Daily Clips
April 12, 2018
LOCAL
Royals drop finale as 'pen allows late homer
Duffy settles down after rocky 1st inning
April 11, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Buchholz eyeing Triple-A rehab assignment
April 11, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Late Mariners homer spoils Duffy's performance in Royals' 4-2 loss
April 11, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
The Royals get shifty: a handy guide to infield positioning
April 11, 2018 By Lee Judge/KC Star
Here's why Ned Yost would call on Mike Moustakas if Royals need emergency catcher
April 11, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The Royals' starting pitching has been among the league's best. They've still managed to start 3-7
April 11, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
How rare is Shohei Ohtani? His next opponent, the Royals, have an idea
April 11, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
MINORS
Chasers Edged 3-2 in Memphis
O'Hearn's hit not enough in narrow road defeat
April 11, 2018By Omaha Storm Chasers
Blue Rocks Get Swept in Salem to End Road Trip
Rocks Go 2-5 on Trek Away from Frawley Stadium
April 11, 2018By Wilmington Blue Rocks
NATIONAL
Andrus sustains broken elbow on HBP
Rangers shortstop will undergo further tests to see if surgery is needed
April 11, 2018By T.R. Sullivan/MLB.com
MLB's African-American population regains lost ground; can growth continue?
April 11, 2018By Bob Nightengale/USA Today
Baseball Team Values 2018
April 11, 2018By Mike Ozanian/Forbes
MLB TRANSACTIONS
April12, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Royals drop finale as 'pen allows late homer
Duffy settles down after rocky 1st inning
April 11, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The crazy thing is, Royals reliever Justin Grimm thought, was that he had his best curveball he has had all season.
But Grimm hung two curveballs -- one to Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger that had home-run distance but went foul -- and the other that was a home run to third baseman Kyle Seager, a two-run shot that was the difference in the Royals' 4-2 loss on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.
Grimm entered the eighth inning with the score tied and quickly got two outs. Grimm then got ahead of Haniger 0-2 but got a scare when Haniger belted a curveball that would have been gone had it not hooked foul down the left-field line.
Grimm wound up walking Haniger.
"I think [Grimm] made sure that didn't happen again with Haniger and pitched a little careful after that," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Grimm then threw a 1-1 curveball to Seager, who lofted a fly just over the right-field bullpen fence.
"I really felt like my curveball was really good today," Grimm said. "It was really good. Just two that weren't and both got hit.
"... I feel like I lost it for my teammates -- they battled back. But it's one day. You come back tomorrow and get ready for the Angels. This one is on me."
The Royals fell behind 2-0 in the first and for the second straight start, left-hander Danny Duffy struggled with his command early. Duffy walked three hitters in his previous start in Cleveland in the first inning, and did so again Wednesday.
After that, Duffy cruised, and at one point retired 13 of 14 hitters. He left after 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) while striking out seven.
"After that first inning, I thought it was pretty good," Duffy said. "But you don't get to subtract one inning. I was awful in the first inning. It's just been a lack of control for the first innings the last two starts. No excuse for that."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Double play saves a run: The Mariners had a great chance to take the lead in the sixth inning. Duffy gave up two singles sandwiched around a fielder's choice, prompting Yost to bring on right-hander Brad Keller, who gave up a hard-hit single to Guillermo Heredia off the chest of third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert. Daniel Vogelbach then pinch-hit for Taylor Motter and sent a grounder to second baseman Whit Merrifield, who started a 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam.
Orlando tied it: The Royals didn't have many good swings against Mariners starter James Paxton, but they did put runners on first and second in the fourth with none out as Mike Moustakas beat the shift with a slow roller to the left side, and Cuthbert rolled a single between short and third. Paxton struck out the next two hitters but then Paulo Orlando jumped on a 1-0 four-seam fastball and roped a two-run double into the right-field corner, tying the score at 2.
Paxton struck out 10 hitters, tying a career high.
"He was tough," Yost said. "It was just a tough day for us offensively -- 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position."
QUOTABLE
"It's the best I've felt about a 3-7 start in my life. I just feel like we're going to get on a run offensively and get back a little more to even." -- Yost, on the Royals' 3-7 record
WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Right-hander Ian Kennedy (1-0, 0.75 ERA) will try to continue his hot start as the Royals open a four-game set with the Angels on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. CT at Kauffman Stadium. Kennedy threw six scoreless innings last Saturday in a 1-0 win over Cleveland at Progressive Field.
Buchholz eyeing Triple-A rehab assignment
April 11, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Right-hander Clay Buchholz, signed by the Royals to a Minor League deal during Spring Training, continues to build up his arm strength and is progressing toward a Triple-A assignment possibly within two weeks.
Buchholz remained in Surprise, Ariz., after camp broke to continue throwing side sessions and simulated games. He is scheduled to get his pitch count up to 60 on Wednesday in an extended spring camp game.
"We'll get him on a five-day rotation now," assistant general manager J.J. Picollo said. "Reports we're getting is he is looking really good. He's been pitching aggressively, good cutter so far. It's about just building his arm strength up."
Buchholz has a May 1 opt-out if he is not on the 25-man roster, so there is some urgency to see how he'll perform at Triple-A.
"Veterans like him will let you know when they're ready," Picollo said.
Buchholz, 33, was a two-time All-Star with the Red Sox. He was traded to the Phillies in 2016 and then started two games for them in '17 before needing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm. Buchholz said in March the tendon was 100 percent healed.
The Royals also are monitoring the progress of right-hander Kyle Lohse, who signed a Minor League contract on March 31 and also has been throwing at extended spring camp. Picollo said Lohse, 39, is a little further behind than Buchholz, and just recently began throwing 20-pitch sessions.
Karns moving toward simulated game
Right-hander Nate Karns, on the 10-day disabled list with elbow inflammation, is still just throwing on the side and said he wasn't sure when he would be ready to throw a simulated game.
"There's still a little discomfort in there," Karns said. "It needs to be gone so I can put a finish on my pitches and be of help in the bullpen.
Late Mariners homer spoils Duffy's performance in Royals' 4-2 loss
April 11, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Royals outfielder Jorge Soler backed up to the Kauffman Stadium fence in right field as he watched a fly ball slice through the air on Wednesday afternoon.
The ball, hit by Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager, didn’t sound like it would carry beyond the warning track. Off the bat, it traveled with an exit velocity of 95.6 mph — not exactly a screamer. It had just a 14 percent chance of becoming a hit, according to MLB.com’s Statcast system.
Yet, as the ball approached the outer edges of the field, Soler jumped to make a play and came up empty.
Suddenly, the wind had pushed the ball the extra distance it needed to fall into the Royals bullpen for a two-run home run that traveled 374 feet. The hit, surrendered by reliever Justin Grimm in the eighth inning, made the difference in the Royals’ 4-2 loss to the Mariners.
“It sucks for my teammates, number one,” Grimm said. “I can get over it for myself but just for these guys, man, they tried to battle back the next inning. That was awesome to see. This hill’s on me.”
But on a day when few things went right for the Royals, it is perhaps unfair for Grimm to take all the blame.
Starter Danny Duffy struggled through a 36-pitch first inning in which he walked three batters and threw a wild pitch that allowed Mariners designated hitter Robinson Cano to score the game’s second run.
Before that, a foul ball popped up to the right side of home plate popped out of catcher Cam Gallagher's glove as he fell to his knees on the play. It cost him an error and what would have been the second out in a bases-loaded situation. Three pitches later, Seager hit a fly ball deep enough to right field to drive in Dee Gordon for the Mariners' first run.
Some time later, after Whit Merrifield drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on Mike Moustakas’ single to right in the eighth inning, the next three Royals batters were retired in order.
In all, the Royals — who had tied the game 2-2 in the fourth inning on Paulo Orlando’s two-out, two-run double against Mariners starter James Paxton — went 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. They tallied seven hits but stranded eight runners. They struck out 12 times, including 10 times against Paxton, who tied a career high when he fanned Orlando and stranded runners on first and third in the sixth inning.
“We weren’t really productive in that phase of our game,” manager Ned Yost said.
The Royals haven’t been particularly productive in that phase of the game all season. Their 31 runs in 10 games are tied for the 27th-lowest mark in baseball. Their .188 batting average with runners in scoring position is only better than four other teams.
And while Jon Jay, Merrifield and Moustakas have combined for 33 hits out of the top three spots in the Royals’ batting order, the remainder of the regular starting lineup has 32 hits altogether. (The figure uses Orlando’s stats instead of those for Alex Gordon, who was retroactively placed on the disabled list with a left hip labral tear on Tuesday.)
Offensive futility has spoiled recent performances from the starting rotation. Before rookie starter Eric Skoglund allowed five runs on Tuesday night, Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel and Jakob Junis had combined to shut out opponents for 23 2/3 innings dating to Duffy’s last start on Friday against the Indians, when he allowed three first-inning runs.
Such dominance from the starting rotation is arguably the brightest spot of the last week, during which the Royals have won two of six games.
“I think our starting pitchers have done a great job on days when they don’t have their best stuff, like Danny today,” Yost said. “They continue to compete through it and keep us in ballgames. It’s the best I’ve felt about a 3-7 start in my life.”
Despite having to work 3 2/3 innings on Wednesday, relievers pitched well, outside of Grimm’s mistake.
Brad Keller, the Rule 5 acquisition who had never pitched above Class AA until his major-league debut on March 29, continued to build on a stellar start to his rookie season when he induced a double play to clean up after Duffy in the sixth. He breezed through the seventh inning before turning the mound over to Grimm. Keller has allowed only two hits in four scoreless appearances.
And fellow rookie Tim Hill struck out two batters in a clean ninth inning.
“I have a lot of confidence in this squad,” Duffy said. “Our lineup’s nasty, our bullpen’s nasty, our starting staff has been really good.”
Duffy wasn’t nearly as optimistic about himself. After issuing his final walk in the first inning, an arm slot adjustment corrected the course of his outing and allowed him to mow down 13 of the next 14 batters on 53 pitches. He struck out seven Mariners.
But Duffy’s first-inning struggles continued for a second consecutive start, forcing Yost to reach into the bullpen when Duffy’s pitch count climbed to 101 in the sixth inning.
“You don’t get to subtract one inning from any outing,” Duffy said. “I’m way better than that. … I don’t expect to come out in the sixth. That’s not what I work for. I work to be someone who can give the bullpen a rest every time I go out and get the ball.”
The Royals get shifty: a handy guide to infield positioning
April 11, 2018 By Lee Judge/KC Star
Recently, Royals manager Ned Yost said his team will be more defensive shifts in 2018. The Royals' analytics department believes using more defensive shifts — putting three defenders on one side of the infield — over the long run will result in fewer hits by the opposition.
Here’s the rationale.
If a left-handed batter hits 70 percent of his ground balls to the right side of the infield, why not put three defenders between first and second base? Sure, 30 percent of the time the batter might hit ground balls to the left side of the infield, but over the course of a season, isn’t playing the odds and putting more defenders where the batter tends to hit the ball a smart move?
In theory, yes. But things can get complicated.
The hitter’s approach can change the odds
Some batters tend to pull everything: inside pitches, outside pitches, off-speed stuff and fastballs. If that’s the case, the pitcher can throw any pitch to any location and still have a good chance of getting a ball hit to the pull-side of the field ... right into the defensive shift.
Other batters tend to pull the ball when they’re ahead in the count, but once they have two strikes they shorten their swing and look to hit the ball to the opposite field. As Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas pointed out, you better know which batters take that approach and adjust accordingly.
And a batter’s approach might change. Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy said a hitter as talented as Miguel Cabrera might come into a series looking to hit the ball to the opposite field for singles; but if Cabrera comes into a series swinging the bat well, he might be looking to pull the ball and do extra-base damage.
Over the course of a season, a hitter might pull 70 percent of his grounders. But depending on the hitter, those odds can change from game to game, at-bat to at-bat, or even pitch to pitch.
The count matters
Occasionally, a left-handed hitter will look at three guys on the right side of the infield and one guy on the left side and decide to use all that open territory to bunt for a base hit.
If the Royals believe a hitter might attempt a bunt, you’ll probably see Moustakas playing in on the edge of the grass at the start of the at-bat. But if the hitter gets a strike on him, Moustakas will probably back up.
That’s because a lot of hitters who face shifts aren’t great bunters, and the Royals don’t believe those hitters will attempt a bunt with one strike and risk fouling it off or missing the pitch entirely. Most hitters dread a two-strike count.
So sometimes Moustakas will back up because the hitter is behind in the count, but other times Moustakas will back up because the hitter is ahead in the count: 2-0, 2-1 and 3-1 are good hitting counts, because the pitcher is likely to throw a hittable fastball. In that situation, the hitter probably wants to swing away.
Some hitters take different approaches in different counts, and that’s why you might see the Royals' defenders repositioning themselves between pitches.
Who covers what base?
In the second game of the White Sox series, Chicago's Adam Engel put down what would have normally been a sacrifice bunt on the right side of the infield. Kennedy and Royals first baseman Lucas Duda both went for the ball.
Duda picked it up and turned to make a throw, but nobody was covering first base.
Second baseman Whit Merrifield would normally be the guy to cover first base on that play, but with the right-handed Engel at the plate, Merrifield was positioned up the middle and couldn’t get to first base in time to make a play.
Against the Tigers, however, having Merrifield play up the middle worked well; he caught a flare off the bat of Mikie Mahtook that would have normally dropped in for a single and caught a James McCann line drive that resulted in a double play.
Unorthodox positioning can result in unorthodox plays.