Daily Clips
July 4, 2018
LOCAL
Duffy hits snag as slam sinks Royals
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Kennedy lands on 10-day DL (oblique)
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Moose scratched from lineup with back spasms
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals sign, introduce first-round pick Singer
Competitiveness on the mound impressed Royals
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Danny Duffy serves up slam as Royals fall to Indians, lose 60th game of season
July 3, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
'He is gonna be what people come to see': Royals sign, introduce top pick Brady Singer
July 3, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
The Royals paid Brady Singer $4.25 million. Now comes the hard part
July 3, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
Mellinger Minutes: Chiefs' defense, Royals' place, Vick's surprise & the Sam Mellinger I never met
July 3, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
MINORS
Rehabbing Oakland left-hander shuts down Chasers while three home runs spark Nashville
July 3, 2018By Tony Boone/Omaha World-Herald
Early fireworks as Hooks take finale, 4-1
Naturals starter Foster Griffin strikes out eight through 7.0 innings in the loss to Corpus Christi
July 3, 2018By NW Arkansas Naturals
Legends Split Series with Tourists
July 3, 2018By Lex18.com
Blue Jays Beat Royals 9-2, Sweep Series
Royals finish road trip 1-5
July 3, 2018By Burlington Royals
NATIONAL
Twelve things we learned in the first half of the season
July 4, 2018By Jayson Stark/The Athletic
Ohtani off DL, starts at DH in Seattle
July 3, 2018By Maria Guardado/MLB.com
World leaders: Which teams are benefitting the most — and the least — from their international signings?
July 3, 2018By Cliff Corcoran/The Athletic
MLB TRANSACTIONS
July 4, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Duffy hits snag as slam sinks Royals
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was cruising along Tuesday night, carrying a lead into the sixth, and looking everything like the pitcher he had been over the last seven starts, a stretch in which he posted a 2.68 ERA.
But Duffy's season bugaboo -- his secondary pitches -- bit him in the sixth. Duffy hung a changeup to Cleveland's Yan Gomes, who plopped it into the left-field bullpen for a grand slam with none out in the sixth, and that carried the Tribe to a 6-4 win at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals have now lost five straight and 23 of 27.
Duffy has given up 12 home runs this season off his slider and changeup -- six on each. Conversely, opponents have hit only three home runs off his four-seam fastball.
"I feel really good about them," Duffy said of his secondary pitches. "I honestly feel really good about them. But I got beat on my offspeed today. I'm not going to sit here and say I made good pitches. I didn't. I gave up six runs. I didn't pitch well."
Duffy fell in trouble in the sixth with his fastball, walking Edwin Encarnacion and then hitting Brandon Guyer with a four-seamer. After an infield hit loaded the bases, Duffy stayed away from the four-seamer to Gomes and left a 1-0 changeup on the outer half of the plate. Gomes didn't miss and the Tribe went up 6-4.
Where did Duffy want the changeup?
"Not there," Duffy said. "I wanted it down, and not over the middle of the plate where he could tattoo it. I wouldn't have gotten into that situation had I not hit Guyer. He's a guy who's seemingly right on the plate and I let one get away. Walked the first guy, just a weird inning.
"All that could have been avoided if I hadn't made a bad pitch to [Gomes] … I hate all that [garbage] that these things happen, but they have happened to us a lot lately."
Duffy went six innings and gave up eight hits and six runs.
Lucas Duda hit a two-run home run for the Royals in the first, tying the score at 2. RBI hits by Whit Merrifield and Rosell Herrera, who had three hits for the night, put the Royals up 4-2 in the second.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Royals lost a potential run in the eighth on a bizarre play. With two outs and Salvador Perez on second and Alex Gordon on first, Hunter Dozier ripped a single to center. The Indians seemed to be conceding the run with a two-run advantage and center fielder Rajai Davis threw into third. But the slow-footed Perez was sent, but then stopped by third base coach Mike Jirschele. Perez, though, suddenly started running toward home when he saw the throw go to third. Shortstop Francisco Lindor cut off the throw and then appeared startled to see a runner heading for home. Lindor threw out Perez at the plate.
"Two outs, trailing by two runs, I thought the throw would go to second base," Perez said. "[Jirschele] gave me the sign [to stop], but it was a little late and you guys saw the rest."
Added Royals manager Ned Yost: "That's a difficult play right there, because Jirsch was waving Salvy, and then Sal looked down to make sure he hit the bag, and when he looked up, it was kind of a stop sign, so he was caught in between. It wasn't that he decided he was going to run through it. It was just one of those mistakes. I coached third base for a long time in the big leagues and those things happen and it's not the runner's mistake. ... We all make mistakes, trust me."
Lindor indeed was surprised Perez hadn't already scored.
"When I first looked, I saw [Jirschele] sending him," Lindor said. "So I was like, 'OK, he's going to score.' I was just trying to keep the guy from going to third, so I set up to throw to third. As I'm catching the ball, I hear [second baseman Erik] Gonzalez saying 'Four! Four! Four! Four!' so that's when I threw to home plate."
UP NEXT
The Royals had intended to start right-hander Ian Kennedy for the series finale against the Indians on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. CT, but Kennedy was placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained left oblique. No corresponding move was announced and a starter has yet to be named to replace Kennedy. Right-hander Trevor Bauer (7-6, 2.45) ERA will pitch for the Tribe and that might be good news for Duda, who is 3-for-7 lifetime against Bauer with a home run.
Kennedy lands on 10-day DL (oblique)
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy was placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a left oblique strain, the team announced moments before Tuesday night's game against the Indians.
Kennedy had been scheduled to pitch Wednesday against the Indians. He left his last start on Friday after five innings because of tightness in his left side.
Kennedy threw on the side on Monday and Royals manager Ned Yost reported Tuesday that Kennedy was fine and cleared to start Wednesday.
No corresponding move was announced for Kennedy, though the Royals could recall right-hander Trevor Oaks from Triple-A Omaha. Oaks would be pitching on his normal four days of rest.
Moose scratched from lineup with back spasms
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas was a late scratch from Tuesday night's game against the Indians at Kauffman Stadium because of back spasms.
Alcides Escobar replaced Moustakas at third base and Adalberto Mondesi replaced Escobar at shortstop in the starting lineup. Without Moustakas in the lineup, the Royals fell to Cleveland, 6-4.
Royals manager Ned Yost said after the game that Moustakas felt his back tighten during pregame in the clubhouse when he was lifting one of his children. Yost said they would make a determination on Moustakas and his status going forward on Wednesday when he arrives at the ballpark.
Royals sign, introduce first-round pick Singer
Competitiveness on the mound impressed Royals
July 3, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The fiery video is widespread now, and Royals first-round Draft pick right-hander Brady Singer seemingly knew a question about it was coming as he was introduced to the Kansas City media after being signed Tuesday afternoon.
So, Brady, where does that competitiveness come from?
"The woman in the front row," Singer said, pointing to his mother, Jacquelyn, who was seated in the first row along with Singer's father, Brett, at the press conference inside Kauffman Stadium. "She's extremely competitive and it comes right to me."
Jacquelyn immediately blushed, but later told MLB.com, "I guess I just don't like to quit, so he gets that from me."
The video shows Singer infuriated and beside himself as the tarp comes onto the field when he was pitching for the University of Florida. Singer was angered because the rain delay meant he would not pitch again that day.
But it was partly that competitive nature that lured scouts to grade him so highly out of Florida, which ultimately led to the Royals taking him with their first selection at No. 18 overall. Singer signed for $4.25 million, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, above the slotted amount of $3,349,300.
"That's just something that -- did I mean [for] it to happen? No," Singer said. "Did it happen? Yeah, it did. That's my emotion, that's my competitiveness. I don't think I'm ever going to go away from that."
Royals area scout Jim Buckley, who began scouting Singer in high school, said Singer was "probably the most competitive I've seen on the mound."
Of course, there was plenty of talent in Singer's right arm that wowed scouts as well. He was named the 2018 Dick Howser Trophy winner as the top player in college baseball. This season, as a junior, he went 12-3 with a 2.55 ERA.
Here are a few more highlights from the press conference:
What's next for Singer?
Royals general manager Dayton Moore: "We're going to sit down and talk about that together. We certainly want to get Brady's input on that as well. The most important thing is we transition in the right manner, to give him the best chance to get going in his professional career. "
What impressed you most about Singer?
Royals director of scouting Lonnie Goldberg: "The pedigree, the track record. Obviously, you're looking at a pitcher that has performed on one of the highest stages. He was the player of the year, SEC pitcher of the year. College World Series champion. You don't get to do all those things if you don't do things really well. Brady's always been able to fill up the strike zone, he's able to throw both breaking pitches behind in the count. He does all the little things -- holds runners, fields his position."
On Singer's friendship with Jackson Kowar, his Florida teammate who signed with the Royals on Monday:
Singer: "Well, obviously, I've got a buddy on the team. He's been my roommate for three years. We were sitting in the dugout when the Draft was happening, and he walked up to me and said, 'You can't get rid of me yet. I just got picked by the Royals.' We were extremely happy. It's something really cool. We actually got to see some of our older guys do that the year before, or two years before. Just being able to play with him again, and hanging out with him and obviously both of us trying to help out the team as much as we can, it's a really cool thing."
What scouting report would you give on yourself?
Singer: "I feel like I fill up the strike zone. But I think the main thing is, I'm going to go out there and compete. I think that you've got to match the competitiveness in the box. I obviously sink the ball -- that's my main goal, to keep the ball on the ground. Main goal is to just try to get you out."
Danny Duffy serves up slam as Royals fall to Indians, lose 60th game of season
July 3, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The easy explanation for the 60th loss of this Royals season was a grand slam by Cleveland's Yan Gomes.
But a series of smaller self-inflicted blows preceding the blast, along with a key base-running mistake, and that proved damaging to the Royals in a 6-4 defeat at Kauffman Stadium.
"When you're playing good, you cover mistakes," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Right now, we're just struggling to cover mistakes and then when we don't cover them, we can't find ways to back it up with the bats and cover it. That's why you struggle."
And, whew, the Royals are scuffling. They are 25-60, have dropped 24 of 29 games since the start of June, and are on pace to lose 114 games.
Things went south in the sixth inning on Tuesday when the Royals held a 4-2 lead.
After a laborious start, Royals' left-hander Danny Duffy retired 14 of 16 batters. But designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion drew a walk on five pitches to open the sixth and right fielder Brandon Guyer was slightly grazed by a 2-2 pitch.
First baseman Yonder Alonzo then reached on an infield single to short. Without hitting a ball to the outfield, the Indians had the bases loaded. Gomes unloaded them when he deposited an 0-1 change-up from Duffy into the Indians bullpen.
"I wanted it down, not over the middle of the plate where he could tattoo it," Duffy said. "I wouldn't have gotten into that situation had I not hit Guyer. He's a guy who's seemingly right on the plate and I let one get away. Walked the first, just a weird inning.
"All that could have been avoided if I hadn’t made a bad pitch to (Gomes) … I hate all that bull crap that these things happen but they have happened to us a lot lately."
It was the eighth grand slam the Royals have allowed this season, tying the franchise record with 77 games to be played.
A moribund offense showed signs of life after Duffy allowed two runs in the top of the first inning. DH Lucas Duda's two-run homer to right field scored center fielder Rosell Herrera and tied the game in the Royals' half of the frame. An inning later, Herrera doubled home Adalberto Mondesi and Whit Merrifield and the Royals led 4-2.
It stayed that way until Cleveland took the lead in the sixth.
The next bit of bad news came when the Royals ran themselves out of a run in the eighth inning.
Catcher Salvador Perez was hit by an Oliver Perez pitch to open the frame, and two outs later took second on a single by left fielder Alex Gordon. Cody Allen entered the game and was greeted by a single to center by first baseman Hunter Dozier. The Indians were ready to concede the run when third-base coach Mike Jirschele put up the stop sign after initially waving Perez home.
Perez tried to hit the brakes, but saw the ball was headed to the infield and took off for home. However, the throw from Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor barely beat Perez at the plate.
"Two outs, trailing by two runs, I think the throw would go to second base," Perez said. "He gave me the sign but it was a little late and you guys saw the rest."
Perez said he got to the plate, but knew it was a split-second too late.
"I almost told the umpire, but he called safe," Perez said.
An Indians challenge took the run off the board and ended the inning. The Royals got two on in the ninth, but couldn't get the key hit.
Looking for a positive? The Royals had 12 hits, which snapped a 24-game streak in which they had not collected 10 hits in a game, the longest in the American League since Kansas City did it in 1967. That was the A's, of course, and they would bolt for Oakland after season.
Kennedy on the shelf: Right-hander Ian Kennedy, who was scheduled to start Wednesday's series finale against Cleveland, was placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained left oblique. His time on the disabled list is retroactive to June 30, making him eligible to return on July 10.
Moustakas scratched: Third baseman Mike Moustakas was scratched from the lineup shortly before first pitch because of back spasms. Yost said it happened when Moustakas picked up one of his kids.
'He is gonna be what people come to see': Royals sign, introduce top pick Brady Singer
July 3, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
David Lee picked up a telephone in the library of a Central Florida high school in early June and talked for 15 minutes with nary a pause about one of the most polished high school pitchers he has ever seen.
At 18 years old, the prospect could touch 96 mph with excellent command. He’d throw the fastball, which regularly sat in the low 90s, to both sides of the plate and occasionally mix in a slider that high school batters struggled to hit. He was ultra competitive, too, the kind of kid who would “want to stand in line better than you.”