Daily Clips
July 14, 2018
LOCAL
Keller struggles as Royals fall to White Sox
Rookie right-hander logs just 2 2/3 innings in series opener
July 13, 2018By Max Gelman/MLB.com
Royals place Herrera on paternity leave
Club recalls Orlando from Triple-A for third time this season
July 13, 2018By Max Gelman/MLB.com
A scarce bright spot for the Royals, Brad Keller stumbles for second straight start
July 13, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
Overlooked again and again, Whit Merrifield became the Royals’ most consistent hitter
July 13, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
George Brett's Pine Tar Game recounted in new book by former Royals trainer
July 13, 2018By Shaun Goodwin/KC Star
Paulo Orlando is re-joining the Royals’ outfield
July 13, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
Graphic artist reimagines MLB logos with a ‘Game of Thrones’ look
July 13, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
As the Royals’ rotation implodes, manager Ned Yost reckons with the benefits of losing 100 games
July 13, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
MINORS
After pro debut, Royals’ Jackson Kowar welcomes expectations
July 13, 2018By Alex Schiffer/KC Star
Naturals Edged By Late Drillers Homer
Nick Dini goes 2-for-4 with a home run, double and two RBIs in the 5-4 loss to Tulsa on Friday night
July 13, 2018By Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Rocks Drop Series Opener Against the Red Sox
Wilmington Has Three-Game Win Streak Snapped
July 13, 2018By Wilmington Blue Rocks
Helena Wins 8-7
July 13, 2018By Idaho Falls Chukars
Royals Fall in Final Game at Danville
Late rally gives D-Braves Victory
July 13, 2018By Burlington Royals
Feliz, Rocchio spur AZL Indians 2 to 2-0 win over AZL Royals
July 13, 2018By Arizona Daily Star
NATIONAL
Buxton injures hand on swing; X-rays negative
July 13, 2018By Rhett Bollinger/MLB.com
Utley says he'll retire after 2018 season
Veteran second baseman 'ready to be a full-time dad'
July 13, 2018By Ken Gurnick/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
July 14, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Keller struggles as Royals fall to White Sox
Rookie right-hander logs just 2 2/3 innings in series opener
July 13, 2018By Max Gelman/MLB.com
Brad Keller made a solid first impression as a starting pitcher. He pitched to a 2.14 ERA in his first six outings since moving to the rotation on May 30, including outings of seven scoreless on June 25 and eight one-run innings on July 1.
But now over his past two starts, Keller's effectiveness has ebbed. One outing after giving up four runs and five walks in 4 2/3 innings, Keller couldn't make his way out of the third inning in the Royals' 9-6 loss to the White Sox in the series opener on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
"I feel like I might be trying to do too much instead of just trusting it," Keller said of his past two outings. "That's what me and [pitching coach Cal Eldred] talked about, just go out there and trust it.
"It's worked before, so I'm trying to do too much, and I feel like that's what I've been doing, putting a bit more pressure on myself and trying to make pitches instead of just going out there and having some fun."
The loss is the Royals' 12th in their last 13 games, and their sixth in eight meetings this season against the White Sox.
Keller needed 70 pitches to navigate 2 2/3 frames, allowing five runs on seven hits and four walks. In his last 7 1/3 innings, opponents have scored nine runs, leaving him with an unsightly 11.06 ERA in that small sample size.
"My mechanics were just off in the first inning," Keller said. "My typical cues to get through the ball, I wasn't hitting right, so I was leaking off to the left a little bit, just pulling the ball. Some balls were coming back over the middle of the plate, which you don't ever want to happen."
Heath Fillmyer, whom manager Ned Yost gave a "90 percent chance" of starting Sunday's finale before the opener, replaced Keller and provided some length to bridge the gap. Fillmyer went 2 1/3 innings and gave up one run.
"When you look at Keller, you go 2 2/3 and you're at 70-something pitches," Yost said. "Fillmyer the same way got his pitch count up, but ended up getting us through the fifth inning into the sixth where we felt like we had it pretty much lined up if we could just hold it."
Offensively, White Sox starter James Shields shut down the Royals, giving up no earned runs and just two hits before the seventh inning. Shields didn't finish that seventh though, getting the first two outs and then succumbing to three straight hits -- including a two-run double by Jorge Bonifacio that made it 7-4.
The Royals fared better against Chicago's bullpen, however, cutting the deficit to 7-6 in the eighth. But an eighth-inning two-run homer by Omar Narvaez put the game out of reach.
"I think that our offense has picked up here in the last week," Yost said. "I'm feeling better about the at-bats that I'm seeing, the production that we're getting out there, and yeah, I felt really good about when we were down, 7-3.
"I'm like, 'Man if we could just find a way to just get one or two in,' and then next thing you know there we are, it's 7-6. So the offense is starting to really swing the bats better."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
After scoring two runs off Shields in the seventh, the Royals had the potential go-ahead run in scoring position with two out in the eighth following Yolmer Sanchez's error and Whit Merrifield's single that cut the deficit to 7-6. After knocking out Shields the previous inning, Bonifacio lined a ball hard -- 102 mph, according to Statcast™ -- to center field, but Charlie Tilson made the catch against the wall to end the threat.
"I thought it was at least gonna get off the wall there, but the winds blowing in from right field kind of knocked a couple balls down," Yost said.
SOUND SMART
After ending a streak of 30 games scoring five runs or fewer on Tuesday against the Twins, the Royals have now scored more than five runs in two of their last three games. Kansas City scored five runs in the one outlier, averaging nearly seven runs per game over the three contests.
UP NEXT
Royals left-hander Danny Duffy (4-8, 4.89 ERA) gets the start in the middle game of the series against the White Sox at 1:10 p.m. CT on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field. Duffy is coming off six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts in a no-decision against the Twins. In two starts vs. Chicago this season, Duffy has given up nine runs in 10 innings. Reynaldo Lopez (4-6, 3.77 ERA) will start for the White Sox.
Royals place Herrera on paternity leave
Club recalls Orlando from Triple-A for third time this season
July 13, 2018By Max Gelman/MLB.com
The Royals placed outfielder Rosell Herrera on paternity leave and recalled outfielder Paulo Orlando from Triple-A Omaha prior to Friday night's series opener with the White Sox.
Herrera's wife is due to give birth to the couple's first child, manager Ned Yost said, and Herrera is with her at a New Jersey hospital. Herrera could return in time for Sunday's finale, missing just the first two games of this set at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Since being claimed off waivers from the Reds in June, Herrera is hitting .267/.291/.373 in 80 plate appearances.
Orlando is in the midst of a disappointing season. He's up in the Majors for the third time this year after two stints in Omaha, but he found success in his most recent trip. In 13 games since being sent down on June 23, Orlando hit .333 with a .479 slugging percentage with the Storm Chasers.
"Bit of a struggle here," Yost said of Orlando. "Two years ago it was no fluke, he hit .305, in 500-something at-bats. That's not a fluke. But he struggled last year offensively, and up here has struggled, but has done really, really well in Triple-A. Hitting over .300.
"He's a guy that can hit the ball to all fields, he's a tremendous defender in center field, and he was just part of our club when we were really, really good in '15. He came in and did a great job with defending and clutch hitting. So it's good to get him back, I'm glad about it."
Kennedy's injury not serious
Right-hander Ian Kennedy was placed on the disabled list on Wednesday with a left oblique strain, returning to the DL the same day he made his first start since being activated. But Yost said Kennedy may return to baseball activities relatively soon.
"They're thinking five to seven days and then back to baseball activity," Yost said. "Just have to wait and see. It's pretty localized, which is a good thing. We have to wait and see how it goes, but right now, we're not looking at three weeks or a month, or anything like that."
A scarce bright spot for the Royals, Brad Keller stumbles for second straight start
July 13, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
Sixteen minutes after the first pitch at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred popped out of the visiting dugout and walked to the mound. He sought to compose right-hander Brad Keller, who has been an encouraging standout on a pitching staff with the worst earned run average in the major leagues.
But on Friday, the unlikely standout simply blended in.
Arguably the most positive development in the first half of the Royals’ season endured its second consecutive setback Friday, Keller failing to make it out of the third inning of a 9-6 loss to the White Sox.
“I just felt off in the first inning,” Keller said, adding, “I feel like I’ve been trying to do too much instead of trusting it. That’s one thing Cal talked about — just go out there and trust it. Clearly it’s worked before so don’t try to do too much.”
The sources of buoyancy have been rare, with this year’s Royals just 48 hours shy of the all-star break and on pace for the worst record in the franchise’s five-decade history.
On a night in which one of the few sources of positivity faltered, the offense tried to emerge in his place.
The Royals (26-67) trimmed a five-run deficit to one, and outfielder Jorge Bonifacio came within a couple of feet of completing a comeback, his eighth-inning shot falling into center fielder Charlie Tilson’s glove on the edge of the warning track. The flyout stranded Alcides Escobar and Whit Merrifield in scoring position as the tying and go-ahead runs. White Sox catcher Omar Narvaez rendered it moot in the ensuing half-inning, sending a two-run homer into the Royals’ bullpen.
“I think our offense has picked it up here in the last week,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I’m feeling better about the at-bats that I’m seeing, the production that we’re getting out there. ... The offense is starting to really swing the bats better.”
A pair of former Royals factored into the line score — starter James Shields (4-10) securing the victory and closer Joakim Soria earning the save.
Keller, whose move to the rotation was met with immediate success, recorded only eight outs and allowed 11 runners to reach base. The sign of trouble arrived early, Keller walking the initial two hitters of the game. Eldred emerged from the first-base dugout only two batters later, with the deficit already three runs.
Six days ago, Keller’s first true hiccup as a major-league starter came in a loss to Boston, when he survived the initial four innings before allowing four runs in the fifth. The damage presented itself much earlier Friday — three runs in the first and two more in the third — but its cause was similar.
Command, caused by a hitch in the mechanics.
Keller walked four hitters, including leadoff man Yoan Moncada all three times he faced him. He has walked eight over his two-game slump, which was preceded by the best two outings of his rookie season.
“Just my typical cues to get through the ball, I wasn’t hitting right,” Keller said. “So I was just kinda leaking off to the left a little bit and pulling balls and balls were coming back over the middle of the plate.”
His early exit prompted the unexpected entrance of Heath Fillmyer. Yost had penciled Fillmyer in to start Sunday in place of Jakob Junis, who will be held out until after the all-star break with back inflammation. Fillmyer threw 56 pitches. Keller and Fillmyer combined to throw 107 pitches to complete four innings.
The outs were easier for Shields, once the centerpiece of a trade that concluded with him as the ace of the Kansas City rotation. The days of that arsenal have since passed, Shields yielding a 5.49 ERA in two-plus season in south Chicago. But he was mostly productive against the Royals’ lineup Friday. The Royals managed four runs off Shields, two of them unearned in the third inning after a botched double-play ball. An Alex Gordon double was the lone hit through five. Shields struck out seven.
Overlooked again and again, Whit Merrifield became the Royals’ most consistent hitter
July 13, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
When Royals hitting coach Terry Bradshaw sees Whit Merrifield in one of his infrequent slumps, he doesn’t say much.
It’s not that Merrifield doesn’t welcome feedback from a man the Royals have employed as a hitting coach in some capacity since 2000. It’s not that Merrifield is immune to advice.
It’s that Merrifield, the Royals’ most consistent hitter in a season where the team has batted a collective .240 in its first 92 games, doesn’t need many reminders.
“When you look in that clubhouse, (which batter) has spent more time in the minor leagues than Whit Merrifield?” Bradshaw said this week at Target Field.
Most Royals fans already know Merrifield’s journey — overhauled diet, opening-day-roster exclusions and all. And if you don’t: He was passed over for a major-league promotion midway through 2015, left both unprotected and unselected in the Rule 5 draft that winter and deserted in Arizona at the end of spring training in 2016 despite batting .347 with nine extra-base hits in 49 Cactus League at-bats. When he finally earned his big-league call-up that May, he’d spent six summers toiling away in the minor leagues and learning to deal with disappointment.
Therein lies Bradshaw’s point: Few know Whit Merrifield better than Whit Merrifield.
“There’s going to be peaks and valleys to a season,” Merrifield said, “but the key to having a good season is managing those valleys and trying to ride out those peaks as long as you can.”
For most of the season, Merrifield has ridden out the peak. Even when surrounded by teammates who have fallen into prolonged ruts, Merrifield has remained steady. He’s only been held hitless in consecutive games twice this season: for both ends of a doubleheader on April 28 and for four games from May 20-23.
Put in context, Merrifield entered Friday hitting at a .302 clip that ranked third among all major-league second basemen with more than 280 plate appearances. He ranked in the top third in walk rate (9 percent) and weight runs created plus (121). His 41.1 percent hard-hit rate, as measured by Fangraphs, was third in the same group.
But this week, when catcher Salvador Perez was chosen as the Royals’ lone All-Star, Merrifield was slapped with a wave of disappointment again. He’d done enough to merit consideration, playing all the roles asked of him without faltering at the plate. But in a league dominated by the Astros’ Jose Altuve, the players’ second choice for the All-Star team was Yankees rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres, who went on the disabled list last week and was replaced on the AL roster by the Athletics’ Jed Lowrie.
After finding out Sunday he didn’t receive his first All-Star nod, Merrifield put together a career-best day and went 5 for 5 with two doubles against the Boston Red Sox.
“Anything I can use to motivate me,” he said, “I’m gonna use.”
It took time for Merrifield to internalize that lesson. Merrifield, a ninth-round draft pick out of South Carolina in 2010, was never the best prospect stashed on the Royals’ farm. He never made a Baseball America prospect list or received much attention after batting .340 and collecting 28 doubles and 11 stolen bases during his first foray into Class AAA ball in 2014. He was always on the fringes, valued most for the competent versatility that eventually made him a fixture in Kansas City in late April of 2017.
He never felt disrespected by the Royals, he said. In the middle of trying to win it all during the club’s first postseason run since 1985, Merrifield understood being excluded from the 40-man roster. He figured fate had to intervene for him to get a chance to break in.