Daily Clips
June 14, 2018
LOCAL
Hammel's strong start derailed by KC errors
Esky's misplay opens door in 7th for Reds to sweep series
June 13, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Yost advocates expansion of replay system
June 13, 2018By Jeffery Flanagan/MLB.com
National League’s worst pitching staff shuts down the Royals a second straight night
June 13, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
Royals manager Ned Yost would like to see MLB expand instant replay
June 13, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
'Mike Moustakas hates puppies.' Indians make parody video for All-Star Game voting
June 13, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Relievers for Royals' Class AAA affiliate show off funny dance moves in bullpen
June 13, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Royals GM Dayton Moore: ‘We’re not going to do a deal just to do a deal’
June 13, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
MINORS
Quick-thinking Royals minor-leaguer catches runaway dog at Bark at the Park
June 14, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Chasers Fall Late in Tacoma, 5-3
Rainiers score twice in the 8th to take series opener
June 13, 2018By Omaha Storm Chasers
Bender, Blue Rocks Outduel Wood Ducks
Rocks Salvage Series with Win
June 13, 2018By Wilmington Blue Rocks
Legends Shutout In Afternoon Affair Facing Fireflies
June 13, 2018By Lexington Legends
NATIONAL
'Strikeouts are sexy' ... but these pitchers are succeeding without K's
June 14, 2018By Jerry Crasnick/ESPN.com
Big shakeup coming for O’s?; Machado’s possible suitors; Bryce’s struggles; the Padres’ strong Hand
June 14, 2018By Ken Rosenthal/The Athletic
Beltre supplants Ichiro atop foreign-born hits list
June 14, 2018By Kaelen Jones/MLB.com
There Are Too Many Strikeouts in Baseball: Here's How to Fix the Problem
June 14, 2018By Tom Verducci/Sports Illustrated
MLB TRANSACTIONS
June 14, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Hammel's strong start derailed by KC errors
Esky's misplay opens door in 7th for Reds to sweep series
June 13, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Another solid outing by a Royals starter. But the offensive rut rolls on.
Right-hander Jason Hammel gave up just two earned runs over 7 1/3 innings, but he received no offensive support in a 7-0 loss to the Reds on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. Cincinnati swept the two-game set.
Hammel gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out three. But the Royals' offense has managed just 11 runs in its past seven games.
"I thought he was in complete control for seven innings," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He really managed his pitch count."
Reds starter Tyler Mahle struck out just one batter through 6 1/3 innings, but the Royals had no serious threats as he permitted three hits and two walks.
"He pitched good," Royals first baseman Hunter Dozier said. "His fastball kind of jumps on you. It plays harder than it shows."
The Reds broke through against Hammel in the seventh, thanks to some iffy defense. Jose Peraza looped a double leading off, and went to third on a groundout.
With the infield in, Scooter Gennett hit a hard two-hopper at shortstop Alcides Escobar, who tired to play it to his left side. But it eluded him for an error and Peraza scored.
"The ball kind of skipped up on Esky," Yost said. "Hammel made a good pitch, but the ball just skipped on Esky."
A bloop single by Eugenio Suarez moved Gennett to third. Jesse Winker then hit a double-play grounder at Dozier, who took the out at first and then tried to get a tag double play at second. It didn't matter because Dozier's throw hit the runner for an error and it was 2-0.
"I made some pitches," Hammel said. "Sometimes in that regard, that's all I can do, is make pitches. I know that guys aren't trying to kick the ball and not trying to misplay it, but at this level, those things affect the outcome. That's the game in a nutshell. Whoever makes less mistakes is usually the team that comes out on top. We made some mistakes tonight, and it cost us."
Adam Duvall's grand slam off Royals reliever Jason Adam in the ninth put the game well out of reach.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
There's a reason Royals left fielder Alex Gordon has five American League Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove Award. He showed that skillset to the Reds in the sixth inning. First, Gordon grabbed Curt Casali's liner off the left-field fence, pivoted and threw a bullet to second baseman Ramon Torres from the warning track. The throw nailed Casali for Gordon's 87th career assist and fifth this season.
Moments later, Gordon raced in on Billy Hamilton's sinking liner and made a diving catch. Statcast™ rated it a three-star catch with a 57 percent catch probability. Gordon had to cover 43 feet in 3.3 seconds.
"Great. They were just phenomenal plays," Yost said. "The first thing that went through my mind is no wonder he is a gold/platinum player."
HE SAID IT
"This is the second time [Reds designated hitter Joey Votto] hit a changeup off me, which is kind of crazy. [He] split my shin open back in '15. Now he's off [my] bicep. Obviously he asked if I was fine. Stand-up guy." -- Hammel, on the comebacker in the seventh off the bat of Votto
Yost advocates expansion of replay system
June 13, 2018By Jeffery Flanagan/MLB.com
A day after the Royals lost a tough 5-1 decision to the Reds in 10 innings, manager Ned Yost was calling for more plays being available to review.
What stung Yost and the Royals on Tuesday night was Reds speedster Billy Hamilton avoiding a tag by shortstop Alcides Escobar in a rundown in the 10th by seemingly running out of the basepath. But Hamilton was ruled safe and Cincinnati went on to score four runs and take the win.
Yost argued that Hamilton was well past the three feet out of the basepath allowed to avoid a tag.
Rule 5:09 states that the baserunner is out if, "He runs more than three feet away from his basepath to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner's basepath is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely."
"Your arm length is three feet," Yost said. "Esky established the basepath. But if you can't tag [Hamilton by reaching your arm out], he's out of the baseline. And it was two feet past that [original three feet]."
The umpires did not change the call and the play was not reviewable.
That had Yost thinking it's time to make more plays reviewable.
"I mean there's a lot of them that I think should be added to the list," Yost said. "Like interference/obstruction, infield fly rule, trapped plays in the infield, fair/foul in the infield, foul tip, batter's interference, batted ball hitting a runner, runner out of the basepath, 45-foot lane violation.
"All those things should be reviewable. We have the technology now to make those reviewable."
Yost has been a proponent of the current expanded review system since it was launched in 2014.
"Absolutely, 100 percent," Yost said. "Look at the number of calls that were missed that we got them right because of replay. And there's still many that could. That wasn't right last night. But replay review would have gotten it right."
Further bolstering Yost's call for reviews is that he has the game's No. 1 replay/review specialist Bill Duplissea, who was a Major League-best 16-of-19 this season entering Wednesday's action.
"He's the best," Yost said.
National League’s worst pitching staff shuts down the Royals a second straight night
June 13, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
The adjustments to the lineup constitute more than a simple reshuffling of the order. They’re wholesale changes, orchestrated by Royals manager Ned Yost to spark a team on the wrong side of the Mendoza Line over the past two weeks.
They couldn’t wake a scuffling offense.
Neither could a pair of dates against the worst-performing pitching staff in the National League.
The Cincinnati Reds left Kauffman Stadium with a 7-0 win Wednesday, the latest staff to silence the Royals’ offense. They swept a two-game interleague series, allowing only one run across 19 innings.
The Royals (22-46) wasted a quality starting outing for the second straight night, this one from Jason Hammel. He issued 7 1/3 innings, the initial six without allowing a run. He gave up three in the game, just two of the earned.
“Just frustrated,” Hammel said, adding, “Losing is getting old.”
The offense remained stale. The Royals have 23 runs in 12 games in June. They have 11 over the past seven games. When Reds first baseman Adam Duvall supplied a ninth-inning grand slam, the one swing quadrupled the Royals’ output in the entire series.
The latest arm to shut them down was Reds starter Tyler Mahle, who began the evening with a 4.33 earned run average. Mahle skated through 6 1/3 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. The Reds have the worst collective ERA in the National League, the number creeping toward 5.00.
“His fastball kind of jumps on you,” Royals first baseman Hunter Dozier said of Mahle. “It plays harder than it shows.”
As it did Tuesday, the struggles of the Royals offense stole the headline from a superb outing on the mound.
The topic of Hammel led Yost’s pregame meeting with the media Wednesday, a group of reporters inquiring about the key to the right-hander’s recent improvement. “Command,” Yost said, followed by a blunt stare.
Hammel threw 94 pitches Wednesday, and 65 of them were strikes. He recorded at least one out in the eighth inning for the first time since April 20.
“I thought he was in complete control for seven innings,” Yost said. “He really managed his pitch count.”
The Reds finally interrupted the starting pitchers’ duel in the seventh, taking advantage of Royals defensive miscues. Shortstop Jose Peraza doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a Scooter Gennett ground ball that snuck under Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar’s glove. Gennett later scored on a fielder’s choice, a ball that could have started an inning-ending double play if not for Hunter Dozier’s throwing error.
“I had plenty of chances to get out of some innings,” Hammel said. “A couple of errors, including some of my own. We gotta be better than that.”
Whit Merrifield led off the game with a single, and it stood as the Royals’ lone hit until Merrifield returned to the plate in the sixth and supplied a double along the third-base line. He and Jorge Soler combined for four of the Royals’ five hits.
On a night in which the offense was lifeless, Royals left fielder Alex Gordon’s defense was anything but. In the fifth inning, Gordon threw out Reds catcher Curt Casali from the warning track. It was his fifth outfield assist of the year. One batter later, he dove head first to take away a base hit from Billy Hamilton.
“They were just phenomenal,” Yost said. “The first thing that went through my mind is no wonder he is a gold (and) platinum player.”
Royals manager Ned Yost would like to see MLB expand instant replay
June 13, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
As Royals manager Ned Yost debated an umpire’s call — or lack thereof — after Tuesday’s game, he acknowledged that he had not yet seen a replay to confirm his suspicion that Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton left the baseline to elude a tag.
A day later, he saw one.
It didn’t change his mind.
Yost still felt Hamilton should’ve been ruled out of the baseline in the 10th inning — meaning he was more than three feet outside of the established path. Instead, he dodged Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar’s tag without consequence, keeping the bases loaded and setting up Joey Votto’s go-ahead, bases-clearing triple. The Reds won 5-1.
When Yost departed the dugout to argue the call with the umpiring crew, he knew the play did not fall under the list of reviewable items. But he thinks it should.
“Replay review would’ve gotten it right,” he said Wednesday. “Your arm length is three-feet long. So once you’re here, you’ve established the base line, and if you go to tag him here and you can’t tag him, he’s out of the baseline. (Hamilton) was still another two or three past that.”
Yost has been a supporter of instant replay since its significant expansion in 2014. The replay rules essentially allow for most clear-cut, black-and-white plays to be put into the review system.
But not much else.
“There’s a lot of them that I think should be added to the list — interference, obstruction, infield fly rule, trap plays in the infield, fair or foul in the infield, foul tip, batter’s interference, batted ball hitting a runner, runner out of the basepath, 45-foot lane violation. All those things,” Yost said. “There’s no reason why they couldn’t. I think we got the technology to be able to review those things.”
The counterpoint is a simple one.
Time.
MLB is in the business of trying to shorten its games, and umpires putting on the headsets more often will only prolong them. But Yost argues the most important element is getting the call correct.
Plus, he has a reliable weapon at his disposal to ensure the umpires do get them right ... at least on the allowable plays. Per MLBReplayStats.com, the Royals have the best challenge rate in baseball this season, with 83.3 percent of their challenges overturned after the replay. Bill Duplissea serves as the team’s replay coordinator.
“Look, I couldn’t be an umpire,” Yost said. “Stuff happens fast. You can’t expect to get everything right. You just can’t. This just helps them get it right on those bang-bang plays. It’s hard. It’s hard to see everything. It’s hard to be in position to get everything. (Replay) just helps them do their job.”
'Mike Moustakas hates puppies.' Indians make parody video for All-Star Game voting
June 13, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Tis the season for nasty campaign commercials, as you've likely noticed.
With the All-Star Game voting in full swing, the Cleveland Indians made their own negative ad and took aim at Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas.
It's completely over-the-top and quite funny.
The ad begins with a doctored photo of dogs licking Moustakas' face. The announcer says, "Mike Moustakas hates puppies. Jose Ramirez agrees that dogs are man's best friend. if you love dogs, makes sure you vote Jose Ramirez to the All-Star Game."
Then comes the disclaimer.
"The Cleveland Indians cannot confirm that Mike Moustakas actually hates puppies."
Here is the video:
Click the link to view the video.
Well, someone in Cleveland must not be aware of Gus, who was adopted by Moustakas in 2015:
Click the link to view the video.
Relievers for Royals' Class AAA affiliate show off funny dance moves in bullpen
June 13, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The fire hose is a nice touch, don't you think?
During a four-game series against Albuquerque that ended Monday, relief pitchers for the Royals' Class AAA affiliate in Omaha put on quite the dance show in the bullpen.
The Cubs relievers started this dance craze, but the Storm Chasers relief pitchers showed their, ah, creative side with some of the moves.
That included Eric Stout using a fire hose at one point.
The Storm Chasers said the other pitchers involved are Brandon Maurer, Kevin Lenik, Richard Lovelady, Wily Peralta, Luis Vasquez, and bullpen catcher Josh Mazur.
Take a look at this video from the Omaha Storm Chasers:
Click the link to view the video.
Royals GM Dayton Moore: ‘We’re not going to do a deal just to do a deal’
June 13, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
When the first domino fell last week, when the Royals sent outfielder Jon Jay to Arizona for two minor-league pitchers, it seemed likely that more selling would inevitably follow.
The Royals, weighed down by a disappointing pitching staff and an aging roster, are on pace to cruise past 100 losses. The minor-league system, left derelict just three years after a World Series championship, is in need of a facelift. If ever a club was positioned for a midsummer fire sale, it would appear to be the 2018 Royals. Their architect, however, is preaching patience and pragmatism.
“We’ve got to be open minded to different things,” general manager Dayton Moore said this week. “But we’re not going to do a deal just to do a deal.”
The Royals acted swiftly in moving Jay, 33, an outfielder signed during spring training, for pitchers Elvis Luciano and Gabe Speier. Moore said the deal had been in the works for weeks, with the Diamondbacks expressing interest. When the right return surfaced, the club moved forward. (“If the deal works,” Moore said, “we’ll do it at any time.”)