Straight Outta Kauffman (OOTP 24)

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ROYALS NEWS (06/27)

JBJ DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT; BLANCO ADDED

The Royals parted ways with veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr., on Thursday, designating him for assignment to mark the end of his time with the Royals. He had seen his playing time dwindle in the month of June, going just 5-for-25 (.200) in the past month. He was a valuable piece to have with Drew Waters on the shelf to begin the season, providing solid defense and even some good on-base work at the plate, but with Waters having been back for some time now and having a glut of left-handed bats, there's just not enough reason to keep him around anymore.

They'll have now have three days to trade him, release him, or outright him to Omaha. It's also possible that someone could pick him up on waivers, especially with his cheap league-minimum deal and still-solid defensive metrics. Dairon Blanco was added to the 40-man roster and promoted to the Royals. Blanco has had a pretty remarkable season so far in Triple-A, belting fourteen homeruns as the Storm Chasers' primary centerfielder.

It's a little odd that the Royals would promote a 30-year-old outfielder to the roster over younger players like Tyler Gentry and Tucker Bradley, both of whom are absolutely raking in Triple-A. However, at-bats might be limited in the outfield currently; and while I'm unsure the power translates to the majors, at least Blanco also gives you some tantalizing speed and better defensive ability/versatility than the other two mentioned.

Also, Gentry and Bradley would continue to benefit from additional at-bats, even if they are in Triple-A. With guys like MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, and Drew Waters all playing and contributing in the outfield, playing time (and therefore, development) might be harder to come by at the MLB level.

GET TO KNOW A PROSPECT: BLAKE MITCHELL

In our eighth and final installment of this series, we'll head back to the high school ranks and scout out a position that is one of the few strengths in the minor league system -- catcher. Why would the Royals be interested in using their first round pick on a catcher, when they have guys like Luca Tresh, Carter Jensen, Juan Olmos, and Hayden Dunhurst already contributing? Well...Mitchell could be better than all of them.

High school catchers, outside of high school pitchers, might be the toughest position to project as most of the finer points of catching and game-calling generally aren't taught until they get into a professional or college program. That said, Mitchell is already pretty advanced defensively, even as a prepster. He has the best arm from behind the plate in the entire class, and has consistently 'popped' in the 1.7 sec range. That's borderline elite.

That said, even the best catching prospects don't work out as catchers. MJ Melendez was considered a glove-first catcher when the Royals took him in the second round back in 2017. His defensive metrics throughout the minor leagues all said he was an elite defender, but the major leagues is a different animal. Now he's moved to the outfield, and he's been okay there, thanks to some above-average athleticism.

Mitchell is a better prospect as a hitter than Melendez ever was, and not only could move positions, but can also pitch -- he has touched 97 MPH on the radar gun, and actually pitched for the 18U Team USA the last two summers, tossing 2 2/3 shutout innings against Taiwan in pool play last year.

If Mitchell's the pick, I think it's because the bat plays at any position, and with the Royals' pretty rich collection of catching talent, I wouldn't be against it at all. Like Walker Jenkins a few installments back, I noted the Royals could take a high school bat with their eighth pick, and they could take their time developing him with the depth currently on display in the upper minors.

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CLEVELAND @ KANSAS CITY (06/27 -- 06/29)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Cleveland Guardians

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | June 30th, 2023

Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals
June 27th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland Guardians (48-30)	1	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	10	0
Kansas City Royals (31-48)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	1
W: Triston McKenzie (4-0) L: Josh Taylor (1-3) S: None

Tuesday, June 27th, 2023
Save for an RBI single by Maikel Garcia in the eighth, Triston McKenzie did a masterful job in keeping the Royals off the board as they handed Kansas City an 8-1 defeat on Tuesday night to open a three-game series. The Royals employed an opener for this one, starting with Josh Taylor, who allowed one earned run through 1 2/3 innings, but struck out three with no walks. Carlos Hernandez allowed seven runs (five earned) as the 'follower', but couldn't get through the third inning, tossing one inning total.

An error by Bobby Witt Jr led to the two unearned runs, his seventh error of the season. Six of them have been fielding errors, basically due to just lapses in concentration.

The next four relievers -- Jackson Kowar, Taylor Clarke, Josh Staumont, and Aroldis Chapman all tossed scoreless outings, but the offense couldn't get anything of consequence to try and get back in the game. Kowar's outing in particular was encouraging, as he allowed just three hits over 2 1/3 innings, no walks, and fanned three. In his first three appearances since being re-called, he had allowed eleven earned runs.

"I think I can breathe a little bit now," Kowar said to reporters in the locker room after the game. "All that said, it's disappointing to not come away with the victory."

Only Salvador Perez reached base safely more than once other than Garcia. Perez went 1-for-3 with a single, and was also hit by a pitch in the sixth. Nick Pratto, Drew Waters, and Michael Massey each had singles, and Garcia's third-inning double was the only hit for extra bases.

Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals
June 28th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland Guardians (48-31)	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	9	0
Kansas City Royals (32-48)	2	2	0	2	0	0	0	2	X	8	15	0
W: Brad Keller (7-5) L: Tanner Bibee (4-2) S: Aroldis Chapman (3)

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023
It was a game of twos -- the Royals hit two homeruns, MJ Melendez drove in two runs with his second triple of the season, Nick Pratto hit his second double of the season, and the Royals scored two runs in each of their first two at-bats on their way to an 8-4 victory in the second game of the series with the second-place Guardians on Wednesday night. Phew.

But wait, there's more! The Royals would also score two runs each in the fourth and eighth innings, as Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez each hit two-run homeruns. Five different Royals collected at least two hits, with hitters eight and nine getting three each.

Cleveland also scored two runs each in, you guessed it, the second inning and the sixth inning. Josh Naylor's sixth-inning single drove in two runs, but that's as close as the Guardians would ever get on the scoreboard.

"No way! That's really fascinating," said manager Matt Quatraro when presented with all of the twos in the post-game press conference. "Baseball's a pretty funny game in a lot of ways, and you can find statistical anomalies like that sometimes. It's a small, but not insignificant reason why baseball is the greatest game out there."

After struggling through April and half of May, Brad Keller has looked like a passable starter his last nine starts -- five of them have been quality starts, with a 3.97 ERA, forty-seven strikeouts, and just seventeen walks. He just missed his sixth quality start on Wednesday, going 5 2/3 innings with four earned runs, but struck out five and didn't walk anyone.

"I think that eight-walk start really bothered him quite a bit," said Quatraro of his start back on May 7th in which he walked a record eight batters in just three innings. "He's been pretty locked in since then, and we've won six of those nine starts, so he's in a good place right now."

Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals
June 29th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland Guardians (49-31)	0	1	1	0	2	0	3	0	0	7	10	0
Kansas City Royals (32-49)	0	0	1	1	0	3	1	0	0	6	12	0
W: James Karinchak (2-2) L: Josh Staumont (0-2) S: Emmanuel Clase (21)

Thursday, June 29th, 2023
Royals pitching will have nightmares about Andres Gimenez for the next handful of nights, as he nearly single-handedly beat the Royals with three hits and six RBI, including the game-winning three-run homerun in the eighth inning, handing the Royals a 7-6 defeat to close out the first series between the two teams this season.

Gimenez actually had two go-ahead hits in this game -- in addition to the go-ahead homerun in the eighth, he also put the Guardians in the lead in the fifth with his two-run double, breaking a 2-2 tie. Cleveland got on the board first with Josh Naylor's 14th homerun of the season, a line-drive shot against Josh Taylor, the only blemish on the lefty's final line -- 1 2/3 innings, one earned run, three strikeouts in relief of Lyles.

Including this series, the Royals have been outscored 55-31 over the last seven games, going 2-5 in that stretch. Adding insult to injury, the Royals also saw two of their starters leave the game prior to the end. Jordan Lyles left after just two batters with elbow discomfort.

The other one was a biggie -- Vinnie Pasquantino drove in a run with a groundout in the seventh, but as he left the box, he began limping and pulled up lame halfway down the line before reaching first base. It wasn't clear originally how bad the injury was, but with the game on the line in the ninth, Freddy Fermin pinch-hit for Pasquantino, striking out with the tying run on third base to end the game.

"We won't know more until tomorrow about them," said skipper Matt Quatraro. "Right now, we're looking at an elbow issue for Jordan, and a lower leg issue for Pasquantino."

UP NEXT: vs Los Angeles Dodgers (06/30 -- 07/02)

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ROYALS NEWS (06/30)

LYLES, PASQUANTINO OUT FOR SEASON

Kansas City received a double dose of bad news earlier this morning, as they announced that both starting pitcher Jordan Lyles and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino would miss the rest of the season with elbow and knee injuries, respectively. Lyles will miss the remainder of the season after surgery later this week, while Pasquantino will also have surgery within the next few days to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.

Southpaw Angel Zerpa will be activated off his rehab assignment to make his first start of the season tonight against the Dodgers, replacing Lyles on the pitching staff. Samad Taylor was re-called from Omaha, where he has been since May 12th. In a brief stint with the Royals earlier this season in early May, Taylor was 2-for-13 (.154) in five games, four of them starts.

With Pasquantino off the roster, Nick Pratto is expected to get the lion's share of the reps at first base with a mish-mash of players getting at-bats as the DH, including Pratto. Taylor has been battling a minor oblique strain in Omaha, and manager Matt Quatraro said that he'd likely not play the first three or four days he's with the club.

Quatraro also noted that they would try to work Salvador Perez in at first base as well, as they want to try and get both him and Freddy Fermin into the lineup as much as possible.

"It's really nice having that roster flexibility with three guys that can all go behind the plate if needed," he said. "Sal's obviously going to get the bulk of the work, but it's nice to have Freddy and MJ that can both catch and give him a break. Freddy's hitting the ball real well right now, and we want to try and keep him in the lineup as much as we can."

ROYALS GRANT RELEASE TO JBJ

Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr cleared waivers on Thursday; and after refusing an outright assignment to Omaha, was granted his release by the team this morning, making him a free agent.

The 33-year-old outfielder finished his brief Royals career with a .206/.297/.262 slash line in just 149 plate appearances, playing all three outfield positions as a reserve. He's still an above-average defender, even if ever so slightly with just about 2 DRS in 366 innings, mostly in right field, but eighty-one of those in center, and two starts in left.

ROYALS MINOR MOVES

A couple of minor league moves were confirmed as well on Friday morning, as the Royals traded Johan Camargo to the Angels for minor league righty Glenn Albanese Jr. Camargo has spent all season in Triple-A, where he had been one of the most consistent offensive performers for the Storm Chasers with a slash line of .273/.358/.555, hitting eighteen homeruns to lead the team.

Albanese had been in High-A all season up to this date, posting a 2.47 ERA with the Angels' affiliate in High-A, the Tri-City Dust Devils. He'll likely begin his Royals tenure in Double-A, where there is a more immediate need for pitching, and he's already a few years old for High-A at this stage in his career anyway.

Additionally, Omaha catcher Jakson Reetz optioned out of his minor league deal with the Royals, and will elect free agency, per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. That means that Luca Tresh, who has been the talk of the Royals' minor leagues this season, will get a well-deserved full-time promotion to the Storm Chasers for the remainder of the season.

In a brief stint replacing Reetz earlier this season, Tresh hit .333 with a couple of homeruns in four games with the Storm Chasers. He leads the entire minor leagues with twenty-six homeruns this season, and has the top OPS in all of the minors, as well.

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LOS ANGELES (N) @ KANSAS CITY (06/30 -- 07/02)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Los Angeles Dodgers

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 3rd, 2023

Los Angeles Dodgers at Kansas City Royals
June 30th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles Dodgers (44-36)	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	2	6	10	1
Kansas City Royals (32-50)	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	9	1
W: Tony Gonsolin (3-3) L: Angel Zerpa (0-1) S: Evan Phillips (16)

Friday, June 30th, 2023
Three Dodger dongs proved to be too much for the Royals, as they pulled away late in the ninth to hand them a 6-3 defeat to end the month of June, kicking off the exact second half of the season. An RBI single from Miguel Rojas, and then a walk and hit batsman with the bases loaded in the fourth inning accounted for three of the Dodgers' runs, and Max Muncy and Mookie Betts went back-to-back against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.

Jose Cuas came in to stop the bleeding, getting the final two outs on a pop out and a ground out, but the Royals couldn't push any runs across in the ninth despite loading the bases. MJ Melendez singled with one out, and an error and a single loaded the bases for Michael Massey. But Evan Phillips coaxed a fly ball out to end the game.

Drew Waters put on a good show, however, hitting a pair of solo homeruns and driving in another with an RBI double in the first inning. He was the entire offense for the Royals, as only Bobby Witt Jr was able to reach base safely on more than one occasion, going 3-for-5 with a trio of singles.

With Jordan Lyles out for the season with an elbow problem, lefty Angel Zerpa returned from his rehab assignment and impressed in the early going. He ended up being charged with four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, but two of them were let in by Dylan Coleman, who entered the game in the fourth inning with the bases loaded after Rojas' RBI hit.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Kansas City Royals
July 1st, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles Dodgers (45-36)	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
Kansas City Royals (32-51)	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	10	0
W: Noah Syndergaard (5-6) L: Zack Greinke (4-7) S: Evan Phillips (17)

Saturday, July 1st, 2023
Los Angeles did all of their damage in the early going, scoring two in the second and one more in the fifth to get out to a 3-0 lead. A couple of late rallies weren't enough for the Royals, as they fell just short in the ninth by a 3-2 score.

Nick Pratto's RBI single in the sixth to score Michael Massey put the Royals down just two, and then Bobby Witt Jr followed in the seventh with an RBI double to plate Maikel Garcia. They did get the tying run on base to lead off the ninth with MJ Melendez's walk, but a bad bunt attempt by Matt Duffy led to a forceout at second, and back-to-back flyouts from Kyle Isbel and Garcia ended the game.

It's the fourth straight loss in one-run games; and the Royals have been pretty poor so far this season in one-run games, going 7-14.

"It's a play here, a play there, that makes you go back and think what if we had done something a little different in these close games," said skipper Matt Quatraro. "In the blowouts, you just chalk it up to a bad day and move on. But the close games; the close losses, and even the close wins, you learn a lot more and grow from that."

Zack Greinke took the loss, going just 4 1/3 innings, with three earned runs on seven hits, with two walks and punchouts apiece. The bullpen was solid from the jump, as they hurled 4 2/3 scoreless innings, split up between five relievers. They allowed just two baserunners the entire rest of the way, both on walks -- one each from Jackson Kowar and Josh Taylor.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Kansas City Royals
July 2nd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles Dodgers (45-37)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	4	8	1
Kansas City Royals (33-51)	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	X	6	10	1
W: Brady Singer (6-8) L: Dustin May (5-3) S: Scott Barlow (18)

Sunday, July 2nd, 2023
Thanks to an early salvo from the offense, the Royals took a 5-0 lead after two innings, enough to withstand a late rally from the Dodgers in a 6-4 victory, salvaging the final game of the series between the two teams this season. A two-run double from Drew Waters and a two-run single from Freddy Fermin, both in the first inning against Los Angeles starter Dustin May, set the tone early.

Meanwhile, even throwing in a brief rain delay, Brady Singer turned in his best outing in over a month, allowing just one earned run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out six. Scott Barlow, who was briefly knocked out of the full-time closer's role in favor of a committee approach, picked up his 18th save of the season with a spotless ninth.

"I asked Brady if he still felt good enough to go, so we decided to throw him back out there," said manager Matt Quatraro. "If the delay had gone much longer, we probably would have taken him out, but we felt a half-hour was a reasonable time. I mean, some half-innings take a half-hour while your offense goes, so we didn't see an issue."

Nick Pratto led the Royals with three hits, while Bobby Witt Jr and Waters each collected a pair. Maikel Garcia went 1-for-4, increasing his hit streak to a modest five games. However, he's been hot pretty much all of the last three weeks, hitting safely in 14-of-17 games since June 13th.

The Royals will now head out on their final road trip before the All-Star break, as they'll play three in Minnesota and then four in Cleveland to wrap up the official first half of the season.

UP NEXT: at Minnesota Twins (07/03 -- 07/05)

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ROYALS NEWS (07/03)

BARLOW, CHAPMAN RECEIVING TRADE INTEREST

With the calendar flipping to July, expect the trade rumor mill to start really churning; and while it's not the first indication of any interest, MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Cardinals, Twins, and Brewers have reached out to the Royals about both Scott Barlow and Aroldis Chapman. The Blue Jays seemed to be involved several weeks ago, but those talks tempered a bit after they traded for Pierce Johnson away from the Rockies.

Now, with Anthony Bass on the injured list, the Blue Jays are joining the aforementioned three clubs in re-sparking their interest in the two Royals relievers. The Royals have been one of the busier clubs in the trade market so far this season, as a few of the notable deals they've made have been Nicky Lopez to Pittsburgh and Edward Olivares to Seattle, each getting a minor league pitcher in return.

Chapman, 35, is enjoying a 'renaissance' of sorts after a poor 2022 with the Yankees, and domestic violence allegations that have dogged him. He's not striking out hitters at the same rate as in his heyday, but he's posting solid walk rates (at least solid by Chapman's standards), and is striking hitters out at a decent 31% clip. He's also getting save opportunities in recent weeks, most likely to try and further boost his value as the deadline approaches.

Barlow, on the other hand, has seen his strikeout rates dip year-over-year, as he's now down to a career-low 20%, down from 26.7% last season, and 29.8% in 2021. He does keep the ball in the park for the most part (.8 HR/9), and has an okay GB% of 42%. The real value with Barlow is that you'd get him cost-controlled through next year, so he's not just a rental.

Some other notable names have already been moved in the reliever market, such as the aforementioned Johnson along with Clay Holmes (NY Yankees to San Francisco), Dinelson Lamet (Colorado to Minnesota), Aaron Loup (LA Angels to Minnesota), Matt Wisler (Detroit to St. Louis), and Carl Edwards Jr (Washington to Arizona).

MAYERS DESIGNATED; KRISKE ADDED AND PROMOTED

Right-hander Mike Mayers was designated for assignment, and fellow righty Brooks Kriske was added to the 40-man roster and re-called for the series that begins against the Twins tonight.

Kriske last appeared in the majors in 2021 for the Yankees, and wasn't impressive in eight appearances, posting a 15.26 ERA in 7 2/3 innings, allowing thirteen earned runs, including five homeruns and six walks.

GREINKE SELECTED AS LONE ROYALS ALL-STAR

In a surprise, veteran right-hander Zack Greinke was selected via player ballot to the All-Star pitching staff, as the player ballot voting wrapped up over the weekend. The player ballot is the third phase of All-Star voting, with Phases 1 and 2 (fan vote) already in the rear-view. Only the top vote-getter by the fans would be guaranteed a spot after the first phase, with Mike Trout and Trea Turner ending as the top vote-earners in their respective leagues as of June 22nd.

No Royals finished in first or second in the voting for the second phase of the revamped voting process to determine the starters for each side, which wrapped up June 29th. The next sixteen players (five starters, three relievers, eight reserves) are chosen via player ballot. The final eight, including any injury replacements, would be selected by the Commissioner's Office later this week.

Most around the team thought that Salvador Perez would be the most likely selection for the Royals; but he ended up third in the voting for AL catcher, and was surprisingly not voted in on the player's ballot. Baltimore's Adley Rutschman was voted in as the starter, with Minnesota's Christian Vazquez coming in second. Vazquez was voted in on the player's ballot, Perez was not.

Perez will likely miss the All-Star game for the third time since 2019, with no Mid-Summer Classic held in 2020. He'll now be at the mercy of the MLB office for his selection, or if any injuries pop up in the next week.

No other Royals are on the roster through the third phase, with Bobby Witt Jr being only other Royal to finish in the top three of voting at their position. Corey Seager, who won the AL shortstop vote and is currently sitting out with a sore shoulder, is going to be a game-time decision on July 11th; but with Wander Franco and Carlos Correa definitively out with injuries, BWJ may end up on the final roster when all is said and done, as there are no other AL shortstops listed through Phase 3. Gunnar Henderson of Baltimore is also having a really solid rookie season, but three of his teammates are already on the squad, and BWJ is having a superior season in just about every way possible.

"We're happy for Zack that he was able to get in the game on the player ballot," said manager Matt Quatraro. "But Salvy and Bobby are pretty big omissions in our eyes, so we're going to make our case to the league office that they should be on the team."

Rosters are expected to be finalized on July 9th, two days prior to the game. The Home Run Derby participants are expected to be released on July 6th. Defending champion Juan Soto will be back to defend his title from 2022.

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KANSAS CITY @ MINNESOTA (07/03 -- 07/05)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Minnesota Twins

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 6th, 2023

Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins
July 3rd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (33-52)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	7	1
Minnesota Twins (55-31)	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	X	4	9	0
W: Sonny Gray (8-3) L: Carlos Hernandez (1-3) S: Jhoan Duran (25)

Monday, July 3rd, 2023
Monday night's game was more of the same from the past week -- offense from just a select few, and the pitching was better but not good enough in a 4-1 loss to the Twins. Bobby Witt Jr and Nick Pratto collected a pair of hits each, including a homerun and a double from Pratto. In addition, Witt Jr stole his first base since June 13th, giving him twenty-three for the season.

But that was about it -- Kyle Isbel and Freddy Fermin each went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Salvador Perez singled as part of a 1-for-4 day.

"I thought we battled, gave Sonny (Gray) all he could handle for a little over five innings," manager Matt Quatraro lamented. "We're getting good at-bats, and getting better at not chasing the pitcher's pitches, but just can't string together enough hits or walks to get much of anything going."

Carlos Hernandez worked five innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and three walks, fanning four. The bullpen has been solid as of late, and they continued that trend with three scoreless innings of relief.

Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins
July 4th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (33-53)	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	8	0
Minnesota Twins (56-31)	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	X	5	9	1
W: Kenta Maeda (6-5) L: Brooks Kriske (0-1) S: Caleb Thielbar (1)

Tuesday, July 4th, 2023
RBI on three consecutive at-bats in the fifth inning gave the Royals a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, but the Twins would strike with single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to claim a 5-3 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday night.

After scoring Michael Massey on an error from the bat of Maikel Garcia, Kyle Isbel came in on Bobby Witt Jr's single, followed by another RBI hit from MJ Melendez that scored Garcia.

The Royals had just two baserunners after that inning, as Kyle Isbel reached with a walk in the sixth. Unfortunately, he was thrown out trying to steal second by Christian Vazquez. Massey also singled to lead off the ninth against Caleb Thielbar, who worked around that hit to pick up the save.

Brad Keller struggled with walks in this start, issuing five free passes and seven hits in just 5 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs. Appearing in the majors for the first time since 2021 with the Yankees, Brooks Kriske took the loss in relief, allowing the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. He walked one and struck out a pair in two-thirds of an inning.

Kriske was called up just prior to the series, as the Royals designated right-hander Mike Mayers for assignment.

Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins
July 5th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (34-53)	1	0	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	7	13	1
Minnesota Twins (56-32)	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	4	8	2
W: Angel Zerpa (1-1) L: Joe Ryan (9-5) S: None

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023
Three different Royals collected three hits each, including five runs scored between Bobby Witt Jr and Maikel Garcia, as the Royals salvaged the final game of the series between the two teams on Wednesday night with a 7-4 win.

Garcia went 3-for-4 with a double, scoring three runs, and also driving in one of his own. He was also one of three Royals to steal a base, along with Witt and Kyle Isbel, who became the third Royal to reach the double-digit mark in steals, joining Witt and MJ Melendez.

Angel Zerpa was fantastic, allowing just one earned run over five innings with five strikeouts to pick up his first victory of the season. He didn't walk a batter, and scattered just five hits.

Salvador Perez also collected three hits and an RBI as he's now reached base safely in nine of his last ten games, including going 12-for-38 (.316) over that stretch. His current .218 average is as high as it's been since May 5th, when he finished that game against the A's with a .220 mark.

UP NEXT: at Cleveland Indians (07/06 -- 07/09)

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ROYALS NEWS (07/06)

ROYALS 2023 DRAFT OUTLOOK

2023's All-Star activities will commence at Lumen Field in Seattle. This year's draft will be the first with the lottery results implemented from the previous offseason, and the Royals came away with the eighth selection on Sunday night. Since 2017, the Royals have selected eight players in the first round, including five pitchers and three hitters.

Among the eight players, three were high school picks, and five were from the college ranks. The position breakdown were five pitchers, two infielders, and one outfielder (Gavin Cross last season). Which direction might the Royals go this year? The draft's consensus top pick is Dylan Crews, an outfielder from LSU; and his teammate, Paul Skenes, could also go number one if Crews does not. There’s a strong mix of hitters and pitchers at the top of most draft boards, with the crop of college hitters amongst the best in recent years.

However, most mocks have still been targeting college pitching for the fifth time since 2017, with Rhett Lowder of Wake Forest the main target, along with a smattering of other college pitching such as Hurston Waldrep of Florida, and Chase Dollander of Tennessee.

If college pitching isn't an option, then other potential players could be outfielders Enrique Bradfield, Jr., (Vanderbilt), Wyatt Langford (Florida), and Walker Jenkins, who is a high schooler from North Carolina.

BWJ ADDED TO AL ALL-STAR SQUAD

With top AL shortstop vote-getter Corey Seager's status for the All-Star Game still in doubt, the league office announced that shortstop Bobby Witt Jr would be amongst the eight additional reserves tabbed to represent the AL in the Mid-Summer Classic, announced yesterday.

He'll be the youngest Royal to ever appear in an All-Star Game, should he enter the game at any point. He'll beat HOF'er George Brett by about forty-five days, as Witt Jr will be 23 years old and 27 days on the day of the game. Brett's first was in his age-23 season, but he had already been in the league for several years at the time.

Rosters won't be finalized until Sunday, so there is still an opportunity for Salvador Perez to be named to the squad, but it is looking as if he'll be an injury replacement for someone at this point.

RUIZ, CAMPBELL SELECTED TO FUTURES GAME

The MLB All-Star Game isn't the only thing that's happening during All-Star Weekend -- the Futures Game will be on Sunday night. Two Royals prospects will be representing the American League in pitcher Isaiah Campbell and outfielder Tony Ruiz. Ruiz is the team's top overall prospect who at just 17, is already starting in the outfield for one of the Royals' Dominican Summer League squads.

Campbell was acquired earlier this season from the Mariners for Edward Olivares, and all he's done is put up a 4.07 ERA with eleven saves through twenty-two appearances. His ERA seems a bit high, but six of the eleven earned runs allowed was in his most recent appearance on July 1st in just one-third of an inning, and it's reflected in his FIP and SIERA that are 2.83 and 2.74, respectively.

Despite a slow start (.200/.290/.238) in sixty-three plate appearances with the DSL Royals Glass squad, Ruiz is still considered as one of the highest-ceiling prospects in all of baseball, who some evaluators think could end up grading out with 60+ hit and power tools when all is said and done.

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KANSAS CITY @ CLEVELAND (07/06 -- 07/09)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Cleveland Guardians

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 10th, 2023

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
July 6th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (35-53)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	4	6	1
Cleveland Guardians (52-35)	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	11	2
W: Aroldis Chapman (2-2) L: Emmanuel Clase (3-2) S: Scott Barlow (19)

Thursday, July 6th, 2023
Usually, the Royals are the ones watching other teams take full advantage of their mistakes, seeing potential victories go down the drain due to silly miscues. For once on Thursday night, the Royals were able to take advantage of another team's errors -- and win.

Down 3-1 heading into the ninth, the Royals used a handful of Guardians' mistakes to surge past them and steal a 4-3 decision at Progressive Field. Two errors and a wild pitch led to three unearned Royals' runs, and Scott Barlow worked around a couple of singles to get the save in the bottom of the ninth.

The inning started out normal enough, with a Salvador Perez single, and then a 4-3 groundout to move Perez to second base. Then second baseman Andres Gimenez, who made a great play to get an out on the previous play, chunked a throw to first base for an error after making another outstanding dive for a ground ball, putting runners on first and third. Then, a single to left turned into extra bases as Michael Massey's base hit scampered by Amed Rosario, which not only scored Perez, but moved Kyle Isbel all the way to third.

Fresh off being named as an injury replacement for the AL All-Star squad, Bobby Witt Jr pinch hit for Samad Taylor, who started the game at second base; and was walked to load the bases. Two batters later, MJ Melendez was batting when closer Emmanuel Clase uncorked a wild pitch, sending BWJ home with the go-ahead run.

Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI hits from Josh Bell and Rosario. Maikel Garcia muscled up for his third homerun of the season in the fourth, leading off the inning against Guardians hurler Tanner Bibee. Melendez was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, while Drew Waters continued his hot start to July with two more hits.

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
July 7th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (35-54)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	8	0
Cleveland Guardians (53-35)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	4	9	0
W: Emmanuel Clase (4-2) L: Taylor Clarke (2-3) S: None

Friday, July 7th, 2023
The Royals couldn't win despite getting a perfect day out of infielder Maikel Garcia, who was 3-for-3, including another homerun and a couple of RBI as the Royals were walked off by the Indians in the ninth, falling by the same 4-3 score as Thursday night's game.

With Taylor Clarke pitching the ninth, the Indians led off the frame with a pair of singles, then a sac fly moved Brayan Rocchio to third. Andres Gimenez then punched a single by a drawn-in Garcia at short to score Rocchio from third, ending the contest.

"This game was a battle," said skipper Matt Quatraro. "We'd score, they'd score. When they took the lead in the eighth, Mass (Michael Massey) came in off the bench and gave us a spark, but just couldn't get it done after that. Proud of the effort the last few nights."

Dairon Blanco also had a couple of hits and a stolen base, but there was little offense to speak of; as the Royals sat a few of their better offensive players in Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez, although Melendez and Massey would later appear as subs.

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
July 8th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (36-54)	10	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	14	15	1
Cleveland Guardians (53-36)	3	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	7	12	1
W: Carlos Hernandez (2-3) L: Cal Quantrill (5-8) S: None

Saturday, July 8th, 2023
For the first time this season, the Royals put up a double-digit score in a half-inning, plating ten first-inning runs on their way to winning by a touchdown, 14-7, over the Guardians on Saturday afternoon. Eight of nine Royals starters collected at least one hit, with Salvador Perez's four hits, including two doubles, leading the way.

MJ Melendez was 2-for-5 with three RBI, including his eighth homerun of the season; and Bobby Witt Jr went 3-for-5, including his fifteenth homerun of the season in the first inning, just two batters into the game.

After the Royals finally finished their opening salvo, the Guardians countered with three in the first inning. They would never seriously threaten the Royals' lead in the entire game, as they scored one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and then one more in the eighth, well after the game was already in hand.

"Just gotta flush and move on," Guardians manager Terry Francona mused. "It's pretty hard to be upset at this one, Kansas City just had themselves a day. Not much else to really say."

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
July 9th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (36-55)	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	4	12	0
Cleveland Guardians (54-36)	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	X	6	13	1
W: Shane Bieber (9-2) L: Brad Keller (7-6) S: Cody Morris (2)

Sunday, July 9th, 2023
Nick Pratto's first-inning solo homerun was the last time the Royals led in the series finale, as the Guardians won 6-4 over the Royals to secure the series split. Cleveland added two in the bottom of the first, and two more in the fourth to build a 4-1 lead early on.

The Royals did eventually pull to within one run later, 5-4, as Kyle Isbel banged a three-run homerun off Shane Bieber. However, that would never have happened had Amed Rosario not booted a fairly routine groundball off the bat of Freddy Fermin just one hitter prior.

Brad Keller lasted just 4 2/3 innings, throwing ninety-six pitches, walking five while allowing a whopping eleven hits. Three relievers combined to get through the final 3 1/3 innings, with Jackson Kowar, Dylan Coleman, and Josh Taylor finishing out the game.

Pratto went 3-for-5 to pace the Royals' offensive output, while Isbel was 2-for-4 including the homerun. Salvador Perez and Michael Massey also came up with a pair of singles each.

UP NEXT: vs Tampa Bay Rays (07/14 -- 07/16)

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ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS/PREVIEW (07/10)

2023 MLB All-Star Game Rosters
American League		National League
Manager: Dusty Baker, Houston		Manager: Rob Thomson, Philadelphia
Pos	Starters	Pos	Starters
C	Adley Rutschman, Baltimore	C	Will Smith, Los Angeles
1B	Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay	1B	Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis
2B	Andres Gimenez, Cleveland	2B	Jeff McNeil, New York
3B	Jose Ramirez, Cleveland	3B	Austin Riley, Atlanta+
SS	Corey Seager, Texas	SS	Trea Turner, Philadelphia
LF	Yordan Alvarez, Houston+	LF	Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia
RF	Aaron Judge, New York	RF	Mookie Betts, Los Angeles
CF	Mike Trout, Los Angeles	CF	Jazz Chisholm Jr., Miami
DH	Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay	DH	Nolan Gorman, St. Louis
Pos	Pitchers & Reserves	Pos	Pitchers & Reserves
RHP	Bryan Abreu, Houston	RHP	David Bednar, Pittsburgh
LHP	Keegan Akin, Baltimore	RHP	Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee
RHP	Shane Bieber, Cleveland&	LHP	Ryan Feltner, Colorado (Inj. Rep.)
RHP	Luis Castillo, Seattle*	LHP	Caleb Ferguson, Los Angeles
RHP	Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland	LHP	Josh Hader, San Diego&
RHP	Gerrit Cole, New York&	RHP	Clay Holmes, San Francisco
RHP	Xzavion Curry, Cleveland	RHP	Joe Musgrove, San Diego
RHP	Jhoan Duran, Minnesota	RHP	Ryne Nelson, Arizona&
RHP	Sonny Gray, Minnesota&	RHP	Evan Phillips, Los Angeles
RHP	Zack Greinke, Kansas City	RHP	Max Scherzer, New York*
RHP	Kenta Maeda, Minnesota	RHP	Kodai Senga, New York
LHP	Kyle Muller, Oakland	RHP	Justin Verlander, New York+
RHP	Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay&	RHP	Devin Williams, Milwaukee
C	Christian Vazquez, Minnesota	RHP	Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee
C	Mike Zunino, Cleveland	C	Luis Campusano, San Diego
1B	Jose Abreu, Houston	C	Willson Contreras, St. Louis
1B	Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto	1B	Pete Alonso, New York
1B	Andrew Vaughn, Chicago	1B	Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles
2B	Adam Frazier, Baltimore	2B	Jonathan India, Cincinnati
3B	Rafael Devers, Boston	2B	Ketel Marte, Arizona
3B	Yoan Moncada, Chicago	3B	Jeimer Candelario, Washington
SS	Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City	SS	Francisco Lindor, New York
OF	Oscar Colas, Chicago	SS	Dansby Swanson, Chicago
OF	Adam Duvall, Boston (Inj. Rep)	OF	Ronald Acuna, Jr., Atlanta
OF	Zach McKinstry, Detroit	OF	Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia
OF	Julio Rodriguez, Seattle	OF	Jake Fraley, Cincinnati (Inj. Rep.)
		OF	Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis

GAME NOTES
*Just three injury replacements -- Adam Duvall (Y. Alvarez); Jake Fraley (A. Riley); and Ryan Feltner (J. Verlander)
*28 first-time All-Stars (18 AL, 10 NL)
*Luis Castillo third pitcher to start in home park since Matt Harvey in 2013 (Kershaw 2022, Scherzer 2018)
*Rangers SS Seager game-time decision, Royals phenom Witt Jr to start if he can't play

GLOSSARY
+ Denotes voted in as starter (either fan or player ballot), will not play due to injury
* Denotes will be starting pitcher
& Denotes unavailable to pitch (workload, etc.)

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ROYALS NEWS (07/10)

ROYALS WRAP DRAFT DAY ONE

With the Royals' selection of high school catcher Blake Mitchell with the eighth overall pick last night, he became only the fourth catcher in team history to be drafted in the conventional first round. One other catcher draftee, Chase Vallot in 2014, was taken in the supplemental part of the first round with the 40th overall pick that year, but is now out of baseball. Of the four, Mitchell is the second prep catcher, with Rex Goodson also going eighth overall out of high school back in 1970. He never made the majors, stalling out in Double-A.

With their other two picks, they took high school right-hander Blake Wolters (44th), and college outfielder Carson Roccaforte (66th). While Mitchell and Wolters were picked around their MLB.com projections, Roccaforte might be considered a bit of a reach as he clocked in at 129th in their final rankings; and Baseball America was even less optimistic, putting him 160th. Nonetheless, he's a speed-plus versatile defender that can play all three outfield spots, and even clocked some innings at first base.

As expected, the Mitchell pick is a bit polarizing in the fanbase. Joe Mauer is the last prep catcher drafted in the Top 10 that stuck at the position and did much of note as a hitter; but as I noted last week, Mitchell's value is going to be the bat and not so much where his eventual defensive home may be. He could also end up on the mound, as he's been clocked up to 98 MPH there, and throws at least two quality pitches at this point (fastball, curve) with a developing off-speed pitch.

There's also the chance that other catchers in the system could end up switching spots, as well -- both Carter Jensen and Luca Tresh have worked at first base, and Tresh has enough juice to play the outfield. Tresh is also crushing it with the bat, with twenty-seven combined homeruns between Double and Triple-A this season. There's also the question of how much longer Salvador Perez will remain the primary catcher. Freddy Fermin doesn't offer much in the way of offense, and is already twenty-eight. MJ Melendez has also seemingly made a full transition to the outfield, although he's seen some time behind the plate here and there.

Of the three selections, Wolters comes with the most risk as he's really only a two-pitch pitcher at this point (fastball, slider), but there's a lot of time left there to develop his changeup into something at least passable at the MLB level. If he can do that, then his already considerable ceiling gets even higher. It was also a bit disappointing to see the Royals go college outfield bat with their third pick instead of trying to balance out the risk of Wolters with their second selection, especially with quality college arms like Joe Whitman and Cade Kuehler still on the board (both went off soon after the Roccaforte selection). However, they could still target college arms early on for Day 2, with guys like Alonzo Tredwell, Tanner Witt, and Juaron Watts-Brown still available.

Today, the draft continues with the second day with Rounds 3 through 10 beginning at 2 PM Eastern on both ESPN and the MLB Network.

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Re: Straight Outta Kauffman (OOTP 24)

After some time off, re-starting this post-draft. I've made all 620+ picks to their actual teams and with up-to-date stats and standings as of 07/14.

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TAMPA BAY @ KANSAS CITY (07/14 -- 07/16)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Tampa Bay Rays

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 17th, 2023

Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
July 14th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tampa Bay Rays (58-36)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	6	0
Kansas City Royals (27-65)	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	2	X	5	9	0
W: Taylor Clarke (2-3) L: Jason Adam (2-3) S: Scott Barlow (12)

Friday, July 14th, 2023
With their 5-2 win on Friday night to open the season's second half, the Royals bookended the All-Star break with three-run victories. After a poor debut back on June 30th, rookie Alec Marsh has been solid over his last two starts, allowing four earned runs over eleven innings, striking out ten with four walks and just eight hits scattered. He wasn't involved in the decision, as he left with the game tied 2-2 after six innings.

“I thought he competed really, really well,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro. "When his secondary stuff is working like it was, it really makes his already-considerable fastball really pop."

The offense is not without credit for the victory, as Kyle Isbel and Nicky Lopez were key with two hits each, including RBI hits from Kyle Isbel in the sixth and eighth innings. Lopez was 2-for-2 with a run scored and a walk, and Bobby Witt Jr also went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.

Nearly all of the Rays' offense, meanwhile, came from one player -- Luke Raley collected four hits, including a double, for the first time in his MLB career and drove in both of their runs. The other two hits came from leadoff hitter Brandon Lowe, who also came around to score both of their runs. The rest of the lineup? 0-for-25 with eight strikeouts and one walk.

"We did a tremendous job of keeping the damage to a minimum when guys did get on base," Quatraro went on to say later. "Only one other guy reached base for them the entire game aside from (Luke) Raley and (Brandon) Lowe."

Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
July 15th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Tampa Bay Rays (59-36)	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	6	9	1
Kansas City Royals (27-66)	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	4	12	1
W: Pete Fairbanks (1-20 L: Carlos Hernandez (0-5) S: None

Saturday, July 15th, 2023
Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr., and Freddy Fermin combined to go 7-for-14, but a pair of three-run innings from the Rays were too much to overcome as the Royals dropped a 6-4 decision to even up the series at one win apiece. Fermin did the most damage, going 3-for-4 with a couple of RBI, including an RBI double with the Royals down 6-3 in the 10th, but Pete Fairbanks shut the door to pick up the win, as he came on with one out in the ninth to get Witt Jr out to end the inning.

With just four hits and three walks over six innings, Brady Singer did well enough to pick up the victory, but didn't factor into the decision. He also struck out six and allowed just two earned runs. Carlos Hernandez was the losing pitcher, allowing all three runs in the 10th (two earned), although he struck out two without any free passes.

"I know Brady wanted to get out there and get the bad taste out of his mouth from the last start," manager Matt Quatraro said outside the locker room after the game. "He wasn't very sharp at all last week before the break, and he had an extra couple of days to stew about it, but I thought he pitched very well and put us in a position to possibly win the game late."

The only other run the Royals scored was on a third-inning sac fly from Salvador Perez, who was otherwise 0-for-4 in the contest. Tampa scored all six runs on just two swings of the bat -- a bases-loaded double by Harold Ramirez in the fifth, and Josh Lowe with a bases-clearing double of his own in the 10th. However, Lowe was thrown out trying to stretch his double into a triple, as Nick Pratto took a relay throw and pegged it to Garcia at third for the second out of that inning.

Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
July 16th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tampa Bay Rays (60-36)	0	0	1	0	2	5	0	0	0	8	14	0
Kansas City Royals (27-67)	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
W: Zach Eflin (11-4) L: Nick Wittgren (0-1) S: None

Sunday, July 16th, 2023
For the second straight day, Tampa Bay utilized a bases-loaded double from Josh Lowe to help push the Rays past the Royals by an 8-3 score. Randy Arozarena also contributed heavily to the Royals' defeat, going 2-for-2 with a two-run homerun and three walks, reaching base all five times he came to the dish.

There was little to speak of offensively for Kansas City, with Nick Pratto's seventh homerun of the season a nice highlight, as his 458-foot homerun onto the center field concourse in the fifth inning was the longest hit by a Royal this season, home or away. MJ Melendez and Kyle Isbel collected the other RBI hits for the Royals, now 27-67 on the season as they welcome Detroit to town beginning tomorrow.

In his first start of the second half, Daniel Lynch wasn't bad -- five innings, seven hits, three runs, four strikeouts -- but he also walked three and struggled to put guys away with the advantage in the counts, instead trying to nibble too much.

"I think guys do let some of the criticism get to them," manager Matt Quatraro mused. "How he's not striking out enough guys, and someone like him that's trying to get a real foothold in this league could tend to overthrow and overthink things. I thought he competed and battled really well, and had a few pitches that would have been third strikes that didn't go his way."

Despite all of that, the Royals were in the game until the sixth when the Rays put up a five-spot, with Lowe's bases-loaded double the deep cut. Nick Wittgren was tagged with all five runs, allowing six hits and striking out one. Jonathan Heasley was outstanding in relief, tossing two scoreless frames before Taylor Clarke also put up a scoreless ninth. The Royals' offense also took a backseat in the final three innings, going 0-for-9 with a lone free pass.

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DETROIT @ KANSAS CITY (07/17 -- 07/20)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Detroit Tigers

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 21st, 2023

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
July 17th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit Tigers (42-52)	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	5	9	1
Kansas City Royals (27-68)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	4	7	0
W: Beau Brieske (1-0) L: Jordan Lyles (1-12) S: Jason Foley (4)

Monday, July 17th, 2023
Jordan Lyles' historically strange season continued down its bizarre path, as he fell to 1-12 despite allowing just two runs over five innings in a 5-4 defeat to the Tigers to open a three-game series with their intra-division rivals on Monday. His ERA dropped to 6.29, which is still quite awful, but his peripherals suggest he's a better pitcher than what he's shown so far this season, with 5.48 (FIP) and 4.42 (SIERA) marks.

Detroit's Beau Brieske held the Royals scoreless over six innings, although he dealt with some bouts of inconsistent command with four walks to just three strikeouts. That said, he allowed just a pair of hits and managed to do all of that in a tidy eighty-seven pitches. Rookie Mason Englert, who was selected by the Tigers in the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason, was tagged for four runs (two earned) in 1 2/3 innings before Brant Hurter got them out of the eighth with a groundball out from Nicky Lopez.

Kyle Isbel's two-run double was the first salvo from the Royals, but didn't come until the seventh inning. Nick Pratto and Michael Massey collected a pair of RBI hits in the eighth, helped by an error from the Tigers' defense. Pratto would have to leave the game, however, as he suffered a wrist injury sliding into home on Massey's RBI single. Manager Matt Quatraro noted that he was 'day-to-day', and that the injury was not serious, but could miss some time.

Fortunately for the Tigers, those two runs didn't affect the outcome of the game, as catcher Dillon Dingler had given the Tigers some much-needed insurance with a two-run double of his own against Jose Cuas in the eighth. That allowed just enough cushion for Jason Foley to pick up the save, his fourth of the season.

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
July 18th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit Tigers (43-52)	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	4	10	0
Kansas City Royals (27-69)	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	7	0
W: Eduardo Rodriguez (6-5) L: Ryan Yarbrough (2-5) S: Alex Lange (14)

Tuesday, July 18th, 2023
With his sixth-inning homerun against Eduardo Rodriguez, Salvador Perez moved to within one homerun of his 200th career homerun as a catcher. However, despite Perez's best efforts, the Royals dropped a 4-2 decision to the Tigers on Tuesday night. Drew Waters also collected three hits, falling a homerun short of the cycle. Aside from those two, little else happened offensively.

Perez now has 239 career homeruns, second-most in team history behind Hall-of-Famer George Brett's 317. Former All-Star first baseman Mike Sweeney is now a distant third at 197. It seems to be a stretch that Perez could catch or exceed Brett's mark, but 300 appears to be within reach provided he stays healthy.

Tuesday night also marked the Royals debut of left-hander Cole Ragans, who was filthy through 2 2/3 innings in relief of Ryan Yarbrough -- he allowed just a pair of soft-hit singles, and struck out five with no walks. Carlos Hernandez also rebounded after a rough outing against the Rays on Friday, tossing a pair of scoreless innings with a couple of strikeouts. Ragans was one of the two players returned from the Rangers in the Aroldis Chapman deal.

"That's kind of what we envisioned when we got him over here," said manager Matt Quatraro of his new lefty. "He'll mix in a cutter against right-handed hitters that was real, real effective tonight, and why he was so successful."

Detroit spread around the offense, with four different players each driving in one run. Spencer Torkelson had the big blast, hitting a solo shot against Yarbrough in the fifth that finally ran him from the game in favor of Ragans. Andy Ibanez, Javier Baez, and Akil Baddoo each collected a pair of hits to back up Torkelson's day.

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
July 19th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit Tigers (44-52)	1	3	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	8	15	0
Kansas City Royals (27-70)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	7	1
W: Tarik Skubal (1-1) L: Alec Marsh (0-3) S: None

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023
With their 8-1 loss on Wednesday, the Royals reached a sad milestone -- they're the second team to reach 70 losses this season (only Oakland has more), and are on pace for the worst win total in team history, just forty-five victories against 115 losses.

Six of their seven hits came from just three players, and the only RBI was on a fielder's choice in the sixth as Bobby Witt Jr drove in his 48th run of the season on that play. He was not one of the four players in the lineup to get a hit, going 0-for-4.

After back-to-back starts in which he totalled eleven innings and just four earned runs, rookie Alec Marsh took a step back on Wednesday night in allowing five earned runs on nine hits in just 2 1/3 innings, giving way to Jonathan Heasley. Heasley was outstanding, keeping the Tigers off the board until the seventh inning when Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homerun to put the game out of reach.

"It really comes down to how my fastball is commanded," a frustrated Marsh said outside the locker room after the game. "If it's up in the zone, I'm keeping their eye level up, and then that makes my secondary stuff work. It was too down in the zone, and it just got hit hard over and over."

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
July 20th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit Tigers (44-53)	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	5	10	0
Kansas City Royals (28-70)	2	0	0	2	4	0	0	0	X	8	12	1
W: Zack Greinke (2-9) L: Michael Lorenzen (4-7) S: Scott Barlow (13)

Thursday, July 20th, 2023
It wasn't the kind of performance that Zack Greinke would have liked in his first start coming off the injured list. He allowed four earned runs (five total) over five innings, allowing nine hits with three strikeouts.

However, he was picked up by strong performances from the bullpen and lineup, with the bottom five hitters collecting nine of the team's dozen hits, and accounting for seven of their eight RBI as the Royals salvaged the final game of their series with the Tigers by an 8-5 score.

It's just the second victory of the season for Greinke against nine defeats, breaking a streak of five straight losing decisions. His only other win this season was all the way back on May 3rd, a 6-0 shutout victory at home over the Orioles in which he scattered three hits and three strikeouts in five shutout frames.

Kyle Isbel also collected a pair of hits out of the number-two spot in the order, as he's been one of the hotter hitters in the American League over the last seven days. Edward Olivares was 2-for-4 in his first game back off the injured list, driving in two runs and stealing his ninth base of the season.

Four relievers each pitched a scoreless frame -- Nick Wittgren, Dylan Coleman, Carlos Hernandez, and Scott Barlow all put up goose eggs to keep the Tigers' bats silent over the back half of the contest. Barlow's save was his thirteenth of the season, and seems to be getting hot at the right time with the trade deadline approaching on August 2nd.

UP NEXT: at New York Yankees (07/21 -- 07/23)

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KANSAS CITY @ NY YANKEES (07/21 -- 07/23)

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Series Recap: New York Yankees

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 24th, 2023

Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees
July 21st, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (28-71)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	5	8	0
New York Yankees (54-44)	2	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	X	7	11	0
W: Clarke Schmidt (6-6) L: Brady Singer (5-9) S: Clay Holmes (13)

Friday, July 21st, 2023
Former Royal outfielder Franchy Cordero went 2-for-4 on Friday night -- his fifth-inning grand slam ended up being the key blow in the Royals' 7-5 defeat to open a series in the Bronx. At the time, the slam put the Yankees up 7-1; and seemed to be the exclamation point on another blowout loss, but the Royals did make it interesting in the late innings, scoring four runs in the eighth to close the gap to two.

Brady Singer was tagged with all seven earned runs in the defeat, raising his ERA to 5.98. The ultra-competitive Singer also ended up bashing in a Gatorade cooler in the dugout that was caught on camera.

"I'm not going to fault guys for being competitive, as Brady falls into that category for sure," manager Matt Quatraro mused. "As far as how he pitched, I think he'd tell you that it wasn't his best outing, but he felt good prior to the game, so make of that what you will."

Kyle Isbel is quietly putting together a solid second half to date, going 2-for-3 with his fourth homerun of the season. Over the past week, he's hitting a blistering .500 (12-for-24) with a double, homerun, and a couple of walks. He's struck out just once in that time frame, and has a stolen base as well.

"We had our chances in other innings to push runs across and couldn't get it done," manager Matt Quatraro noted. "It was just too little, too late, but I do like how we competed and made a contest of it in the late innings."

Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees
July 22nd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (28-72)	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	7	0
New York Yankees (55-44)	1	3	0	2	0	0	2	0	X	8	15	0
W: Gerrit Cole (10-2) L: Daniel Lynch (2-5) S: None

Saturday, July 22nd, 2023
The team's struggles in the second half continued on Saturday night, as the Yankees scored in three of their first four innings on their way to claiming an 8-2 victory. Daniel Lynch was tagged for six earned runs on ten hits over four innings, taking the loss, his fifth of the season against two wins.

"Lot of stuff got elevated," Lynch lamented in the post-game interviews. "In this park, you can't get stuff in the air, especially to that short porch in right."

New York pounded out fifteen hits in all, with Gleyber Torres and DJ Lemahieu leading the way with four and three hits, respectively. Torres, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Jose Trevino also hit homeruns off Lynch. For Kiner-Falefa, it was his first homerun since June 29th.

Eight of the nine Royals hitters reached base safely (Salvador Perez the lone exception), but they were unable to string much of anything together, getting only single tallies in the sixth and seventh innings. Two doubles in the sixth gave them their first run, but only could get one in the seventh despite getting the first two hitters on base safely. Back-to-back fielder's choice plated the second run, before a groundout ended the inning.

Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees
July 23rd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (28-72)	1	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	5	11	2
New York Yankees (55-45)	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	4	8	1
W: Jordan Lyles (2-12) L: Luis Severino (1-6) S: Scott Barlow (14)

Sunday, July 23rd, 2023
The Royals avoided a road sweep in New York, getting some timely hitting late in the game and a great effort from the bullpen to take a 5-4 victory. Bobby Witt Jr was 2-for-4 with a couple of RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base to lead the way offensively.

Salvador Perez drove in two of the Royals' other three runs with a sac fly and a single, but pulled up lame as he rounded first on the third-inning single. Matt Quatraro noted in the post-game interview outside the locker room that he'd be listed day-to-day.

"Yeah, it looks like it's something with his plant foot, his left foot," he said. "It doesn't appear to be too serious at this point, but we'll take it day-by-day and go from there."

Sunday also marked the second straight start for a veteran Royals free agent signee pitcher to pick up their second win of the season -- Jordan Lyles got it done with six innings, allowing three runs on five hits, striking out four with just one walk.

Scott Barlow picked up his 14th save of the season in the ninth, working around a two-out walk. Jose Cuas and Carlos Hernandez also appeared, with Hernandez allowing a solo homerun to Anthony Rizzo after coaxing a double play out of Giancarlo Stanton.

Strangely enough, Hernandez's homerun allowed was scored as an unearned run. Aaron Judge, who reached via error to start the inning as a pinch hitter; was put out on Stanton's double play, which immediately preceded Rizzo's homerun.

UP NEXT: at New York Yankees (07/24 -- 07/26)

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KANSAS CITY @ CLEVELAND (07/24 -- 07/26)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Cleveland Guardians

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 27th, 2023

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
July 24th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (29-73)	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	4	12	1
Cleveland Guardians (53-47)	0	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	X	6	9	0
W: Logan Allen (5-2) L: Ryan Yarbrough (2-6) S: Emmanuel Clase (29)

Monday, July 24th, 2023
The Royals pounded out eleven hits, including four hits and a walk from Bobby Witt Jr, but the Royals couldn't overcome a more balanced attack from the Guardians as the Royals fell 6-4 to open a three-game set in Cleveland.

Salvador Perez also hit his 200th career homerun as a catcher, becoming the 10th player in league history to reach that mark.

The subject of some trade talks in recent days, lefty Ryan Yarbrough was knocked around a bit in allowing six earned runs over 4 2/3 innings, but wasn't really hit hard until the fifth inning, when he allowed four of his six earned runs. He scattered seven hits and three walks, striking out three.

"He's still kind of coming around from getting struck by the line drive, and we're seeing how far we can push him and what his comfort level is," manager Matt Quatraro said in the post-game interview. "It seemed to me that he was beginning to labor a bit in the fourth inning, but got through that one okay, so we decided to go to a fifth."

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
July 25th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (30-73)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	4	8	0
Cleveland Guardians (53-48)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
W: Zack Greinke (3-9) L: Aaron Civale (4-4) S: None

Tuesday, July 25th, 2023
Despite not playing at 100%, Salvador Perez continues to produce as he went 1-for-3 with a sac fly and a two-run double in the eighth to key the Royals' 4-0 win over the Guardians to even up the series. Zack Greinke tossed 6 2/3 shutout frames, allowing just four hits and a walk with four strikeouts to move to 3-9 on the season.

Greinke threw just seventy-five pitches in the abbreviated outing, throwing fifty-one of them for strikes. It was a nice duel between him and Guardians starter Aaron Civale, who fanned eleven over seven innings of work, but was the tough-luck loser by allowing just one earned run.

Maikel Garcia, Kyle Isbel, and Bobby Witt Jr each collected a pair of hits, with one of Witt's a double. Nick Wittgren pitched the final two innings against his former team, retiring all six hitters he faced with three of them by strikeout.

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
July 26th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (30-74)	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	9	1
Cleveland Guardians (54-48)	0	0	0	1	5	1	1	1	X	9	13	0
W: Gavin Williams (2-1) L: Alec Marsh (0-4) S: Emmanuel Clase (30)

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023
Bobby Witt Jr hit a pair of solo homeruns, but it wasn't enough as the Guardians scored in their final five half-innings to put up a 9-4 victory over the Royals to win the rubber match of the series.

Witt was 2-for-4 with his 15th and 16th homeruns of the season, and also drew a walk in the ninth to load the bases. It's his third straight game with a walk, the first time in his career he's done that.

His first homerun came in the first inning, driving a 400-plus foot blast off Gavin Williams to give the Royals the early advantage. They piled on two more in the second against Williams, as Nick Pratto and Kyle Isbel piled on RBI hits to give them a 3-0 lead after just two frames.

They held a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, but the Guardians tacked on a five-spot to push them in front; and until the ninth inning, Kansas City never really threatened again.

They loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning against James Karinchak, but Emmanuel Clase came in and got MJ Melendez to fly out to left with Salvador Perez waiting on deck.

UP NEXT: vs Minnesota Twins (07/28 -- 07/30)