Daily Clips
May 17, 2017
LOCAL
Hammel, Royals burned by Yankees' homers
May 17, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan and Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Hammel's struggles stretch to start vs. Yanks
May 17, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Moore: Royals focused on winning in 2017
May 16, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Vargas banking on home success vs. Yanks
May 16, 2017By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Colon claimed by Marlins after being DFA'd
May 16, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals slayer CC Sabathia does it again as Yankees roll to 7-1 win
May 16, 2017By Blair Kerkhoff/KC Star
Vahe Gregorian: Royals can’t afford Jason Hammel’s struggles
May 16, 2017By Vahe Gregorian/KC Star
Focused on 2017, Royals’ Dayton Moore in no rush to sell off pieces
May 16, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Moose watch: Can Mike Moustakas break Royals’ home-run record?
May 16, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Miami Marlins claim Christian Colon off waivers, ending his time with the Royals
May 16, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
MINORS
Tuesday's Chasers-Rainiers Game Postponed
Game to be made up as part of twinbill on Thu. May 18
May 16, 2017By Omaha Storm Chasers
Hernandez Drives in Three, Wilson Earns 400th Career Win
May 16, 2017By Naturals PR Department
Wilmington Silenced in Lopsided Affair
Rocks Suffer Largest Margin of Defeat
May 16, 2017 By Cory Nidoh/Wilmington Blue Rocks
Anderson Miller Named Carolina League Player of the Week
Hot-Hitting Outfielder Earns Second Weekly Award for Blue Crew
May 15, 2017By Wilmington Blue Rocks
Legends win, take three of four in series
May 16, 2017By Lexington Legends
MLB TRANSACTIONS
May 17, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Hammel, Royals burned by Yankees' homers
May 17, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan and Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia was in desperate need of a solid outing after his previous three starts had yielded 18 runs in 17 2/3 innings. The Royals provided the perfect tonic for Sabathia as he fired 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 7-1 win on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Sabathia won his 20th career game against the Royals and lowered his career ERA against them to 3.11. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four.
"The cutter was a lot better today," Sabathia said. "And the guys played great defense behind me. We figured out by the second inning they were coming out hacking. We just had to make some pitches on the edges and get some quick outs."
"Back in the day, he was really good," Royals catcher Salvador Perez said. "He can still do it. He keeps the ball down and works both sides of the plate really well. It was his night."
Gary Sanchez hit a three-run homer and Chris Carter added a two-run shot to fuel the Yankees' offense.
Struggling Royals right-hander Jason Hammel gave up nine hits and five runs in six innings as his ERA ballooned to 6.20.
"He did a nice job of getting two strikes on guys, but couldn't put guys away," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "It was a fight for him."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Sanchez unloads: Sanchez put this one essentially out of reach early with a monstrous three-run homer off a Hammel fastball in the third. The ball sailed over center fielder Lorenzo Cain, over the 410-foot sign and crashed against the batter's eye. Statcast™ estimated it traveled 428 feet with an exit velocity of 108 mph.
"It was good to see," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "[Sanchez] can really impact a game."
"That's a pretty power-laden team over there," Yost said. "They can put the ball over the wall."
Shutting the door: Sabathia did run into a little bit of trouble in the seventh. Eric Hosmer doubled and with two out, Jorge Soler walked and Alex Gordon beat out an infield hit to load the bases. Right-hander Tyler Clippard replaced Sabathia and struck out Whit Merrifield on a high fastball to end the threat.
"We squared up CC earlier a couple of times," Yost said. "We wound up with eight hits. It wasn't a great offensive night, but it could have been OK."
UPON REVIEW
The Royals challenged an eighth-inning play in which Brett Gardner's liner to right was originally ruled a trap, which would have left the Yankees with a fielder's choice and runners at first and third. The call was overturned and the catch by Jorge Bonifacio put runners at first and second instead.
WHAT'S NEXT
Yankees: Right-hander Michael Pineda (3-2, 3.27 ERA) will be looking to get back in the win column in the middle game of the series on Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. ET. Pineda took the loss in his last outing against the Astros despite allowing just three runs over 6 2/3 innings.
Royals: Left-hander Jason Vargas (5-1, 1.01) will take the mound for the Royals on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. CT. Vargas threw seven shutout innings against the Rays in his previous start on Thursday in a 6-0 win.
Hammel's struggles stretch to start vs. Yanks
May 17, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Two starts ago, Royals right-hander Jason Hammel went exclusively to the stretch for his delivery and the results were encouraging: six innings in a win over the Indians.
Hammel was relieved that he'd found something repeatable. But that feeling has been short-lived. He was roughed up for the second straight outing, this time by the Yankees in a 7-1 loss on Tuesday night. Hammel gave up five runs in six innings and his ERA ballooned to 6.20.
"The last two starts have been homers [that have hurt]," Hammel said. "The Tampa game, I gave up two home runs and that was four runs. Here it was five runs on two homers.
"I have to keep the ball in the park. Those guys are mistake killers."
Gary Sanchez hit a three-run bomb in the third and Chris Carter hit a two-run shot in the fourth for the Yankees.
"I was trying to get a heater down and away [to Sanchez] and it just came back over the plate," Hammel said. "The one to Carter was a slider that looked more like a cutter. My slider wasn't that good."
The other issue was that Hammel didn't strike anyone out through six innings, his first no-strikeout game in eight starts.
"He did a nice job of getting two strikes on guys, but couldn't put guys away," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "It was a fight for him."
Hammel agreed.
"I got two strikes today and couldn't put anyone away," Hammel said. "They worked their way back into the count."
Overall, Hammel said he'll simply have to continue to search for answers.
"I've got to find a better way of establishing a better tone early," he said. "I've got to throw quality starts, and keep the ball down, get some ground balls. That's who I am."
Moore: Royals focused on winning in 2017
May 16, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
As the Royals drifted to 10 games under .500 a week ago, the popular narrative among the team's fan base and parts of the national media was that the Royals were primed to launch their fire sale.
In fact, a New York Post story stated earlier this week that the Royals were the "early favorite to sell," and also quoted an anonymous American League executive as saying, "The Royals are dying to declare."
General manager Dayton Moore reacted sharply to that insinuation.
"Any AL executive who says that the Royals can't wait to blow it up just lacks integrity," Moore told MLB.com. "It's not a discussion I've had with any of our people or any other general manager in baseball."
The Post story also suggested the Royals have altered their pro scouting approach to focus more on the systems of potential buyers in a fire sale.
"We haven't changed our scouting approach," Moore said, shaking his head.
The Royals do have several pending free agents after 2017, including Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain and Jason Vargas.
But as Moore has said repeatedly since the offseason, the Royals haven't conceded at all that they will lose all their potential free agents.
"Absolutely. We want good players," Moore said. "But I'm not going to get into hypotheticals right now. Right now, we're focused on today and this year. We'll talk about extensions at the appropriate time."
And right now, any talk of fire sales or giving up on the postseason chase is simply false, Moore said.
"Our process when we left Spring Training was to compete for a division title and the World Series," Moore said. "That thought process isn't going to change after 10 games or 20 games or 37 games or whenever. It's not going to change.
"We're going to continue to expect our team to play better. We're going to focus on winning our division. We had a plan in the very beginning and we're not going to abandon that plan. We're playing very good baseball right now."
The Royals, entering Tuesday night, had won six of seven.
"It is what it is," Moore said of the rumors. "They're just not accurate. I believe in this team."
Vargas banking on home success vs. Yanks
May 16, 2017By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Will Wednesday be the day that Royals left-hander Jason Vargas' ERA melts below one run per game?
Vargas has been a revelation through his first seven starts, compiling a Major League-best 1.01 ERA. The next challenge for Vargas will be the Yankees, who have been one of the better offensive clubs in the American League this season. New York will try to end Vargas' 15-inning scoreless streak, which dates to May 1 against the White Sox.
As if Vargas isn't enough of a chore, the Yankees also have to hope that right-hander Michael Pineda can hold down a Royals offense which has been resurgent over the past week.
"They have swung the bats better," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Pineda will be working on five days' rest due to Monday's off-day. He took a 3-2 loss against Houston in his previous start, working 6 2/3 innings and allowing six hits and three runs.
Things to know about this game
• Statcast can estimate a pitcher's expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) based on the quality of contact against him, plus his actual strikeout and walk numbers. Among pitchers with at least 150 opponent at-bats this year, Vargas' .249 ranks second, in between Chris Sale (.245) and Max Scherzer (.250).
• The Yankees are 5-2 in Pineda's starts this season, winning five of the last six.
• Vargas is unbeaten in his last 10 starts at Kauffman Stadium, going 5-0 with a 1.84 ERA since the start of 2015. He is 0-5 all-time vs. the Yankees with a 6.53 ERA in nine outings.
Colon claimed by Marlins after being DFA'd
May 16, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Former Royals infielder Christian Colon, who was designated for assignment last week, has been claimed by the Marlins.
Meanwhile, outfielder Peter O'Brien, also DFA'd by the Royals last week, has been claimed by the Reds.
Colon, the fourth overall pick of the 2010 Draft, hit .176 in seven games for the Royals this season.
"I appreciated his competitiveness," manager Ned Yost said. "And he was just a tremendous teammate in that room."
Added left-hander Danny Duffy, "I know he's going to miss the boys in this room, but this is a great opportunity for him."
O'Brien played in 27 games for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate in Omaha, hitting .162 with three home runs and six RBIs.
Royals slayer CC Sabathia does it again as Yankees roll to 7-1 win
May 16, 2017By Blair Kerkhoff/KC Star
CC Sabathia had not faced the Royals for exactly two years before Tuesday’s game, and much had happened since then.
A Royals’ World Series title, and a couple of disabled-list stints for Sabathia, but one thing didn’t change — a Sabathia victory at Kauffman Stadium.
In the Yankees’ 7-1 victory on Tuesday in the series opener, Sabathia cruised in his best outing of the season.
Naturally, it occurred in Kansas City.
“I love pitching here,” Sabathia said. “It’s my favorite park. I love the fountains, I just love this park. I feel very comfortable here.”
How comfortable?
He improved to 13-5 all-time at The K. Sabathia joined Justin Verlander, Mark Buehrle and Bert Blyleven with the most victories by a visiting pitcher.
Among active pitchers, Sabathia’s 20 victories against the Royals is second to Verlander’s 22.
Sabathia has had dominating stretches in a career that includes six All-Star Games, a Cy Young Award and a World Series ring. But he entered Tuesday’s game having surrendered 18 earned runs in his last three starts.
But the Royals, who had emerged from an offensive slumber last week when they won six of seven and brought a four-game winning streak into the game, got few good swings against the big lefty.
“It’s a good lineup,” Sabathia said. “They were really aggressive tonight, and I was just trying to use that against them.”
For six innings, all the Royals could muster against the 36-year-old Sabathia, who was once baseball’s highest paid pitcher, were singles by Jorge Bonifacio, Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler. And Soler was thrown out at second trying to stretch his hit into a double.
A rally attempted to form in the seventh, when Eric Hosmer opened with a hustle double to right. Sabathia struck out Salvador Perez and Bonifacio before walking Soler and surrendering an infield single to Alex Gordon.
The bases were loaded when the Yankees called upon Tyler Clippard to face Merrifield. Clippard won the battle when he recorded a checked-swing strikeout.
The Royals averted the shutout in the ninth when Bonifacio, who had singled with one out, scored on Merrifield’s fielder’s choice.
The Royals wasted a couple of inning-ending defensive gems. Mike Moustakas dived to his right and gloved a tricky hop off the bat of rookie slugger Aaron Judge in the third.
Alcides Escobar’s diving stop of Brett Gardner’s grounder prevented a run in the sixth. The play was of some consolation to Escobar, who twice lined out to third baseman Chase Headley.
But the Yankees didn’t have to hit their way through the Royals. They went over them against slumping starter Jason Hammel.
Hammel, who took the team’s lone defeat last week when he was knocked around for seven runs and 13 hits at Tampa Bay, wasn’t much better Tuesday.
“I got ahead of hitters, I just couldn’t put them away,” Hammel said. “They worked their way back into a count and I would just make a mistake.”
Two big ones, and No. 9 hitter Chris Carter was involved in both.
Carter stroked a single to left to open the third. A walk to Gardner brought up Gary Sanchez, who powered Hammel’s 92 mph fastball 428 feet over the center-field wall for his third homer of the season.
In the fourth, Hammel retired the first two batters before surrendering a single to Didi Gregorius, which brought up Carter, who has authored a mostly all-or-nothing career with two seasons of at least 37 home runs and two of at least 200 strikeouts.
This time, Carter got it all, and his home run to center made it 5-0. The Yankees’ romp had started and was in good hands with Sabathia, pitching in his favorite ballpark.
Vahe Gregorian: Royals can’t afford Jason Hammel’s struggles
May 16, 2017By Vahe Gregorian/KC Star
Entering their game against the New York Yankees on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals’ lone loss in the previous seven games was a 12-1 drubbing at Tampa Bay last week.
Seven of those runs that day were amassed in the first five innings against Jason Hammel, who thus was relegated to taking one for the team and mopping up for himself through seven innings.
“We needed innings tonight, first and foremost,” Hammel said afterward. “So if there’s any consolation, that was one.”
Alas, there was less solace for everyone in his encore reprisal of that scenario against the Yankees, a sequel that left the Royals behind 5-0 after four innings on the way to a 7-1 loss.
No one feels worse about this than Hammel, a standup guy who afterward patiently answered every question that came his way and did his best to try to account for his decline so far this season.
“Outstanding defense behind me, too; it could have been a lot worse, if you think about it,” said Hammel, who was victimized by his inability to take advantage of two-strike counts and figure his biggest issue is “probably trying to do too much … basically trying to throw too hard or make the perfect pitch.”
But this is not a sustainable role for a team in many ways approaching a crossroads.
The Royals now are 1-5 in games started by the 34-year-old Hammel, who won 15 games and had a 3.83 ERA with the Chicago Cubs a year ago and appeared to have the profile to help stabilize the rotation.