Straight Outta Kauffman (OOTP 24)

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MINNESOTA @ KANSAS CITY (07/28 -- 07/30)

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Series Recap: Minnesota Twins

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | July 31st, 2023

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
July 28th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota Twins (56-49)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
Kansas City Royals (30-75)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
W: Sonny Gray (7-3) L: Brady Singer (5-10) S: Jhoan Duran (19)

Friday, July 28th, 2023
Brady Singer might have taken the loss in the Royals' 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Twins, but he left little doubt he was the best pitcher that took to the mound on Friday night. He went 7 1/3 innings, striking out four with just four hits and a walk scattered. His only blemish? A solo homerun off the bat of Byron Buxton in the fifth inning that the Royals could never counter.

"My heart goes out to Brady for competing and pretty much matching the Twins pitch-for-pitch," said manager Matt Quatraro. "It's a shame that he's not walking out of here and going home as the victor, but he absolutely kept us in the game and we just couldn't get anything across for him."

Indeed, Quatraro was correct -- the Royals left ten men on base throughout the game, including getting runners at second and third with no one out in the bottom of the ninth. However, not one of them scored as Jhoan Duran bore down and got the final three outs for the tough save.

The only offense the Royals could get was from Kyle Isbel, who singled, doubled, walked twice, and stole a base as he continues to put together a very strong second half of the season. Bobby Witt Jr and Maikel Garcia also reached base twice, each going 1-for-3 with a walk.

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
July 29th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota Twins (56-50)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	5	0
Kansas City Royals (31-75)	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	2	X	6	12	0
W: Jordan Lyles (3-12) L: Bailey Ober (6-6) S: None

Saturday, July 29th, 2023
For only the fourth time this season, Jordan Lyles went at least seven innings; but for the first time in any of those four starts he picked up the victory as the Royals evened the series with Minnesota with a 6-2 victory.

Matt Duffy and Maikel Garcia picked up two RBI each to back up Lyles' solid effort, although Lyles allowed five walks as part of his day. Lyles was 0-and-3 in those previous starts, including a complete-game losing effort at home against the White Sox back on May 9th.

Kansas City's bats overcame ten strikeouts at the hands of Bailey Ober, who went 5 2/3 innings in scattering seven hits and a walk as the losing pitcher, falling to 6-6 on the season.

Edward Olivares went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, including an RBI double just two batters prior to Duffy's two-run single to give Kansas City their largest lead of the game at the time.

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
July 30th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota Twins (56-51)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	11	1
Kansas City Royals (32-75)	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	X	4	11	0
W: Ryan Yarbrough (3-6) L: Kenta Maeda (4-7) S: Scott Barlow (15)

Sunday, July 30th, 2023
Closer Scott Barlow worked around a one-out solo homerun off the bat of Royce Lewis, eventually locking down the ninth to record his 15th save in a 4-3 win over the Twins, giving the Royals their first series win since taking two of three from the Dodgers back on June 30th through July 2nd.

Ryan Yarbrough took the ball for the series finale; and while he struck out just one hitter over 5 1/3 innings, he scattered eight hits and two runs, walking nobody. Four relievers combined to hold down the slim lead, as only Nick Wittgren pitched a clean outing, throwing just two pitches to get a double play and get out of a Yarbrough jam in the sixth.

Minnesota took a 2-0 lead after one half-inning, but the Royals battled back in the middle innings with a Drew Waters two-run double in the fourth, and RBI hits from Bobby Witt Jr and Salvador Perez in the fifth. Perez, Dairon Blanco, and Nicky Lopez each collected a pair of hits, while Maikel Garcia's fifth inning single extended his hitting streak to a career high fifteen games.

That streak is tied for the longest hit streak in team history for a rookie, joining David DeJesus (2004) and Mike Moustakas (2011). His streak is also the longest active hit streak in the league.

UP NEXT: vs New York Mets (08/01 -- 08/03)

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NY METS @ KANSAS CITY (08/01 -- 08/03)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: New York Mets

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | August 4th, 2023

New York Mets at Kansas City Royals
August 1st, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Mets (51-55)	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	11	0
Kansas City Royals (33-75)	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	X	5	10	0
W: Taylor Clarke (3-3) L: Brooks Raley (2-2) S: Carlos Hernandez (1)

Tuesday, August 1st, 2023
Among the busiest teams at the deadline, the Royals and Mets then met on the field for the first of three games in Kansas City. Behind Freddy Fermin's three hits and four RBI, including a two-run double and two-run homerun, the latter of which broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth, the Royals went on to win by a 5-3 score.

With closer Scott Barlow having been traded to the Padres hours before first pitch, Carlos Hernandez took to the mound in the ninth and picked up his first save of the season, working around a leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Brandon Nimmo. Newcomer Tucker Davidson, who also arrived at the stadium a few hours prior to the game, pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in his Royals debut.

"It's been a whirlwind kind of day," manager Matt Quatraro mused, a bit of a pained look on his face. "We've said goodbye to handful of guys in the last few days who have been here for multiple seasons, some of them were drafted by this organization. We've said hello to another handful of guys coming in from other places. Then, to come out and put together a nice comeback win is a great way to top it all off."

Needing a hit to keep his hitting streak alive, Maikel Garcia singled to lead off the eighth, breaking the team's rookie hitting streak record with his 16th straight game with a hit. Salvador Perez would later single him home, as Perez has three straight multiple-hit games.

New York Mets at Kansas City Royals
August 2nd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Mets (51-56)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	4	0
Kansas City Royals (34-75)	0	1	0	0	2	0	3	3	X	9	15	0
W: Angel Zerpa (1-0) L: Joey Lucchesi (1-1) S: Dylan Coleman (1)

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023
Pitching for the first time since July 18th after a brief IL stint in the minors, Cole Ragans tossed five shutout innings to help lead the Royals to a 9-3 victory. In two appearances with the Royals, Ragans has allowed just three hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in 7 2/3 scoreless frames.

However, he was not included in the decision, as the Mets were able to erase a 3-0 lead in the seventh with a trio of runs, topped off by a two-run pinch-hit homerun from Abraham Almonte against lefty Angel Zerpa took Ragans out of the running for the victory.

In the following two half-innings for the Royals, they scored three runs in each inning, including a two-run double from Salvador Perez in the seventh, and a two-run, two-base hit from Bobby Witt Jr in the following inning. In fact, the top of the Royals' order did the majority of the damage offensively, going 11-for-20 with seven runs scored and seven RBI.

Perez, Witt Jr, and Maikel Garcia each had three hits, while MJ Melendez went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the eighth.

New York Mets at Kansas City Royals
August 3rd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Mets (51-57)	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	7	0
Kansas City Royals (35-75)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	X	5	8	1
W: Austin Cox (1-1) L: Adam Ottavino (1-4) S: Carlos Hernandez (2)

Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
For the third straight game, the Royals broke a late-game tie with an extra-base hit, this time hanging on for a 5-4 victory to sweep the three-game series with the Mets. MJ Melendez went 3-for-4 with a homerun and a pair of singles, hitting the go-ahead solo homerun off Adam Ottavino in the eighth. It was preceded by a pinch-hit homerun from Kyle Isbel a few batters earlier, as he drilled a two-run shot against starter Carlos Carrasco to tie the game.

Daniel Lynch took the ball to begin the game, pitching a scoreless inning while working around a walk and striking out two. However, he had to leave after just the one inning with shoulder tightness, leading to manager Matt Quatraro putting in Alec Marsh in a 'follower' type situation.

"That was not the original intent, but Dan going out after one inning kind of led us into that situation," said Quatraro. "Alec had a few moments here and there where his command failed him, but he allowed our offense to make some stuff happen late, so he was successful in that regard."

Marsh allowed four earned runs in six innings out of the bullpen, walking a pair with three strikeouts. Austin Cox, who pitched the eighth inning, picked up the victory, which was his first MLB win.

Salvador Perez's first-inning homerun extended his hitting streak to five games, and has hit in nine of his last ten games. Maikel Garcia's double in the first inning extended his MLB-best hitting streak to eighteen games. The Royals will begin a three-game series in Philly on Friday night.

UP NEXT: at Philadelphia Phillies (08/04 -- 08/06)

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KANSAS CITY @ PHILADELPHIA (08/04 -- 08/06)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Philadelphia Phillies

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | August 7th, 2023

Kansas City Royals at Philadelphia Phillies
August 4th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (35-76)	2	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	2	7	12	1
Philadelphia Phillies (58-52)	2	2	1	0	1	0	2	0	X	8	12	0
W: Andrew Vasquez (3-0) L: Austin Cox (1-2) S: Craig Kimbrel (21)

Friday, August 4th, 2023
In spite of making Phillies fans sweat in the ninth, the Royals ultimately fell short in their series-opening loss, suffering an 8-7 defeat. Maikel Garcia led off the ninth with a single; and after Bobby Witt Jr's flyout, Michael Massey muscled up for his fifth homerun of the season off Craig Kimbrel, pulling the Royals to within one.

Still with one out, Salvador Perez singled and was replaced by Drew Waters at first. But Edward Olivares struck out and Samad Taylor, who pinch-ran for MJ Melendez earlier in the game, popped out to center to halt the Royals' season-high winning streak at five.

Brady Singer continued his up-and-down season, as he was tagged for five runs (three earned) over three innings, only getting seventy-seven pitches before getting taken out in favor of Austin Cox, who went two innings with one earned run. Nick Wittgren and Tucker Davidson split the final two innings, with Davidson the only one to come away unscathed in the run column.

"Even though we lost, the fight is there, and that's something that still can be built upon," manager Matt Quatraro lamented in the post-game interview outside the visitors' locker room. "We were down late, and we had a real chance to win that thing with just one out and Drew (Waters), a good speed guy at first. Just didn't work out."

Massey's homerun was his only hit of the game, but he also walked and scored twice. Garcia, Perez, and Olivares all collected a pair of hits each, while Dairon Blanco went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, although he was also caught once.

Kansas City Royals at Philadelphia Phillies
August 5th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (36-76)	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	6	12	0
Philadelphia Phillies (58-53)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1
W: Jordan Lyles (4-12) L:Ranger Suarez (5-6) S: None

Saturday, August 5th, 2023
After just one win in his first eighteen starts of the season, Jordan Lyles has now won his last three starts, the latest a 6-1 win over the Phillies to help even the series at one win each.

Maikel Garcia lost his hitting streak at nineteen games, but it set a new Royals rookie mark by four games. Edward Olivares was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and RBI, and MJ Melendez hit his eighth homerun of the season in a pinch-hit appearance.

Lyles has actually been very good over his last five starts -- in those appearances, he's totalled 29 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs or less in all of them (eight total), with seventeen strikeouts. His walk totals have been a little high, but he's allowed just twenty-three hits with only two of them being homeruns.

"This is the best stretch he's had all year," manager Matt Quatraro said with a grin. "His stuff is just working really well, keeping things down, and the results have been really good."

RBI singles from Edward Olivares, Drew Waters, and Bobby Witt Jr keyed a three-run second inning that gave the Royals the lead for the entirety of the game. Philadelphia scored just once in the bottom half of that inning on a J.T. Realmuto homerun, and never really threatened again as they scattered just four baserunners over their final seven at-bats.

Five different Royals collected two hits, including Samad Taylor, who had to leave the game after an awkward head-first slide into second base on a fielder's choice. He left the game under his own power, favoring his right shoulder. His replacement, Matt Beaty, also collected a pair of hits, driving in a run in the late innings.

Kansas City Royals at Philadelphia Phillies
August 5th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (37-76)	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	4	9	0
Philadelphia Phillies (58-54)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	1
W: Zack Greinke (4-9) L: Zack Wheeler (8-7) S: None

Sunday, August 6th, 2023
A four-run fifth inning, capped off by a three-run homerun from MJ Melendez, the Royals raced past Philadelphia 4-1 to secure the series victory. It's the ninth homerun of the season for Melendez, and his third dinger in his last four games. There was little other offense, as Matt Duffy's RBI single just three hitters earlier produced the only other Royals' run on the day.

But it's all they would need with Zack Greinke holding the Phillies' offense in check in the battle of the Zacks, with Zack Wheeler countering him for Philadelphia. The Royals' veteran righty held Philly to just one earned run on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, walking only one with a couple of strikeouts.

The bullpen was nails behind him too, as Tucker Davidson, Nick Wittgren, and Carlos Hernandez brought the victory home. Hernandez picked up his third save since assuming the closer's role, working around a leadoff hit.

However, it was revealed after the game that Greinke's removal from the game was unplanned, as he was evaluated after the game with elbow discomfort per manager Matt Quatraro. He's listed as day-to-day, but an injured list stint isn't out of the question for the 39-year-old righty. He threw just eighty-one pitches in the game.

Davidson, a trade-deadline pickup from the Angels for cash considerations, struck out three hitters in 1 1/3 innings of work, coming in directly for Greinke in the sixth inning. It's early, but he's been a nice pickup for JJ Picollo and the Royals as they continue their search for lefty bullpen help.

A trip to Boston looms as they'll play four in Fenway starting tonight. The Red Sox are likely out of the running for the AL East, but they sit just a half-game back of the last wildcard spot in the American League.

UP NEXT: at Boston Red Sox (08/07 -- 08/10)

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ROYALS NEWS (08/07)

INJURIES BEGINNING TO PILE UP

In addition to pitchers Taylor Clarke and Daniel Lynch going on the 15-day injured list prior to the Philadelphia series, the Royals placed both right-hander Zack Greinke and utility player Samad Taylor on the 15-day and 10-day injured lists, respectively. Greinke will likely miss the next three to four weeks with elbow soreness, while Taylor is out with a shoulder injury. It was not disclosed how long he'd be out.

Infielder Nate Eaton and lefty Taylor Hearn were re-called to take their spots on the roster. Hearn was acquired from the Braves for Nicky Lopez back on the 28th of July. Hearn actually didn't get into a game for Omaha prior to being re-called, as he was recovering from a minor finger tendon strain on his pitching hand at the time of the deal. He's not expected to be in uniform for the series opener with the Red Sox tonight, but should be available on Tuesday night going forward.

Hearn's presence now gives the Royals a bevy of southpaws on the active roster, with Hearn and Angel Zerpa the latest adds. They join Austin Cox, Cole Ragans, and Tucker Davidson. Ragans and Davidson have been impressive since joining the club, while Zerpa has only appeared in one contest to date. Quatraro also mentioned they plan to move Zerpa into the rotation at some point, but for right now will work out of the bullpen.

Eaton was just 4-for-53 (.075!) with the Royals before being sent down much earlier in the season, but has been very good with the Storm Chasers since. He's racked up an .881 OPS in 243 plate appearances since, and has split time at all three outfield spots and third base. His last game with the Royals was on June 23rd, a pinch-hit appearance in a double-header with Tampa Bay. He was sent down after that; prior to that, his last extended appearance on the roster ended on May 23rd.

"It's unfortunate with Samad being out, but Nate gives us the same versatility as Samad does, maybe with a little less speed," manager Matt Quatraro noted in his Monday morning remote presser with the media. "All the reports we've received on Nate since being sent down have been really positive, so we're looking forward to getting him back on the field."

In other injury news, the Royals also announced that 2023 draftees Spencer Nivens and Josh Hansell would miss the rest of the season, while catching prospect Jose Medina would also miss the remainder of the season with an Achilles tear.

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KANSAS CITY @ BOSTON (08/07 -- 08/10)

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Series Recap: Boston Red Sox

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | August 11th, 2023

Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox
August 7th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (38-76)	1	4	0	1	1	4	1	2	0	14	18	0
Boston Red Sox (59-53)	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	3	6	12	0
W: Nick Wittgren (1-1) L: Garrett Whitlock (5-4) S: None

Monday, August 7th, 2023
With at least one run in every inning except the third and ninth innings, the Royals routed the Red Sox 14-6 to open a four-game series in Beantown. Maikel Garcia was 3-for-4 with a pair of walks, scoring four times, and driving in three runs of his own.

Ten of their eighteen hits were for extra bases, including nine doubles. Drew Waters himself had three of the doubles, with Dairon Blanco hitting a pair. In all, the Royals' top four hitters in the order combined to go 12-for-20 (.600), with eight runs scored and ten RBI.

On the mound, Cole Ragans continues to flash the promise that made him a first-round pick back in 2016, going four shutout innings before finally running out of gas in the fifth as the Royals continue to try and stretch him out. In all, he surrendered two earned runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings, walking just one with three strikeouts. Nick Wittgren, who relieved him in the fifth, picked up the win with 1 1/3 scoreless.

"It's a shame he didn't get some more swings and misses, because he was around the strike zone with some really good stuff," pitching coach Brian Sweeney of Ragans, who was the Royals' coach at the podium after the game with Matt Quatraro tending to a personal matter. "Some of the hits they had weren't hard hit at all, so sometimes you have to chalk it up to bad luck on those."

Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox
August 8th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (39-76)	2	3	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	8	11	0
Boston Red Sox (59-54)	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	9	2
W: Angel Zerpa (2-0) L: James Paxton (8-2) S: None

Tuesday, August 8th, 2023
The offense continued to shine on Tuesday night, with the Royals pounding out eleven more hits on their way to an 8-3 win over the Red Sox, securing at least a split of the four-game series. Bobby Witt Jr went 4-for-5, falling just a triple short of the cycle while driving in three of the Royals' eight runs.

MJ Melendez also continued to swing a hot stick, going 3-for-5 with a couple of RBI, including his 10th homerun of the season. He joins Witt and Salvador Perez as the only Royals with double-digit homeruns this season.

Alec Marsh took to the bump for his sixth start of the season, and after a rough start in allowing three earned runs over his first two innings, put up zeroes over his final two innings, striking out seven total. He allowed three hits and walked three.

A pair of lefties in Angel Zerpa and Tucker Davidson combined for five scoreless innings, with Davidson pitching the final two frames. Zerpa was the winning pitcher, scattering three hits to go with four strikeouts.

"Just a tremendous team effort tonight," manager Matt Quatraro said, as his team is one of the hottest in baseball. "Alec got hit a bit in the first few innings, but settled in and did a nice job, along with Angel and Tucker. The offense backed them up all night."

Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox
August 9th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (39-77)	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	3	9	2
Boston Red Sox (60-54)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	4	7	0
W: Wyatt Mills (1-0) L: Dylan Coleman (0-1) S: None

Wednesday, August 9th, 2023
Things looked to be heading in the right direction on Wednesday night, as the Royals were primed to win their eighth game against just one loss through August so far. But Masataka Yoshida had other ideas, hitting a two-run, two-out walk-off homerun against Dylan Coleman as the Red Sox staved off a series defeat for at least one night in handing the Royals a 4-3 loss.

Brady Singer was outstanding, tossing seven innings of one-run baseball with six strikeouts and just one walk. Austin Cox relieved him for the eighth; and while giving up three walks and an earned run, he managed to hand the game over to Coleman with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth. He got out of it with a strikeout.

Coleman also managed to get the first two outs of the ninth before Jarren Duran singled and moved over to second on a pickoff throw error. Two pitches later, Yoshida grooved a fastball just inside Pesky's Pole to send Boston home a winner.

Michael Massey led the Royals offensively with two RBI, including a late solo homerun that broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning. Maikel Garcia went 2-for-5, driving in the other Royals tally with a single.

Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox
August 10th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (39-78)	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	10	0
Boston Red Sox (61-54)	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	X	5	9	0
W: Wyatt Mills (1-0) L: Dylan Coleman (0-1) S: None

Thursday, August 10th, 2023
It wasn't quite the walk-off Wednesday night, but the Red Sox used some clutch hitting late to defeat the Royals 5-3, securing a split of the series as Kansas City now heads back home to face the Cardinals for two games today and Saturday, prior to a rare Sunday off-day.

Corey Kluber, who has had the Royals' number over his long career, once again nailed down the Royals with just one run allowed over six innings, striking out seven to pick up the victory.

Jordan Lyles saw his winning streak snapped, as he took the loss in allowing three earned runs with six walks against just three strikeouts. Taylor Hearn also made his Royals debut in relief of Lyles, and was solid until leaving the bases loaded with one out in the seventh inning.

Nick Wittgren came in, and after giving up the go-ahead two-run single by Rob Refsnyder, settled in and got the final two outs.

Edward Olivares led the Royals with three hits, while Dairon Blanco doubled twice in going 2-for-4. Blanco's last four hits have been doubles, which has raised his OPS to .740, slightly above league average in OPS+ (102). Bobby Witt Jr hit his 18th homerun in the first inning, moving to within one of team leader Salvador Perez.

UP NEXT: vs St. Louis Cardinals (08/11 -- 08/12)

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ST. LOUIS @ KANSAS CITY (08/11 -- 08/12)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: St. Louis Cardinals

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | August 13th, 2023

St. Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals
August 11th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
St. Louis Cardinals (53-64)	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	8	0
Kansas City Royals (39-79)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	0
W: John King (2-1) L: Carlos Hernandez (0-6) S: Ryan Helsley (13)

Friday, August 11th, 2023
In spite of the best efforts of Bobby Witt Jr, the Royals couldn't hold a slim lead in the late innings, as St. Louis scored single tallies in the seventh and ninth innings to take the front end of a two-game set in Kansas City.

Witt was 3-for-4 with a two-run homerun in the third inning, which accounted for the only runs the Royals scored.

Kramer Robertson collected the game-winning hit, a single off Royals closer Carlos Hernandez to break a 2-2 tie. Kansas City went down meekly in the final inning, striking out twice while closer Ryan Helsley threw all of nine pitches to pick up the save.

Just two days after blowing a save in Boston, Dylan Coleman got the ball to start as an opener, working just two-thirds of an inning before Austin Cox took over. Cox worked to twelve hitters, retiring all of them in order, including four by strikeout.

"The plan was to go with him no more than an inning, but we were hopeful he could get through that," manager Matt Quatraro mused. "Austin came in and did a nice job in keeping us in the game, but we missed some opportunities early on to put runs on the board, and we just didn't get it done."

St. Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals
August 12th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
St. Louis Cardinals (53-65)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
Kansas City Royals (40-79)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	X	2	8	0
W: Cole Ragans (3-3) L: Keone Kela (0-1) S: Tucker Davidson (3)

Saturday, August 12th, 2023
Royals left-hander Cole Ragans allowed just one earned run over five innings, and three relievers combined to hold a 2-1 lead from the sixth inning on as the Royals split the two-game home series with the Cardinals by a 2-1 count, becoming the next-to-last team to reach the 40-win mark in 2023.

Matt Duffy's fourth-inning two-run single was all the offense the Royals would need. He was perfect on the day, going 3-for-3 with three singles and a walk.

Edward Olivares also had a couple of hits, but was sent down to Omaha earlier this morning with Drew Waters coming off the bereavement list. Kyle Isbel was 1-for-4, stealing a couple of bases to give him eight on the season.

"Cole just looks like a completely different pitcher with us than he did with Texas earlier this season," manager Matt Quatraro said of Ragans in the post-game interview outside the Royals' locker room after the victory. "He's been working on a slider, and that pitch has become front and center as to why he's doing what he's doing right now."

James McArthur worked the sixth and seventh innings, tossing two scoreless innings in his best outing since coming over in an early season trade with Philadelphia. He struck out four and allowed just one hit. Nick Wittgren pitched a scoreless eighth, and Tucker Davidson came in for the save in the ninth, his first with the Royals.

Tomorrow, it's a rare day off on a Sunday; with the Royals then continuing the homestand with a four-game set against the Mariners beginning on Monday. Despite it being at home, it will be a tough series with two All-Stars in George Kirby and Luis Castillo set to pitch, along with youngster Logan Gilbert and underrated southpaw Marco Gonzales.

UP NEXT: vs Seattle Mariners (08/14 -- 08/17)

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ROYALS MAILBAG (08/13)

2023 Mailbag, Vol. 4

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | August 13th, 2023

With both the draft and the trade deadline firmly in the rearview mirror, the next iteration of the mailbag will recap those two events, while we also delve into the topic of what progress looks like over the next few years as the Royals try to get back to respectability, and whether or not the Royals believe Freddy Fermin might be a long-term solution behind the plate.

Thoughts on the Royals' draft now that they're all signed?

There's little to draw from, but from what has transpired it's a mixed bag. Seventh-round pick Trevor Werner has been the best of the class to date, earning a promotion to Single-A Columbus just yesterday on the strength of a .371/.463/.943 slash line in a scant 41 plate appearances with the short-season rookie club. Jared Dickey (11th round) is another standout, but for a strange reason -- he has a .206/.438/.294 slash, with a whopping fourteen walks in just forty-eight plate appearances, which is a redonk 29.2% BB rate.

Fifth-round selection Spencer Nivens was recently placed on the injured list with a hamstring injury; however, prior to that he had an utterly ridiculous .542/.621/1.125 slash in twenty-nine trips to the dish with the short-season team. He's not expected to return before the end of short-season ball, but with the upper minors continuing on into September, it seems likely that he could get a promotion to Single-A upon his return given the white-hot bat he was swinging at the time of his injury.

On the downside, top pick Blake Mitchell has been underwhelming. Slow starts aren't uncommon for high draft picks right out of high school, but ideally he picks it up over the next few weeks, finishes strong, and begins 2024 with Single-A. He has no extra base hits with 15 strikeouts to just three walks in 43 plate appearances. Wooooof. He has received some pretty high praise for his receiving so far, but it's a pretty limited sample and he's just 2-for-7 throwing base-stealers out.

Other top picks in Blake Wolters and outfielder Carson Roccaforte have been on the underwhelming side as well, but the latter did break out a bit with a 3-for-4 night on Friday, including his first pro homerun, so maybe that's the start of his turnaround. Wolters has made three short starts, and while he has an 8.31 ERA through 8 2/3 innings with seven walks, he's fanned fourteen and has flashed upper 90's heat to go with pretty solid offerings with his slider and changeup. He's also done for the year, as he's been shut down for the remainder of 2023.

Some notables -- 16th-round selection Josh Hansell has posted a 1.35 ERA in 6 2/3 innings (two appearances), but left the last outing with forearm tightness that ended up being diagnosed as a torn elbow ligament, and will need surgery. He could possibly miss all of 2024 as well as the rest of this season. There are also some others that have yet to appear, but are likely to get some work over the next few weeks -- I'm particularly interested in Hunter Owen (fourth round), as he might have gone higher had arm fatigue issues not popped up this last season. Coleman Picard (sixth round) is a hard-throwing righty that sported one of the better curves in the college game, some labeling it a legitimate 65-grade offering at this point.

Thoughts on the trade deadline?

The only trade that was made that made little to no sense was the Nicky Lopez-for-Taylor Hearn swap. Getting Tucker Davidson from the Angels for just cash has been a sneaky good move -- so far. The other trades, there's just not enough data points to even make an initial analysis. I'm not counting the Chapman-for-Cole Ragans swap from late June, as that's not technically at or near the deadline, but that one is looking really solid to this point.

I'm intrigued with Nelson Velazquez, acquired in the Jose Cuas swap with the Cubs. If he can figure out his swing-and-miss issues, he's a 20+ homerun bat with 55-60 grade power. He can play all three outfield positions, and he still has another option year in 2024. I can't help but think he's insurance for someone like Tyler Gentry, who has slipped a bit in 2023 down in Omaha (although he's hit .302 since July 1st).

Devin Mann, received in the Ryan Yarbrough swap with the Dodgers, is another bat-first player who can play multiple spots, but really isn't good, or even average at any of them except for first base. He's actually very, very similar to Hunter Dozier in skillset, which isn't a bad thing necessarily. He's also going to be going into his age-27 season in 2024, so you can't really call him a prospect despite zero MLB service days and relatively strong minor league production to date.

The highest-rated prospect received was Henry Williams, a 2022 third-round draftee acquired in the Scott Barlow trade with San Diego. Williams was a fringe top ten prospect with the Padres, but Clint Scoles, who covers the Royals' minor leagues for another site, noted he'd put Williams somewhere in the top four, which is a bit of an indictment on the current state of the system. Scoles also noted that Williams will need at least one of his secondary offerings (slider, changeup) to elevate to an out pitch, as his fastball currently has sat in the 91-93 range in his first full pro season, and has not missed a ton of bats (10.7% miss rate) with the pitch between Single and High-A.

How long does Picollo get? 2024? 2025? What's the criteria for progress?

The clock on JJ Picollo should begin the moment the final game of the World Series ends this year. To me, that's when the moves that have been made in the past year-plus he's been in the big seat should have enough evidence to say, 'OK, what are we working with here," and "How do we get better going forward?"

It's pretty clear the Royals, barring a huge winning stretch in the final six weeks, are going to exceed a hundred losses, maybe 105 if they really scuffle. They won't be competing for anything in 2024, but clear progress needs to be made towards being competitive in 2025 and beyond. How is that measured? Certainly more wins, but the only positions you can say are definitively set for next season are catcher and shortstop (I'd possibly throw third base and centerfield in there by season's end). How many established starting pitchers? Jordan Lyles and maybe Brady Singer? Zack Greinke's not a lock to return for a myriad of reasons. Is Carlos Hernandez someone you can build a bullpen around?

These sentiments are not uncommon for rebuilding teams, but you'd like to see them solidify at least one corner infield and outfield spot each, and perhaps identify a young starting pitcher or two that you can count on by the end of 2024.

Are we buying or selling on Freddy Fermin as the catcher going forward?

I'm selling him only because I think Salvador Perez will still get the bulk of the catching work, at least in 2024 if he's still on the team. After years of being on the negative side of things aside from throwing runners out, Perez has actually been a net positive pitch framer in 2023, while Fermin has actually been a net negative in that facet, which is surprising. The bad thing is that Salvy has been abjectly terrible throwing runners out this year -- about 14% to be exact (7-for-52). Just a few short seasons ago, he led the league with a 41% mark, so perhaps the bigger bases have been a big reason for the downslide. In addition, the league average is 19%, which is also 5% lower than in 2022.

Another thing that helps Fermin is that there really isn't a catcher in the minors that's close to the big league level aside from Luca Tresh in Double-A. His first full foray into Double-A has been a mixed bag at the plate with excellent on-base skills and some pop (12 homeruns), but at some expense of defensive ability. Fermin, however, after being lauded in the minors for his work behind the plate, has slipped into negative-ish territory -- in addition to being a below-average pitch framer this go-round, he's been a bit erratic with his throws with four throwing errors to second base on the season. His 29% CS% is well above the league average, but has room for improvement if he can hone his accuracy a bit.

Something else that's underrated is that former bench coach Pedro Grifol, who had an excellent relationship with the catchers (and Perez especially), is now the White Sox manager. I don't think that can be discounted as at least a small reason for the catchers' slide defensively.

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SEATTLE VS KANSAS CITY (08/14 -- 08/17)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Seattle Mariners

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | August 18th, 2023

Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals
August 14th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle Mariners (58-60)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Kansas City Royals (41-79)	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	X	3	12	0
W: Taylor Hearn (1-1) L: Logan Gilbert (8-9) S: Carlos Hernandez (4)

Monday, August 14th, 2023
Five pitchers combined to shut the Mariners out on Monday, with Taylor Hearn picking up the victory as the 'bulk' pitcher in the Royals' 3-0 win over Seattle. Angel Zerpa was the opener, going just one inning before giving way to Hearn. That said, Zerpa was later listed as day-to-day by manager Matt Quatraro, who noted that Zerpa was dealing with an upper arm issue late in the first inning.

Acquired from Atlanta for Nicky Lopez prior to the deadline, Hearn went four hitless innings, walking a pair with three strikeouts in easily his best outing for any team this year. He's already spent time on the active rosters of the Braves and Rangers in addition to the Royals this season.

Maikel Garcia and Drew Waters each collected three hits and two doubles each, while MJ Melendez hit his 11th homerun of the season against Mariners starter Logan Gilbert in the fourth inning. Matt Beaty also went 2-for-3, hitting a double and coaxing a walk from Gilbert.

Nick Wittgren, Austin Cox, and Carlos Hernandez each tossed scoreless outings. Hernandez in particular ran into some problems in the ninth, working around a hit and two walks to pick up the save, his fourth of the season.

Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals
August 15th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle Mariners (59-60)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	4	14	0
Kansas City Royals (41-80)	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	10	0
W: Luis Castillo (10-7) L: Dylan Coleman (0-2) S: None

Tuesday, August 15th, 2023
With his first-inning homerun, Bobby Witt Jr made MLB history as the first player to ever hit twenty homeruns and steal thirty bases in each of their first two seasons. However, that history didn't translate into a a victory as the Royals' bullpen couldn't hold a slim lead in taking a 4-3 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday.

Witt later added an RBI single, and Kyle Isbel had the only other RBI on the day, going 2-for-4. MJ Melendez and Salvador Perez also collected a pair of hits each. For Seattle, Julio Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and a stolen base, his 30th of the season. Tom Murphy fell a triple short of the cycle, going 4-for-5.

Mariners All-Star Luis Castillo went eight innings and allowed ten hits, but just three runs and didn't walk anyone while striking out seven. Andres Munoz picked up the save, his seventh, with a clean ninth inning.

"I know people will want to shift blame onto the pitching, and yeah, it was a disappointing last few innings, but we had some chances in the early going to capitalize, and we couldn't get it done," manager Matt Quatraro lamented. "We had some good swings against a fantastic pitcher, and when you have a guy like that on the ropes and don't take him down, it's a missed opportunity."

Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals
August 16th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle Mariners (60-60)	1	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	6	9	1
Kansas City Royals (41-81)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
W: George Kirby (9-10) L: James McArthur (0-1) S: None

Wednesday, August 16th, 2023
The duo of Dylan Moore and Eugenio Suarez proved to be too much for the Royals, as they combined to hit three homeruns and go 4-for-6 in handing the Royals a 6-1 defeat. Moore reached base in all five plate appearances, including three walks and a stolen base. Suarez pounded a pair of solo homeruns, bookending the game with one in the first and the other in the ninth.

George Kirby, in just his second start back from the injured list, looked like the All-Star he was named as this season with seven strong innings of one-run baseball. He fanned six and only walked one in just under a hundred pitches. He was strong his last time out, as well, allowing three runs in six innings, throwing eighty pitches in a win over Baltimore.

No Royal hitter reached base safely more than once, with Salvador Perez and Nelson Velazquez each hitting one double. Drew Waters scored the team's only run, coming around on Velazquez's double in the fifth inning. James McArthur got the start as the opener, with Alec Marsh as the 'bulk' pitcher. He allowed four earned runs in five innings, striking out five with just two walks, but seven hits. McArthur threw just one inning, allowing the first Suarez homerun, but did fan a pair.

"Simply didn't have an answer for those two guys," Quatraro lamented outside of the locker room after the game. "We didn't score enough to put any pressure on them, as two of their guys pretty much single-handedly beat us."

Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals
August 17th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Seattle Mariners (61-60)	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	10	0
Kansas City Royals (41-82)	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	10	0
W: Andres Munoz (4-3) L: Max Castillo (0-2) S: None

Thursday, August 17th, 2023
It took free baseball to decide the series-ending contest on Thursday afternoon, and the Royals ended up on the losing end of the ten-inning game, falling 5-4 to the Mariners to drop the final three games of the series after winning on Monday night. Bobby Witt Jr hit his 21st homerun of the season in the third inning, but that was one of the few highlights of the night.

Thursday's game also saw the debut of right-handed reliever John McMillon, who was added to the 40-man roster and re-called in place of Nick Wittgren, who elected free agency after refusing an option to the minors after last night's game. He pitched two scoreless innings in relief of starter Jordan Lyles, striking out four with a walk and a single allowed.

Lyles himself was okay, allowing four earned runs over six innings in taking the loss. However, after Witt's third inning homerun, the Royals didn't seriously threaten the scoreboard again, only getting two runners in scoring position the rest of the game (not counting the ghost runner to begin the 10th).

BWJ's four hits also accounted for nearly half the team's hits, while no other player had more than one. Michael Massey went 1-for-3 with a couple of walks, and MJ Melendez and Freddy Fermin each collected one hit and walk apiece.

UP NEXT: @ Chicago Cubs (08/18 -- 08/20)

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ROYALS NEWS (08/18)

ROYALS MAKE FLURRY OF ROSTER MOVES

A handful of familiar faces are making their way back to the active roster today, with pitchers Jackson Kowar (re-called) and Taylor Clarke (off injured list) are back in time for the series opener with the Cubs tonight. James McArthur was sent down in Kowar's favor, while Clarke is back after a short stint on the injured list with a shoulder issue.

Left-hander Angel Zerpa is also headed back to the injured list, as he was pulled after just one inning in Monday's start with Collin Snider being re-called from Omaha to replace him. However, manager Matt Quatraro noted in his morning conference call from Wrigley Field that the plan was for him to go only one inning in that game regardless, with fellow lefty Taylor Hearn expected to get the 'bulk' innings.

Hearn pitched well, stretching out to four innings without allowing a run or a hit, striking out three with two walks in the lone Royals' victory of the series. Three other pitchers also combined for four shutout innings, with Carlos Hernandez working around some control issues for his fourth save.

"He said that he felt a twinge facing the last batter of that inning, but pitched through it pretty well," Quatraro said of Zerpa. "After trying to work through it and get treatment with the staff over the past few days, it was decided to go ahead and put him on the IL to get him right."

First baseman Nick Pratto also took the next step in returning from a groin injury, as he'll start a rehab assignment in Omaha tonight. When asked, Quatraro said in that same call that Pratto is expected back early in September.

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KANSAS CITY @ CHI. CUBS (08/18 -- 08/20)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Chicago Cubs

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

Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs
August 18th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (41-83)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Chicago Cubs (57-64)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	X	5	7	0
W: Riley Thompson (2-0) L: Dylan Coleman (0-3) S: None

Friday, August 18th, 2023
A big five-run inning from the Cubs spoiled an otherwise solid game from the Royals, as they couldn't give Cole Ragans any offensive support in a shutout 5-0 loss.

Ragans allowed just two hits, no runs, and three walks; striking out nine in his fourth start as a member of the Royals.

In those starts, he's fanned twenty-five in 23 1/3 innings, walking just eight and allowing just three earned runs (1.16 ERA). His FIP and SIERA are higher than that, but 2.88 (FIP) and SIERA (3.03) are nothing to sneeze at.

Dylan Coleman allowed all five earned runs, allowing five hits and a walk in the eighth inning. Austin Cox got the final out with a flyout to left.

Kansas City managed just three hits, although they had plenty of baserunners as they walked seven times. They had the bases loaded in the eighth with one out, and failed to score.

They also put runners in scoring position in the ninth and couldn't bring anyone in; although by that point, the damage had been done.

Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs
August 19th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (41-84)	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	7	0
Chicago Cubs (58-64)	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	X	3	8	0
W: Rowan Wick (1-2) L: Collin Snider (0-1) S: Adbert Alzolay (12)

Tuesday, August 19th, 2023
With his first-inning homerun, Bobby Witt Jr made MLB history as the first player to ever hit twenty homeruns and steal thirty bases in each of their first two seasons. However, that history didn't translate into a a victory as the Royals' bullpen couldn't hold a slim lead in taking a 4-3 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday.

Witt later added an RBI single, and Kyle Isbel had the only other RBI on the day, going 2-for-4. MJ Melendez and Salvador Perez also collected a pair of hits each. For Seattle, Julio Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and a stolen base, his 30th of the season. Tom Murphy fell a triple short of the cycle, going 4-for-5.

Mariners All-Star Luis Castillo went eight innings and allowed ten hits, but just three runs and didn't walk anyone while striking out seven. Andres Munoz picked up the save, his seventh, with a clean ninth inning.

"I know people will want to shift blame onto the pitching, and yeah, it was a disappointing last few innings, but we had some chances in the early going to capitalize, and we couldn't get it done," manager Matt Quatraro lamented. "We had some good swings against a fantastic pitcher, and when you have a guy like that on the ropes and don't take him down, it's a missed opportunity."

Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs
August 20th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (42-84)	1	0	1	2	2	1	0	3	0	10	16	0
Chicago Cubs (58-65)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
W: Taylor Hearn (2-1) L: Kyle Hendricks (4-5) S: None

Sunday, August 20th, 2023
Led by Kyle Isbel and Nelson Velazquez, the Royals pounded out sixteen hits and ten runs, combined with a six-pitcher Johnny Wholestaff shutout in a 10-0 drubbing of the Cubs to walk out of the city's Northside with a win in the final game of the series.

Alec Marsh pitched the first two innings for Kansas City, fanning a pair with just one walk. Taylor Hearn pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Marsh, striking out five to earn the victory.

Isbel went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a homerun, while Velazquez collected three hits, including his first homerun as a Royal (against his old team, no less!).

"Really can't ask for much more," manager Matt Quatraro said, rather happily outside of the team's locker room after the game. "Alec was working on four days' rest, so we got him through a couple of innings, and Taylor and the rest of the guys took it from there."

UP NEXT: @ Oakland Athletics (08/21 -- 08/23)

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KANSAS CITY @ OAKLAND (08/21 -- 08/23)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Oakland Athletics

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

Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics
August 21st, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (43-84)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	1
Oakland Athletics (39-86)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
W: Taylor Clarke (4-3) L: Paul Blackburn (3-5) S: Carlos Hernandez (5)

Monday, August 21st, 2023
One game, two wildly different approaches. The Royals employed a bullpen game, while Oakland's Paul Blackburn started and finished the contest, throwing all nine frames in less than a hundred pitches.

Fortunately for Kansas City, the Royals were able to get a clutch two-run homerun in the ninth from Bobby Witt Jr to pull ahead late and hold on for the 2-0 victory.

Five pitchers combined for the shutout, the second time in a week the Royals have managed to pull that feat off. Blackburn pitched all nine innings for Oakland, allowing just the two-run homerun late that pushed the Royals over the edge.

Tucker Davidson picked up the start, going two innings. Rookie John McMillon got through the next 1 1/3 innings, before Collin Snider pitched the 'bulk', going 3 1/3 innings.

"All five guys were solid, came in and really did well and kept us in the running until Bobby came through in the ninth with the big homerun," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Then Carlos shut the door, and we were off."

Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics
August 22nd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (43-85)	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	4	6	0
Oakland Athletics (40-86)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	1	1	5	9	0
W: Domingo Acevedo (3-1) L: Taylor Clarke (4-4) S: None

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2023
Making his MLB debut, Zack Gelof had a game to remember as he walked the Royals off with a single, handing Kansas City a 5-4 loss in ten innings.

Zack Greinke made his first relief appearance since 2021, going six innings as the 'bulk' pitcher in relief of Taylor Hearn, who pitched a scoreless inning to start out.

Greinke, just off the injured list with a shoulder issue, tossed six innings of one-run ball, striking out three with no walks. He threw just sixty-three pitches, which was close to the limit they had set for him when he entered the game.

"Zack felt no ill effects, and we were pretty fortunate to get six innings out of him," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Our bullpen's been worked pretty good the last few nights, and he gave us some nice relief in that regard."

Despite Greinke's outing, Oakland scored four runs over the final three innings after he left the game to steal the victory.

Bobby Witt Jr hit his 23rd homerun of the season, a three-run bomb to break a 1-1 tie in the fifth, but that's the last time that the Royals would cross the plate.

Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics
August 23rd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (44-85)	0	0	2	2	0	2	0	0	0	6	10	0
Oakland Athletics (40-87)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	9	0
W: Jordan Lyles (5-12) L: Kyle Muller (1-5) S: None

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023
It hasn't been the season that the Royals envisioned when they signed him, but Jordan Lyles turned in his best outing of the year to date as the Royals won the rubber game of their series with the A's, pitching eight solid innings of one-run baseball as the Royals won 6-2.

He struck out six, scattered eight hits, and threw a fairly tidy 112 pitches to pick up his fifth victory of the season, moving to 5-12 on the year.

Collin Snider worked the ninth, allowing a homerun to light-hitting Esteury Ruiz, but it was far too little, too late for the A's to mount any sort of comeback.

Four different Royals collected two hits each -- Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr, Dairon Blanco, and Drew Waters, with both of Garcia's hits going for doubles, while Blanco hit his third triple of the season in the sixth inning against Ken Waldichuk.

After a day off, the Royals will travel just up the coast to Seattle for a three-game series with the M's before starting a homestand with the Pirates on Monday.

UP NEXT: @ Seattle Mariners (08/25 -- 08/27)

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ROYALS NEWS (08/24)

PROSPECTS ON THE MOVE

With minor league seasons beginning to wind down over the next handful of weeks, several Royals prospects, including a few 2023 draftees, are headed to new destinations. One of the big surprises was catcher Blake Mitchell, who struggled for much of the short season in Arizona, slashing a meager .205/.304/.219 in eighty-five plate appearances. Despite that, he'll head to Single-A Columbia, where he's expected to continue to get consistent at-bats for the Fireflies even with a more experienced Hayden Dunhurst on the roster.

GM JJ Picollo even hinted earlier in the week on a local radio show that Mitchell was going to get a promotion despite the early season struggles, but the second-year executive shot down any reasoning as to why they wouldn't make the move.

"All the reports have been pretty positive on him so far," Picollo noted in the interview. "Sure, the surface numbers look pretty low, but he's hitting and barreling the ball at better-than-average rates, and has had some unfortunate luck. He's also done pretty well with his work defensively behind the plate, and we're pretty pleased with that."

Also, 2023 draftee outfielders Carson Roccaforte and Jared Dickey were added to the Fireflies' roster, replacing Jean Ramirez, who was promoted to High-A Quad Cities. Roccaforte especially got off to a slow start with the short-season Royals after signing; but ended up with a final line of .282/.434/.590 in ninety-nine plate appearances, walking an absurd 19.2% of the time. Dickey also walked a ton, notching a 23.4% walk rate (22 BB in 95 PA).

The other 2023 draftees that were promoted after the completion of the Arizona short-season league were sixth-rounder Coleman Picard, who made a couple of starts with the Arizona Royals, and lefty Hunter Owen. Both are expected to work out of the bullpen with the Fireflies. Owen made a couple of starts as well, striking out eighteen with just three walks in 12 2/3 innings.

Other prospects making moves -- Ramirez, infielder Lizandro Rodriguez, and southpaw Oscar Rayo are also moving up a class to High-A Quad Cities. Third baseman Cayden Wallace, who is likely to end up as a top-five prospect in the system beginning next year, is now with Double-A after spending all season in High-A. Wallace leads all of the minor leagues in RBI with eighty-three.

Another southpaw, Luis Cepeda, is also moving up from the short-season league to Single-A. He'll likely slot into an already strong rotation, with others like Ryan Ramsey, Ben Kudrna, Steven Zobac, and Shane Panzini. Infielder Diego Guzman, another international signee from several years ago, is making the same jump.

ROYALS COMPLETE SECOND POST-DEADLINE TRADE

In another trade involving non-roster players, the Royals sent outfielder Brewer Hicklen to the Phillies for cash considerations. Hicklen, 27, got into six games with the Royals last season, but only started once, striking out in all four of his plate appearances.

After a strong 2022 campaign with Omaha in which he slashed .248/.348/.502 with thirty-five steals and twenty-eight homeruns, he looked like a potential candidate for competing for a roster spot this season.

He was designated off the roster after the season, however, and went unclaimed; likely due to an excessive number of punchouts. He fanned 202 times in Triple-A, giving him a whopping 36.1% strikeout rate.

After an .850 OPS a season ago, he's slipped to an OPS of .716 with just six homeruns and fifteen doubles in 257 plate appearances, falling out of favor for other outfielder prospects such as Tyler Gentry and Tucker Bradley.

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Re: Straight Outta Kauffman (OOTP 24)

After falling behind due to work and other issues, I've been playing catch-up. I've caught up to September 21st, where I'll play out the rest of the season on here.

I'll post the scores here:

@ Seattle (August 25-27)
Royals 1, Mariners 3
Royals 1, Mariners 4
Royals 5, Mariners 6

vs Pittsburgh (August 28-30)
Pirates 2, Royals 3
Pirates 5, Royals 3
Pirates 0, Royals 6

vs Boston (Sep 1-3)
Red Sox 2, Royals 7
Red Sox 9, Royals 14
Red Sox 6, Royals 5

vs Chi. Sox (Sep 4-6)
White Sox 5, Royals 2
White Sox 2, Royals 1
White Sox 7, Royals 5

@ Toronto (Sep 8-10)
Royals 5, Blue Jays 1
Royals 2, Blue Jays 12
Royals 3, Blue Jays 4

@ Chi. Sox (Sep 11-13)
Royals 1, White Sox 10
Royals 4, White Sox 2
Royals 7, White Sox 4

vs Houston (Sep 15-17)
Astros 7, Royals 6 (F/10)
Astros 8, Royals 5
Astros 6, Royals 5

vs Cleveland (Sep 18-20)
Guardians 1, Royals 8
Guardians 8, Royals 7 (F/10)
Guardians 1, Royals 3

Royals Current Record: 53-100

[artoodeetoo]

ROYALS MAILBAG VOL. 5 (09/21)

2023 Mailbag, Vol. 5

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

The last regular season mailbag is coming a bit late in the season, but with the season nearly over, the talk has turned to 2024. What changes should the Royals expect on the coaching staff? New scouting director Brian Bridges comes over from the Giants after orchestrating some of the current Braves squad that is doing well; what can the Royals expect there? Does Zack Greinke come back for next year, or does he sail off into the sunset just short of 3K strikeouts? Those topics and more are covered in the final installment of the 2023 mailbag.

What's a feasible Opening Day lineup for 2024? Are there any upgrades they could make outside of the organization (trades, free agency)?

I know that the active and 40-man rosters are going to be in flux, but here's what I would go with given what's on the roster currently:

3B Garcia
SS BWJ
DH Pasquantino
C Perez
LF Melendez
RF Velazquez
1B Pratto
2B Massey
CF Isbel

If Salvador Perez is back in 2024 (more on him next), they should be able to make the trio of he, Pratto, and Pasquantino work between first base/catcher/DH. It's also a very lefty-heavy roster when you throw in the switch hitter in Drew Waters, who is likely the odd man out in the outfield with much better career splits as a left-handed hitter. Freddy Fermin is also likely to get significant innings as the reserve catcher; and others like Dairon Blanco, Nate Eaton, and Samad Taylor are potential righty bats off the bench that can play multiple spots.

As far as upgrades outside of the organization? I don't think they'll be swimming in the free agent waters, at least not for this offseason. The part of the team that is most likely to undergo any significant changes is on the pitching staff, especially if Zack Greinke decides to call it a career (more on him below, also).

Gun to your head -- is Perez on the Opening Day roster in 2024?

The chances are overwhelmingly in favor of that being the case since he holds all the cards in terms of his future, thanks to his 10/5 rights. He moved his family to the Kansas City area, and his kids are in schools in the area, so there's some roots here. That said, the fact that there was news around the deadline that he was being shopped tells me that he's willing to waive those rights for the right team.

Miami has been the most common destination given that he has an offseason home there (and he also trains there), but they'll probably ask the Royals to absorb most of his remaining salary to make it work. I'm not sure the Royals are in a position to eat a lot of that money since they still need to upgrade the major league roster heading into 2024. Kim Ng could make it worth their while with a B-level or better prospect (Jacob Berry as a reclamation project?), but the Marlins don't have a super-deep minor league system currently.

The Giants, Yankees, and Red Sox also make sense for Perez, since they are ballparks where he could put up 30-plus homeruns and make the higher price tag worth it. The free agent class of catchers is also rather thin, so Perez would represent at least one of the top two or three backstops available if the Royals were to continue to actively shop him.

Would you bring Zack back?

For the right price I'd be willing to. He's largely the same pitcher as he was in 2022, only with a few more homeruns allowed and slightly fewer walks with slightly more strikeouts. However, his velocity continues to be an issue, as he's still working with a mid-80's fastball and will be 40 on Opening Day next year. He's dealt with more nagging injuries this year, and has also made a couple of appearances out of the bullpen to help alleviate some the workload. Despite all that, he's managed to keep the same excellent command while upping his strikeout numbers, so perhaps he has one more good season in him if he doesn't suffer any further declines in velocity.

He's also a very thoughtful, eccentric personality, and it's certainly possible he decides he's done enough and calls it a career. He has houses on both coasts, and is a fairly avid surfer in the offseason. I mean, as I'm writing this, he's put up six innings of one-run baseball with no walks and four strikeouts in less than seventy pitches against the Guardians. The guy can still pitch, and if this is indeed his last season, he went out on a very strong note in front of the home crowd.

Records-wise, he's tied with Bret Saberhagen for the fourth-most strikeouts in team history (1,093). He's just twenty-nine punchouts away from 3,000 in his career, long considered one of the gold standards for Hall of Fame voters. Only nineteen other pitchers can say they've reached that.

Should we expect any changes on the coaching staff?

I assume this is in response to the Royals hiring former Braves scout and executive Brian Bridges as the team's new scouting director. It's reasonable that there will be some shuffling amongst the coaches, but I don't expect any of the big four (manager, bench coach, hitting & pitching coaches) to be changed. Perhaps hitting coach Alec Zumwalt goes back down and re-assumes the minor league hitting program director position full-time, but by all accounts, has done a masterful job juggling both roles, even if the major league results haven't been great.

But I want to take this opportunity to talk about the addition of Bridges to the front office. He's a former Braves scout, but came on in 2007, which was after Dayton Moore and JJ Picollo left there for the Royals in 2006, so he has only loose ties to those two (although I'm sure they know each other well). Secondly, he's in part built the Braves team that is so good right now, with Austin Riley, Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard, and AJ Minter as All-Stars or big-time contributors that he drafted. He was part of the scouting shop in Atlanta that signed Ronald Acuna, Jr back in 2014, who is now one of the three or four best players on the planet, and also helped orchestrate the Max Fried deal that same year.

The real interesting thing is that previous scouting chief Danny Ontiveros has been promoted from his position to VP of Scouting after just one draft in that job. I don't want to put this past draft completely on blast, but Blake Mitchell really stumbled hard out of the gate this year, and the others that played well in short-season rookie ball have all struggled in their first foray into A-ball with Columbia. While Bridges was part of the team that eventually landed Acuna Jr in Atlanta, his specialty is stateside amateurs, so he's likely coming in with a fresh set of eyes to re-vamp the minor leagues and scouting criteria.

Bigger storyline in 2024 -- new stadium talk, or Bobby Witt Jr extension?

We should know by Opening Day 2024 where the Royals' new home will be, whether it's downtown or just north of the Missouri. I suspect the Royals will begin talks with BWJ on an extension this offseason, if they haven't already done so. That talk is likely to extend into next season, so that's what I'll go with because it's going to be the biggest contract handed down in Royals history, by far.

[artoodeetoo]

KANSAS CITY @ HOUSTON (09/22 -- 09/24)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Houston Astros

By Will Keeler | Kansas City Star | September 25th, 2023

Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros
Sep 22nd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (53-101)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	0
Houston Astros (84-70)	3	1	0	0	0	4	0	2	X	10	17	0
W: Justin Verlander (12-7) L: Jordan Lyles (5-16) S: None

Friday, September 22nd, 2023
Bobby Witt Jr inched further closer to the 30/30 club, hitting his 27th homerun of the season in the sixth inning, a solo shot to cut the lead to three at the time, 4-1. But the Astros scored four in the bottom of the inning on an Alex Bregman grand slam, and then two more in the eighth to run away with a 10-1 win over the Royals to open the series.

Kansas City collected just five hits in the game, with Maikel Garcia getting two of them. One of them was catcher Tyler Cropley's, the first MLB hit of his career.

"I mean, not much else to say here," said manager Matt Quatraro, a bit of an exasperated look on his face. "We just let this one get away from us late."

Long-time Royals nemesis Justin Verlander went eight innings, fanning nine with just the solo homerun from Witt allowed. Ryan Pressly worked a scoreless ninth inning in a non-save situation, his first action in nearly a week.

Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros
Sep 23rd, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (54-101)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	0
Houston Astros (84-71)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	0
W: James McArthur (1-2) L: Framber Valdez (13-13) S: Carlos Hernandez (9)

Saturday, September 23rd, 2023
With one out in the ninth and a man on, Nelson Velazquez lifted a two-run homerun to put the Royals up 2-0; and they would need that extra run as the Astros got one back in the bottom of the ninth.

However, Carlos Hernandez managed to shut the door as the Royals evened their series with the Astros 2-1, giving them their first win over them in five tries. James McArthur picked up the victory in relief for his first MLB win.

It was a fantastic pitching matchup of southpaws, as Cole Ragans and Framber Valdez matched goose eggs through the first seven frames. While Ragans was removed after seven innings, Valdez continued on throughout the game, picking up the rare complete game loss.

Ragans was brilliant, allowing just one hit and walk each while striking out four. Valdez threw 118 pitches, scattering four hits, striking out seven with just a walk. MJ Melendez collected half of the Royals' hits, going 2-for-4 with a double. His thirty-five two-baggers is the most on the team.

Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros
Sep 24th, 2023	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (54-102)	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	2	4	0
Houston Astros (85-71)	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	3	X	8	11	0
W: Ryan Pressly (7-4) L: Jackson Kowar (0-2) S: None

Sunday, September 24th, 2023
Houston scored seven of their eight runs in the sixth inning or later, erasing an early 3-1 Royals lead, and turning it into an 8-5 defeat as the Royals fell to 54-102, just four losses away from tying the franchise record for most defeats in a season. Jackson Kowar was the losing hurler in relief, allowing a couple of homeruns to snap a seven-game scoreless appearance streak.

Bobby Witt Jr and Nelson Velazquez homered, with the latter hitting his 10th homerun of the season to become the fourth Royals hitter to reach the double-digit mark, although three of them came with the Cubs prior to being acquired. Witt also stole a base, giving him thirty-nine on the season.

Steven Cruz pitched as the opener for the second time, allowing a couple of hits and walks, but escaped largely unscathed with just one earned run in his only inning. Alec Marsh was brilliant in relief, pitching four spotless innings with a couple of scattered hits and three strikeouts.

"We were not without offense in this game," said manager Matt Quatraro. "The issue was is that we struggled a bit with putting the ball in play, as we couldn't move runners once we got them on."

Six different Royals collected a pair of hits each. Witt Jr and Velazquez each went for two hits, with Drew Waters, Matt Duffy, Nick Loftin, and Michael Massey also turning the trick.

Today is the second day-off in a recent string of post-series days off, before they begin the final road series of the season at Detroit tomorrow night.

UP NEXT: @ Detroit Tigers (09/26 -- 09/28)