 9, Boston (29-29) 5
St. Louis (22-36) 8, Tampa Bay (41-19) 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
NY Mets (29-30) 11, Philadelphia (30-27) 2
LA Dodgers (30-29) 4, Chi. Cubs (37-22) 16
Atlanta (33-24) 1, Washington (30-26) 6
Colorado (28-29) 7, Pittsburgh (31-27) 6
San Francisco (24-34) 4, Miami (23-35) 8
NY Yankees (31-27) 3, Cincinnati (20-39) 2
San Diego (32-26) 5, Milwaukee (36-22) 0
Chi. Sox (26-31) 5, Arizona (30-29) 4

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Yankees sign reliever Dellin Betances to three-year, $35MM extension through 2023
Angels activate 3B Anthony Rendon from the 15-day IL
Rays RHP Brent Honeywell to miss remainder of season with shoulder inflammation
Royals place 2B/OF Whit Merrifield (wrist) on 15-day IL; could miss up to a month

***ROYALS HEADLINES***

MERRIFIELD BACK ON THE SHELF: An MRI concluded there weren't any broken bones in Whit Merrifield's left wrist after being hit by a pitch in yesterday's 6-2 win over the Twins, but the Royals are shelving him on the 15-day injured list with what was termed as a bone bruise, which is still a mildly serious bone injury.

He could miss three to four weeks with the injury, stated manager Mike Matheny in his post-game comments after the Royals fell 6-3 to Minnesota. Ryan McBroom was re-called from Omaha to take his spot on the roster, with Hunter Dozier shifting to right field to make room for McBroom at first base.

Sunday, June 7th, 2020 - First pitch, 1:05 CST
Minnesota (29-30) 1, Kansas City (31-29) 8
Winner: Jose De Leon (5-1) Loser: Kyle Gibson (1-4) Save: None
HR: None

DEALING DE LEON SHUTS MINNESOTA DOWN

Making just his third start of the season, Jose De Leon allowed just one run over a season-high seven innings as the Royals rolled to an 8-1 victory to take the four-game series at home, where they've been much better this season.

On a 90-pitch limit, De Leon had thrown just sixty-seven through six innings, but a tough seventh pushed that up to ninety-three. Despite walking two and allowing two hits in the seventh, De Leon battled and didn't allow a run. He fanned six with four walks, surrendering just four hits.

"The big sixth inning that we had before that definitely allowed us to have Jose work through the rough inning," said manager Mike Matheny. "I think he might have been running out of gas a bit, but he really battled and did a nice job getting out of the mess."

The Royals led just 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, but exploded that advantage with a six-run sixth. Alex Gordon got it started with an RBI single, and then Hunter Dozier and Brett Phillips followed that up with a RBI double and an RBI triple, driving in two runs each before Salvador Perez's single to score Phillips capped off the rally.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Minnesota (29-30) 1, Kansas City (31-29) 8
Toronto (23-38) 0, Baltimore (17-43) 3
Cleveland (31-28) 8, Oakland (17-41) 2
Seattle (31-29) 0, Houston (42-18) 2
Texas (26-34) 1, LA Angels (40-21) 0
Detroit (31-27) 7, Boston (29-30) 2
St. Louis (22-37) 2, Tampa Bay (42-19) 3 (Final/10)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
NY Mets (30-30) 4, Philadelphia (30-28) 1
LA Dodgers (30-30) 6, Chi. Cubs (38-22) 7
Atlanta (34-24) 16, Washington (30-27) 1
Colorado (28-30) 10, Pittsburgh (32-27) 11
San Francisco (24-35) 2, Miami (24-35) 3
NY Yankees (31-28) 4, Cincinnati (21-39) 6
San Diego (33-26) 7, Milwaukee (36-23) 1
Chi. Sox (27-31) 7, Arizona (30-30) 6

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Red Sox place 2B Dustin Pedroia (thumb) on 15-day IL; could miss up to three to four weeks
Padres activate SS Fernando Tatis Jr. from the 15-day IL

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

2020 ROYALS MAILBAG: JUNE
Draft musings, trade thoughts
06/08/2020
By artoodeetoo

Thoughts on the draft?

My way-too-early thoughts are that it went the way the Royals hoped. They went prep-heavy early on, which means they have to feel pretty good about the talent that's making its way through the upper echelons of the system right now. First baseman Kellum Clark, who has a power potential of 60 on the 20-80 scale, is being raved about as one of the steals in the draft as the team's fourth-rounder, but they'll still likely have to pay a pretty hefty price to get him out of his Mississippi State commitment.

That being said, the selection of Aaron Nixon ninth overall is curious, mainly due to the fact that they already have a shortstop they took last year in Bobby Witt. Now, Witt is probably going to end up at third base despite what the experts say, but it's still curious because all indications were that Mick Abel and a few other high-schoolers were high on the Royals' board, as we covered in our pre-draft preview. Nixon must have been at or near the top of the board, and was a consensus top-five pick. When he slipped to them, it seems they jumped on the chance to get a top-five player at their spot, instead of drafting based on need.

Why did he slip that far? High school shortstops are a crapshoot, and maybe the Royals are just going to throw numbers at the position and hope one of the two hit. Witt has struggled a bit in Single-A, especially in the power department with just one homerun and thirteen extra base hits in all (640 OPS). That's....not good, but it's still really early in his pro career, so Royals fans hoping to see him sooner rather than later are still likely to be disappointed.

What position is the best fit defensively for Hunter Dozier?

Eventually, he should settle in at first base. Nick Pratto is probably still a couple of years away; and between Kelvin Gutierrez and Emmanuel Rivera, one of them can cover third base until Witt is ready to make the leap. Dozier is solidly average at third (+0.7 DRS) in 211 innings this season, while he's already met that mark in half the innings at first base so far. Over a 162-game schedule, that's a Gold Glove-level mark.

He has soft hands and decent range, and his lack of arm strength is best hidden there. There's a slight chance that he could take over in left field once Gordon retires, but I would imagine that Whit Merrifield would be ticketed for left (if he's still a Royal).

Diekman, Whit, Duffy, Roark, Soler. Rank in order of least to most likely to get traded.

Hmmm. I'll go with Whit, Duffy, Soler, Diekman, and then Roark. I still think it's going to take a king's ransom from some team to pry Whit away from the Royals, even with the injury issues he's dealing with this year. He makes any ballclub much better. Duffy's had a great last few starts, but if he goes cold at the wrong time, it's hard to see him getting moved. Plus, that price tag doe. John Sherman's going to have to be willing to eat salary to get a deal done there, methinks.

The latter two are solid veteran presences, and are no stranger to getting traded as both were moved before the deadline last year. Diekman has been outstanding this year, and Roark has tailed off a bit after a slow start. Still think Soler gets a long-term deal before the year's, but the longer it drags on without one, the less likely it gets.

That said, the AL Central is incredibly weak, so I see this as a moot point at least until the end of June, which we should start to see a little more separation between the teams. Right now, any team is still in it at this point. Chicago did just deal Leonys Martin, so the next few weeks may start to see some shaking out between the five teams.

Who is the most likely All-Star?

It has to be Mondesi. Forget the lack of walks, it's hard to ignore what he's doing -- he could lead the league in hits, triples, and steals, which has never been done in the history of the league. Oh, and he'll likely top twenty homeruns and eighty RBI at his current pace. He's blossomed into a legitimate star player, as has been predicted by many coming into this season. The scary thing is, there's still room to grow.

After that, it gets a little murkier. Salvy is having a strong bounce-back year at the plate, and I suppose a pitcher (Junis? Lovelady?) could sneak in there with a strong June. Otherwise, I think those are the four you're looking at as the most likely by a wide margin.

Are the Royals going to rue the day they traded Cheslor Cuthbert away?

No. I've been asked this over and over, and while he's had a remarkable month with the Brewers (.322/.398/.444), the Royals were still correct in trading him. By the way, the man they acquired for Cuthbert; Troy Stokes, is absolutely raking for an offensively LOADED Omaha squad, hitting .339/.424/.600 in 132 plate appearances since coming over.

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

MLB STANDINGS & STATS UPDATE

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

06/09: RHP Jake Junis (4-5, 4.20) vs LHP Dallas Keuchel (6-2, 3.42)
06/10: RHP Brad Keller (3-3, 4.76) vs RHP Dereck Rodriguez (0-0, 2.25)

GAME RECAPS

Tuesday, June 9th, 2020 - First pitch, 9:05 CST
Kansas City (32-29) 8, San Francisco (24-36) 1
Winner: Jake Junis (5-5) Loser: Dallas Keuchel (6-3) Save: None
HR-KC: None HR-SF: Brandon Belt (7), Cesar Hernandez (7)

COASTING TO VICTORY

Kansas City raced out to a 6-0 lead after five innings, and made that lead stand up throughout the game as they eventually took a 9-4 victory. The Giants hit a pair of two-run dingers in the late innings, with Brandon Belt and the newly-extended Cesar Hernandez going deep against Kyle Zimmer and Scott Blewett, respectively.

Jake Junis even got in on the act, driving in a run with his first career MLB hit in the fifth inning. The Royals also hit three triples in the contest, with Jorge Soler, Breyvic Valera, and even Salvador Perez all knocking three-baggers.

With seven shutout innings, Junis struck out eight and walked just one, scattering five hits. Dallas Keuchel suffered through one of his worst outings of the year, allowing six earned over four innings, striking out just three with nine hits.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Baltimore (18-43) 4, NY Yankees (31-29) 2
Toronto (24-38) 4, Cleveland (31-29) 3
Detroit (32-27) 6, Minnesota (29-31) 5 (Final/12)
Houston (42-19) 7, Texas (27-34) 8
Boston (29-31) 0, Chi. Sox (28-31) 4
Seattle (32-30) 2, LA Angels (41-22) 3
Tampa Bay (43-19) 6, Oakland (17-42) 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (32-29) 9, San Francisco (24-36) 4
Miami (24-36) 1, Washington (31-27) 6
San Diego (33-28) 3, Pittsburgh (34-27) 4 (Final/11)
Arizona (31-30) 8, Philadelphia (30-29) 5
Colorado (29-30) 8, NY Mets (30-31) 3
Cincinnati (22-39) 5, Atlanta (34-25) 2
Milwaukee (36-25) 3, Chi. Cubs (40-22) 7
St. Louis (23-37) 4, LA Dodgers (30-31) 0

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Giants sign IF Cesar Hernandez to two-year, $22M extension
Braves activate RHP Chris Martin from 15-day IL

Wednesday, June 10th, 2020 - First pitch, 9:05 CST
Kansas City (33-29) 3, San Francisco (24-37) 1
Winner: Brad Keller (4-3) Loser: Dereck Rodriguez (0-1) Save: Richard Lovelady (9)
HR-KC: Brett Phillips (10), Salvador Perez (13) HR-SF: Marcell Ozuna (6)

KILLER KELLER

Behind a season-high eight and one-third innings, Brad Keller shut down the Giants' offense to the tune of just four hits and one run as the Royals swept the two-game set with a 3-1 victory. He was pulled with one out after allowing a solo homerun to Marcell Ozuna in the ninth. Richard Lovelady came in and fanned both Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey to end the contest, and pick up his ninth save.

Brett Phillips accounted for the first two Royals' runs, hitting a solo homerun in the second, and driving home a run with a sac fly in the fifth. Salvador Perez hit a long homerun in the top of the ninth, his team-best 13th of the season, for an insurance run.

Kansas City has an off day tomorrow before they begin a key road series at Cleveland on Friday. A.J. Cole will oppose Danny Duffy at Progressive Field with first pitch at 7:10 CST.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Baltimore (18-44) 3, NY Yankees (32-29) 11
Toronto (24-39) 1, Cleveland (32-29) 3
Detroit (33-27) 5, Minnesota (29-32) 3
Houston (43-19) 11, Texas (27-35) 9
Boston (30-31) 0, Chi. Sox (28-32) 1
Seattle (33-30) 3, LA Angels (41-23) 1
Tampa Bay (44-19) 7, Oakland (17-43) 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (33-29) 3, San Francisco (24-37) 1
Miami (24-37) 0, Washington (32-27) 1
San Diego (34-28) 6, Pittsburgh (34-28) 0
Arizona (32-30) 6, Philadelphia (30-30) 5
Colorado (29-31) 2, NY Mets (31-31) 7
Cincinnati (22-40) 2, Atlanta (35-25) 5
Milwaukee (37-25) 6, Chi. Cubs (40-23) 3
St. Louis (23-38) 3, LA Dodgers (31-31) 4

[b]MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Rays place RHP Charlie Morton (tired arm) on 15-day IL; will miss one or two starts

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

06/12: LHP Danny Duffy (1-4, 4.33) vs RHP A.J. Cole (4-1, 3.86)
06/13: RHP Jose De Leon (5-1, 3.70) vs RHP Danny Salazar (3-4, 3.74)
06/14: RHP Tanner Roark (4-5, 4.00) vs RHP Corey Kluber (6-1, 3.68)

GAME RECAPS

Friday, June 12th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Kansas City (34-29) 8, Cleveland (33-30) 5
Winner: Danny Duffy (2-4) Loser: Tyler Olson (3-3) Save: Richard Lovelady (10)
HR-KC: Brett Phillips (11) HR-CLE: Jordan Luplow (8), Jake Bauers (4)

DUFFY, DOZIER LEAD ROYALS TO WIN

It wasn't the sparkling type of performance that Danny Duffy had been putting up his last few starts, but it was enough to get the job done as the Royals won their fourth straight in dramatic fashion, clinging to a 6-5 victory as Richard Lovelady shut the door on the Indians in the ninth after giving up a leadoff single.

In five innings, Duffy walked six and fanned four, allowing two hits in the process. The Royals led 6-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but a two-run homerun from Jordan Luplow cut their lead to one with a two-run homerun against Connor Sadzeck.

Brett Phillips broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth with a three-run homer, his 11th of the season. Hunter Dozier led the Royals with three hits in three at-bats, also walking twice. Alex Gordon and Nicky Lopez also had two hits apiece, with Gordon stroking an RBI double in the second.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Chi. Cubs (40-24) 1, NY Yankees (34-29) 4
Kansas City (34-29) 6, Cleveland (33-30) 5
Boston (32-31) 14, Toronto (24-41) 3
LA Angels (41-25) 6, Texas (28-36) 14
Detroit (35-27) 10, Chi. Sox (28-34) 3
Baltimore (18-46) 8, Minnesota (30-33) 11
Houston (45-19) 13, Oakland (17-45) 2
Tampa Bay (45-20) 2, Seattle (35-30) 4

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
San Francisco (25-38) 8, Pittsburgh (35-29) 4
Philadelphia (31-31) 1, NY Mets (32-32) 5
Washington (34-27) 4, Atlanta (36-26) 2
Milwaukee (38-25) 4, St. Louis (23-40) 3
Arizona (33-31) 6, Colorado (30-32) 3
Cincinnati (22-42) 2, LA Dodgers (33-31) 3 (Final/10)
Miami (24-39) 2, San Diego (35-28) 5

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Angels place RHP Lance Lynn (oblique) on 15-day IL
Blue Jays claim RHP Nate Karns off waivers from the Mariners
Cardinals place LHP Alex Wood (elbow) on 60-day IL; will have surgery

Saturday, June 13th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Kansas City (34-30) 4, Cleveland (34-30) 5 (Final/10)
Winner: Tyler Olson (4-3) Loser: Bryan Brickhouse (1-1) Save: None
HR-KC: None HR-CLE: Franmil Reyes (14), Francisco Lindor (12)

R'S COMPLETE COMEBACK ONLY TO FALL IN EXTRAS

Down 4-0 heading into the ninth, the Royals plated four runs to complete a stunning comeback, only to get knocked off in the ninth as the Indians claimed a 5-4 victory to even their series with Kansas City. In his only at-bat of the game, Cleveland's Max Moroff singled home the winning run against Bryan Brickhouse to walk them off.

Jose De Leon and Danny Salazar squared off, with the latter leaving after six scoreless innings. De Leon shook off a slow start to post a six-inning effort of his own, allowing three runs on four hits, with three walks and strikeouts each. Luiz Gohara, making his first appearance of the season since being moved to the bullpen, responded with just one run over three innings, including four strikeouts and no walks.

Nicky Lopez kicked off the scoring with a two-out, bases-packed walk to bring in the first run against Brad Hand, and then Adalberto Mondesi drove 'em all in with a bases-loaded double to tie the score at four. Alas, it set up Moroff's heroics in the 10th, as his two-out single scored Francisco Lindor, who walked to lead off the inning. Lindor also accounted for the Indians' first run, a homerun against De Leon in the first.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Chi. Cubs (40-25) 6, NY Yankees (35-29) 7
Kansas City (34-30) 4, Cleveland (34-30) 5 (Final/10)
Boston (32-32) 3, Toronto (25-41) 4
LA Angels (41-26) 6, Texas (29-36) 11
Detroit (35-28) 1, Chi. Sox (29-34) 2
Baltimore (19-46) 3, Minnesota (30-34) 2
Houston (45-20) 1, Oakland (18-45) 2
Tampa Bay (45-21) 4, Seattle (36-30) 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
San Francisco (25-39) 2, Pittsburgh (36-29) 9
Philadelphia (31-32) 0, NY Mets (33-32) 13
Washington (34-28) 0, Atlanta (37-26) 2
Milwaukee (39-25) 5, St. Louis (23-41) 3
Arizona (33-32) 6, Colorado (31-32) 8
Cincinnati (22-43) 6, LA Dodgers (34-31) 12
Miami (25-39) 4, San Diego (35-29) 1

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Blue Jays C Reese McGuire returns from rehab assignment; placed on active roster

Saturday, June 14th, 2020 - First pitch, 12:05 CST
Kansas City (34-31) 1, Cleveland (35-30) 7
Winner: Corey Kluber (7-1) Loser: Tanner Roark (4-6) Save: None
HR-KC: Jorge Soler (13) HR-CLE: None

OLD NEMESIS STYMIES K.C. AGAIN

Kansas City has been historically bad agaisnt Corey Kluber in his career, as his career ERA against the Royals is under 3.00. Today wasn't any different, as he held the Royals to one run over seven innings, fanning eleven as the Indians won in a 7-1 laugher. The Indians broke the game wide open in the seventh inning, as seven straight men reached base against relievers Kyle Zimmer and Connor Sadzeck, before Scott Blewett came in and got a sac fly and double play to get out of the inning.

Jorge Soler homered in the first against Kluber, and the big righty allowed just one hit and one walk the rest of the way. Nicky Lopez was the only Royal to reach base more than twice, singling twice. Maikel Franco's seventh-inning single was the Royals' only other hit.

Tanner Roark allowed just two earned runs over five innings, walking two with two hits allowed. He also struck out four, covering ninety-four pitches. Zimmer had pitched a scoreless sixth before allowing three straight men to reach base in the seventh. Sadzeck walked all four hitters he faced, throwing just three strikes out of nineteen total pitches.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Chi. Cubs (41-25) 7, NY Yankees (35-30) 1
Kansas City (34-31) 1, Cleveland (35-30) 7
Boston (33-32) 7, Toronto (25-42) 6
LA Angels (42-26) 10, Texas (29-37) 3
Detroit (36-28) 6, Chi. Sox (29-35) 5
Baltimore (20-46) 6, Minnesota (30-35) 4
Houston (46-20) 8, Oakland (18-46) 4
Tampa Bay (45-22) 8, Seattle (37-30) 10

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
San Francisco (25-40) 3, Pittsburgh (37-29) 5
Philadelphia (31-33) 4, NY Mets (34-32) 8
Washington (34-29) 0, Atlanta (38-26) 10
Milwaukee (40-25) 2, St. Louis (23-42) 0
Arizona (33-33) 6, Colorado (32-32) 7
Cincinnati (23-43) 9, LA Dodgers (34-32) 3
Miami (25-40) 3, San Diego (36-29) 7

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Mets activate IF Jeff McNeil from the 15-day IL
Yankees place C Gary Sanchez (hamstring) on 15-day IL; will miss three to four weeks

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

06/15: RHP Dereck Rodriguez (0-1, 2.70) vs RHP Jake Junis (5-5, 3.82)
06/16: RHP Jeff Samardzija (4-5, 4.96) vs RHP Brad Keller (4-3, 4.19)

GAME RECAPS

Monday, June 15th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
San Francisco (26-40) 8, Kansas City (34-32) 4 (Final/12)
Winner: Austin Pruitt (1-1) Loser: Richard Lovelady (1-3) Save: None
HR-SF: Evan Longoria (12), Brandon Crawford (6), Scooter Gennett (1) HR-KC: Salvador Perez (14)

DEFENSE FALLS APART LATE; ROYALS DROP THIRD STRAIGHT

A pair of late errors by Adalberto Mondesi led to a couple of unearned runs in the top of the 12th, as the Royals were doubled up by the Giants 8-4 in twelve innings.

Alex Gordon left the game in the fifth after getting hit by a pitch on his right foot, and was replaced by Bubba Starling on the basepaths. He was re-evaluated after the game, and he's listed as day-to-day with a foot contusion, according to manager Mike Matheny.

Jake Junis allowed three earned runs over six frames, fanning four while walking one and allowing seven hits.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
LA Dodgers (34-32) @ Baltimore (20-46) -- PPD, Rain
Oakland (19-46) 7, Toronto (25-43) 2
Houston (47-20) 6, Boston (33-33) 3
San Francisco (26-40) 8, Kansas City (34-32) 4 (Final/12)
Milwaukee (40-26) 2, Texas (30-37) 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Atlanta (39-26) 4, Cincinnati (23-44) 1
Philadelphia (31-34) 1, Arizona (34-33) 2
Washington (35-29) 9, Colorado (32-33) 3
Chi. Cubs (41-26) 4, San Diego (37-29) 6

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
White Sox place SS Tim Anderson (ankle) on 15-day IL; retro to 05/13/2020

Tuesday, June 16th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
San Francisco (26-41) 2, Kansas City (35-32) 4
Winner: Tim Hill (2-1) Loser: Jarlin Garcia (3-2) Save: Bryan Brickhouse (1)
HR-SF: None HR-KC: Jorge Soler (14), Hunter Dozier (7)

R'S COMPLETE COMEBACK ONLY TO FALL IN EXTRAS

With six strikeouts over seven innings, Brad Keller was the catalyst in the Royals' 4-2 victory over the Giants to snap a three-game losing skid. He didn't factor in the decision, as Tim Hill picked up the victory with a scoreless eighth.

Jorge Soler broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run homerun in the eighth against Jarlin Garcia. Hunter Dozier hit a solo homerun in the sixth, and Maikel Franco singled home a run against Jeff Samardzija in the second.

Shark fanned two over six innings for the Giants, allowing two earned runs on six hits. Bryan Brickhouse picked up his first MLB save, working around a one-out walk.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
LA Dodgers (34-33) 4, Baltimore (21-46) 12 (G1)
LA Dodgers (34-34) 6, Baltimore (22-46) 7 (G2, Final/12)
LA Angels (42-27) 7, Detroit (37-28) 9
Oakland (19-47) 2, Toronto (26-43) 5
NY Yankees (36-30) 5, Tampa Bay (45-23) 2 (Final/12)
Houston (48-20) 2, Boston (33-34) 1
Chi. Sox (29-36) 6, Cleveland (36-30) 7
San Francisco (26-41) 2, Kansas City (35-32) 4
Milwaukee (40-27) 2, Texas (31-37) 6
Miami (26-40) 8, Minnesota (30-36) 5
NY Mets (35-32) 4, Seattle (37-31) 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Pittsburgh (37-30) 2, St. Louis (24-42) 3
Atlanta (39-26) 4, Cincinnati (23-44) 1
Philadelphia (31-35) 4, Arizona (35-33) 10
Washington (36-29) 6, Colorado (32-34) 3
Chi. Cubs (42-26) 6, San Diego (37-30) 1

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Braves OF Cristian Pache (oblique) placed on 15-day IL; retro to 05/15/2020
Royals place OF Alex Gordon (foot) on 15-day IL; retro to 05/15/2020

***ROYALS HEADLINES***

FOURTH-ROUNDER SIGNS: Kellum Clark, a first baseman out of Jackson (MS) Memorial who was picked in the fourth round by the Royals in the June 3rd draft, signed a minor-league contract with an $875K bonus. Clark was the high school player of the year in Mississippi, and was committed to play at Mississippi State. He was taken with the 117th overall selection in the draft roughly three weeks ago, and is the first player picked by the team in the first five rounds to sign with the Royals.

ROYALS AGREE TO TERMS WITH DOZIER: Hunter Dozier and the Royals have announced via Twitter that the 3B/1B/OF has signed a five-year extension with the club. No details were announced, but a full-length article will be posted tomorrow when the terms are finalized.

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

DOZIER SIGNS FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION
Four years guaranteed with fifth-year mutual option
06/17/2020
By artoodeetoo

After a season that saw him break out with twenty-five homeruns and nearly ninety RBI in 2019, the Royals have inked a four-year extension with IF/OF Hunter Dozier that will pay out $19.5MM over the next four years, with a $7MM mutual option for a fifth year.

It's another incredibly team-friendly deal for the Royals, who already have Whit Merrifield locked up to a similar deal through 2023. After earning a hair below $570K this year, Dozier's salary will be $3MM in 2021, $4.5MM in 2022, $5.5MM in 2023, and $6.5MM in 2024.

The Royals can choose to buy him out after the 2024 season for $1MM, and he also earns an extra $100K per year if he earns 1) the MVP, and 2) an All-Star appearance. Despite injuries his season that have limited him to just forty-one games, Dozier has sported a line of .304/.365/.524 with seven homeruns, four steals, fourteen doubles, and seventeen walks through 178 plate appearances, playing first base, third base, left field, and right field.

In 2013, the Royals took Dozier, then a shortstop, with the eighth overall pick out of Stephen F. Austin.

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

06/18: RHP Bryan Mitchell (1-5, 4.66) vs LHP Danny Duffy (2-4, 4.42)
06/19: RHP Dean Kremer (0-4, 6.53) vs RHP Jose De Leon (5-1, 3.79)
06/20: LHP Daniel Norris (2-4, 4.76) vs RHP Tanner Roark (4-6, 3.97)
06/21: RHP Nick Neidert (3-5, 4.41) vs RHP Jake Junis (5-5, 3.87)

GAME RECAPS

Thursday, June 18th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Baltimore (22-47) 2, Kansas City (36-32) 3
Winner: Danny Duffy (3-4) Loser: Bryan Mitchell (1-6) Save: Richard Lovelady (11)
HR-BAL: None HR-KC: Brett Phillips (12)

DUFFY DYNAMIC AGAIN AS ROYALS TOP BALTIMORE

The bullpen showed a few cracks late in the contest, but held firm to secure Danny Duffy's third straight win with a 3-2 decision over the visiting Orioles to kick off a four-game home set.

Duffy fanned seven over six innings, allowing just one run and one free pass. Richard Lovelady worked around a leadoff double to get the save, thanks to a great defensive play from rookie outfielder Vince Fernandez; who doubled Justin Smoak off second after a fantastic diving play to take a hit away from Renato Nunez.

The newly-minted Hunter Dozier, who signed a five-year extension worth $26.5MM with the Royals earlier this week, collected three hits in the victory. Brett Phillips homered and singled, going 2-for-4 in the contest. Bubba Starling drove in the other Royals' run with a double in the third to score Nicky Lopez, who also doubled.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
LA Angels (44-27) 9, Detroit (37-30) 4
Chi. Sox (30-37) 11, Cleveland (37-31) 5
Baltimore (22-47) 2, Kansas City (36-32) 3
Oakland (19-49) 2, Toronto (28-43) 3
Texas (31-38) 3, Boston (35-34) 4
NY Yankees (36-32) 5, Tampa Bay (47-23) 7

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Pittsburgh (39-30) 7, Cincinnati (24-46) 2
Atlanta (40-28) 2, Milwaukee (41-27) 5
Philadelphia (31-37) 2, Arizona (37-33) 10
Chi. Cubs (44-26) 5, San Francisco (26-42) 0
Washington (37-30) 3, LA Dodgers (35-34) 10

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Mets RHP Marcus Stroman leaves start with shoulder discomfort

Friday, June 19th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Baltimore (22-48) 2, Kansas City (37-32) 8 (Final/8)
Winner: Jose De Leon (6-1) Loser: Dean Kremer (0-5) Save: None
HR-BAL: Jose Iglesias (3) HR-KC: Maikel Franco (5), Adalberto Mondesi (10)

DE LEON K'S TEN AS ROYALS ROLL IN RAIN-SHORTENED GAME

Jose De Leon fanned ten Oriole hitters, allowing just two runs over six innings as the Royals rolled to an 8-2 victory, shortened by heavy rains midway through the bottom of the eighth inning. Bubba Starling drove in Maikel Franco with a double in the eighth, but the umpires stepped in to call the game after that play.

In a tidy ninety-six pitches, De Leon walked just two and allowed two hits, although one was a two-run homerun to Jose Iglesias in the fifth. Scott Blewett pitched two scoreless innings, working around a pair of hits in the top of the eighth.

Adalberto Mondesi became the fourth Royal this season to reach the double-digit homeruns plateau, smacking his 10th round-tripper of the season to left against Dean Kremer in the Royals' five-run fourth. They went up 7-0 at that point, and cruised to the rain-shortened victory.

Starling and Nicky Lopez each had two hits and one double apiece, while Maikel Franco went 1-for-2 with a homerun, his fifth. Salvador Perez was also 1-for-2, reaching base twice via being hit by a pitch. Franco also was hit by a pitch in this game.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
LA Angels (44-28) 5, Houston (49-21) 10
Baltimore (22-48) 2, Kansas City (37-32) 8
NY Yankees (36-33) 4, Seattle (39-31) 5
Texas (32-38) 5, Boston (35-35) 3
Toronto (28-44) 4, Tampa Bay (48-23) 8
Cleveland (38-31) 11, Detroit (37-31) 3
Minnesota (31-37) 3, Chi. Sox (31-37) 5

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Pittsburgh (39-30) @ Cincinnati (24-46) -- PPD, Rain
San Diego (38-31) 8, Arizona (37-34) 3
Oakland (20-49) 3, Miami (26-42) 1
Atlanta (41-28) 9, Milwaukee (41-28) 4
NY Mets (36-33) 14, St. Louis (24-44) 8
Philadelphia (32-37) 8, Colorado (32-36) 6
Chi. Cubs (45-26) 12, San Francisco (26-43) 3
Washington (37-31) 1, LA Dodgers (36-34) 2

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Mets place RHP Marcus Stroman (labrum) on 60-day IL; will need surgery
Royals, Hunter Dozier agree to five-year extension
Dodgers place LHP Jose Castillo (elbow) on 60-day IL; will have surgery

Saturday, June 20th, 2020 - First pitch, 1:05 CST
Baltimore (22-49) 4, Kansas City (38-32) 6
Winner: Tanner Roark (5-6) Loser: Zack Littell (0-1) Save: Richard Lovelady (12)
HR-BAL: Matt Duffy (3) HR-KC: Hunter Dozier (8), Adalberto Mondesi (11)

ROYALS STAY HOT

Hunter Dozier's three hits and four RBI led the Royals past the Orioles by a 6-4 count, as Kansas City has now won four straight, and three overall against Baltimore, owners of the second-worst record in baseball (22-49).

Adalberto Mondesi was 2-for-4 with a homerun, his second straight game with a longball. Jorge Soler also had two hits and a run scored for the Royals, now in the midst of their second-longest winning streak of the season.

Tanner Roark got the victory, going seven strong innings while allowing four runs and fanning four. He allowed eight hits and just one walk, running his record to 5-6. Luiz Gohara and Richard Lovelady each went one scoreless frame, with Lovelady increasing his save total to a dozen.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
LA Angels (44-29) 3, Houston (50-21) 4
Baltimore (22-49) 4, Kansas City (38-32) 6
NY Yankees (36-34) 1, Seattle (40-31) 5
Texas (32-39) 4, Boston (36-35) 9
Toronto (29-44) 6, Tampa Bay (48-24) 5 (Final/11)
Cleveland (39-31) 3, Detroit (37-32) 0
Minnesota (32-37) 3, Chi. Sox (31-38) 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Pittsburgh (39-31) 4, Cincinnati (25-46) 6 (G1)
Pittsburgh (39-32) 5, Cincinnati (26-46) 9 (G2)
San Diego (39-31) 12, Arizona (37-35) 6
Oakland (21-49) 4, Miami (26-43) 1
Atlanta (41-29) 3, Milwaukee (42-28) 8
NY Mets (37-33) 5, St. Louis (24-45) 3
Philadelphia (33-37) 2, Colorado (32-37) 7
Chi. Cubs (46-26) 5, San Francisco (26-44) 3
Washington (38-31) 4, LA Dodgers (36-35) 1

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Yankees activate OF Giancarlo Stanton from the 15-day IL
Blue Jays place SS Bo Bichette (groin) on the 15-day IL; retro to 06/17/2020

Sunday, June 21st, 2020 - First pitch, 12:05 CST
Baltimore (22-50) 2, Kansas City (39-32) 10
Winner: Jake Junis (6-5) Loser: Jharel Cotton (3-9) Save: None
HR-BAL: Trey Mancini (6) HR-KC: Salvador Perez (15), Adalberto Mondesi 2 (13), Jorge Soler (15)

MONDESI MASHES ROYALS TO SWEEP

Adalberto Mondesi continued his homerun streak, mashing two more homeruns and driving in six runs as the catalyst for the Royals' 10-2 victory to sweep the hapless Orioles.

Jake Junis picked up his sixth win to move his record to over .500 for the first time all season. He fanned seven in six innings, allowing four hits and three walks.

The win was their fifth straight, matching their second-longest streak of the season. Connor Sadzeck and Bryan Brickhouse fired three scoreless innings between them to finish out the victory.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
LA Angels (44-30) 5, Houston (51-21) 6
Baltimore (22-50) 2, Kansas City (39-32) 10
NY Yankees (37-34) 5, Seattle (40-32) 1
Texas (33-39) 6, Boston (36-36) 0
Toronto (29-45) 2, Tampa Bay (49-24) 10
Cleveland (39-32) 3, Detroit (38-32) 5
Minnesota (33-37) 6, Chi. Sox (31-39) 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Pittsburgh (40-32) 6, Cincinnati (26-47) 5
San Diego (39-32) 1, Arizona (38-35) 2
Oakland (21-50) 3, Miami (27-43) 6
Atlanta (42-29) 1, Milwaukee (42-29) 0
NY Mets (37-34) 3, St. Louis (25-45) 3
Philadelphia (34-37) 5, Colorado (32-38) 2
Chi. Cubs (46-27) 2, San Francisco (27-44) 3
Washington (38-32) 2, LA Dodgers (37-35) 3

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Angels send IF Zack Cozart, IF Will Wilson, 1B Justin Bour to San Francisco for 1B Brandon Belt, RHP Jeff Samardzija, cash considerations
Angels send two prospects to the A's for OF Mark Canha

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

MLB STANDINGS & STATS UPDATE

[artoodeetoo]

Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

@@@

PITCHING MATCHUPS

06/23: RHP Brad Keller (4-3, 4.01) vs RHP Kevin Gausman (4-8, 5.25)
06/24: LHP Danny Duffy (3-4, 4.14) vs RHP Touki Toussaint (3-2, 4.89)

GAME RECAPS

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Kansas City (40-32) 5, Atlanta (42-30) 2
Winner: Brad Keller (5-3) Loser: Kevin Gausman (4-9) Save: Richard Lovelady (13)
HR-KC: Adalberto Mondesi (14), Jorge Soler (16), Hunter Dozier (9) HR-ATL: None

KANSAS CITY WINS SIXTH STRAIGHT

Behind Georgia native Brad Keller's seven shutout frames, the Royals led wire-to-wire as they topped the AL East-leading Braves by a 5-2 count on the road.

Down 5-0 in the ninth, the Braves were able to load the bases with one out against Kyle Zimmer, but were only able to get two of them home against closer Richard Lovelady (another Georgia native), who now has a baker's dozen saves in fifteen tries.

Adalberto Mondesi continues his torrid hitting pace, hitting his fifth homerun in four games to lead off the contest in the first. Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler cracked their ninth and team-best 16th homeruns of the season in the third and fifth innings, respectively. Soler's dinger came with two men aboard.

Keller moved to 5-3 with the victory, striking out three with five hits and one walk. Kevin Gausman got the start for Atlanta, allowing five runs in four and one-third, fanning four with no walks; although he did allow eight hits, including three homeruns.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Texas (33-41) 2, NY Yankees (39-34) 7
Boston (36-38) 2, Baltimore (24-50) 3
Toronto (30-46) 8, Detroit (39-33) 2
Tampa Bay (50-25) 1, Houston (52-22) 2
Cleveland (40-33) 4, LA Angels (45-31) 5
Minnesota (34-38) 0, Oakland (22-51) 5

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Colorado (33-39) 3, Washington (39-33) 8
Kansas City (40-32) 5, Atlanta (42-30) 2
Chi. Sox (32-39) 5, Philadelphia (34-38) 2
NY Mets (38-35) 10, Pittsburgh (41-33) 8
Seattle (40-34) 3, Miami (29-43) 4
St. Louis (26-46) 3, Milwaukee (43-30) 0
Cincinnati (26-48) 3, Chi. Cubs (47-27) 6
LA Dodgers (38-36) 9, Arizona (39-36) 0
San Diego (40-33) 3, San Francisco (28-45) 1

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Oakland trades RHP Liam Hendriks to San Diego for four prospects, headed by IF Allen Cordoba
Rox activate LHP Cole Hamels from the 15-day IL

Wednesday, June 24th, 2020 - First pitch, 7:05 CST
Kansas City (40-33) 4, Atlanta (42-31) 5
Winner: Mike Foltynewicz (4-1) Loser: Danny Duffy (3-5) Save: Jacob Webb (16)
HR-KC: None HR-ATL: Freddie Freeman (16)

BRAVES SNAP ROYALS' STREAK AT SIX

Once again, the Royals have had a six-game win streak snapped, this time at the hands of Atlanta as they held on to defeat the visiting Royals 5-4. The Braves rode a five-run third inning all the way to the victory, as they chased Danny Duffy from the game after just two and two-third innings, throwing just sixty-eight pitches.

Kansas City led 2-0 after one, and after the five-run third from Atlanta, scored two more in the fourth to cut the lead to just one. But the Braves' bullpen held fast after the fourth, with five scoreless innings, culminating in Jacob Webb working around a leadoff hit-by-pitch to record his 16th save.

Brett Phillips doubled, singled, and drove in two of the Royals' four runs, while Nicky Lopez drove in another run with a triple in the first.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Texas (34-41) 4, NY Yankees (39-35) 2
Boston (36-39) 6, Baltimore (25-50) 7
Toronto (30-47) 9, Detroit (40-33) 10 (Final/13)
Tampa Bay (51-25) 7, Houston (52-23) 6
Cleveland (41-33) 6, LA Angels (45-32) 2
Minnesota (34-39) 3, Oakland (23-51) 4 (Final/13)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCOREBOARD
Colorado (34-39) 6, Washington (39-34) 1
Kansas City (40-33) 4, Atlanta (42-31) 5
Chi. Sox (33-39) 9, Philadelphia (34-39) 6
NY Mets (38-36) 3, Pittsburgh (42-33) 7
Seattle (41-34) 2, Miami (29-44) 1
St. Louis (26-47) 3, Milwaukee (44-30) 4
Cincinnati (26-49) 2, Chi. Cubs (48-27) 3
LA Dodgers (39-36) 13, Arizona (39-37) 8
San Diego (40-34) 3, San Francisco (29-45) 5 (Final/11)

MAJOR NEWS/TRANSACTIONS
Nationals acquire RHP Josh Lueke from the Cardinals for OF Christopher De La Cruz
Phillies send OF Bryce Harper on rehab assignment to Triple-A