Daily Clips
May 14, 2018
LOCAL
Starting pitching continues rough stretch in loss
Perez bright spot as catcher continues to rake since coming off DL
May 13, 2018By Henry Palattella/MLB.com
Royals inspired by Bat Girl on Mother's Day
With KC on road, Mila Ellsworth to be honored before Monday's game vs. Rays
May 13, 2018By Henry Palattella/MLB.com
Ball boy at Royals-Indians game showed amazing agility to avoid line drive
May 14, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
In loss to Indians, Danny Duffy becomes latest Royals veteran pitcher to allow 9 runs
May 13, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Danny Duffy and the Royals’ rotation make (bad) history in losing road trip
May 13, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
Former Royals first-round pick Bubba Starling is sidelined again. So, now what?
May 13, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
MINORS
The pedigree and promise of Khalil Lee, the Royals’ next homegrown star
May 13, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
Sparkmann Sparks Chasers to 4-2 Win
Strong Triple-A debut leads Omaha to victory in New Orleans
May 13, 2018By Omaha Storm Chasers
Naturals earn first home series win of season
Northwest Arkansas pounds out 17 hits and hits three home runs in the 11-8 win over Tulsa on Sunday
May 13, 2018By NW Arkansas Naturals
Blue Rocks Can't Push Past Mudcats in Series Finale
May 13, 2018By Wilimington Blue Rocks
NATIONAL
Cano fractures hand on HBP; surgery possible
May 13, 2018By Greg Johns/MLB.com
The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad AL Central "Race"
May 14, 2018By Jon Tayler/Sports Illustrated
Fifteen likely first-round pitchers you need to know for MLB’s upcoming draft
May 14, 2018By Jim Bowden/The Athletic
Trust the process? Seven MLB teams on pace to lose 100 games
May 14, 2018By Game Lacques/USA Today Sports
Mann makes debut 16 years after being drafted
Lefty has pitched in 342 pro games during his road to the Majors
May 13, 2018By TR Sullivan/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
May 14, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Starting pitching continues rough stretch in loss
Perez bright spot as catcher continues to rake since coming off DL
May 13, 2018By Henry Palattella/MLB.com
When manager Ned Yost made the short walk to the mound to relieve starter Danny Duffy during the fourth inning of the Royals' 11-2 loss to the Indians at Progressive Field on Sunday, it would be understandable if he was feeling some form of déjà vu.
It was the third time in four days he was pulling a starter before the fifth inning. It was the second time in three days he was pulling a starter in the fourth inning after they allowed nine runs.
"He really struggled on getting his pitches down," Yost said of Duffy's performance. "If you look at the replay, all the pitches he got hurt with were breaking pitches up, or pitches up in the zone."
Duffy's outing was plagued by home runs.
The Indians' first long ball came in the second inning when Jose Ramirez lifted a 394-foot three-run home run over the wall in right field to complete a five-run frame. The Indians opened the scoring in the inning on RBI groundouts from outfielders Greg Allen and Michael Brantley.
Francisco Lindor helped Cleveland scratch across another run in the third when the Indians' shortstop brought Yan Gomes in on an RBI single, extending Lindor's hitting streak to a career-high 14 games.
Gomes knocked Duffy out in the next inning with a three-run blast that sailed 393 feet to right-center field to give Cleveland a 9-0 lead.
"Just couldn't get the slider down in the zone," Yost said. "I thought his stuff was good. I thought his fastball was good. It was just his command that haunted him today. Just couldn't dial it in."
For Duffy, who is now 1-5 with a 6.51 ERA this year, it was another start in what is quickly becoming a nightmare campaign for him.
"I just wasn't making pitches. … It felt like they were hitting everything [I threw] a mile," he said. "I left a ball up. I have not been a good pitcher this year."
Outside of the two unearned runs given up in the sixth inning, Corey Kluber had another dominant start against an American League Central opponent. Kluber (6-2) struck out four Royals over six innings and is now 20-3 with a 2.24 ERA against AL Central teams since the start of 2016.
The Royals managed to get to Kluber in the top of the sixth inning thanks in part to two errors by the Indians' defense. Jorge Soler reached on an error by Ramirez and came around to score on a Salvador Perez double. Perez was driven in two batters later by Whit Merrifield.
Duffy allowed nine runs over 3 1/3 innings while walking five and striking out two. Duffy joined Ian Kennedy (nine earned runs allowed in four innings against Baltimore last Thursday) and Jason Hammel (nine earned runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings against Cleveland on Friday) in what has been a rough turn of the rotation for Kansas City.
"There's always concern when you go through an extended stretch [like this], but we'll just keep working," Yost said.
SOUND SMART
Perez (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) continues to rake since coming off the disabled list. He now has recorded 17 RBIs in 20 games, and seven multi-hit games since coming off the DL. He also is 6-for-18 with two doubles and three RBIs in five games as a DH this year.
HE SAID IT
"I haven't been good this year. There's no cure to this other than being good, and I haven't been good. I wish I had another answer. Do I want to say, 'I'll fix this, and I'll be better?' Of course, I believe that -- in my mind -- there's no lack of confidence. But I've been letting my team down. My team deserves better than this, my catchers deserve better than this. I haven't been performing well at all." -- Duffy
UP NEXT
The Royals and starter Eric Skoglund (1-2, 6.34 ERA) host the Rays at Kauffman Stadium on Monday at 6:05 p.m. CT to open a three-game series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-2, 4.30 ERA) will be making his third start of the year for Tampa Bay.
Royals inspired by Bat Girl on Mother's Day
With KC on road, Mila Ellsworth to be honored before Monday's game vs. Rays
May 13, 2018By Henry Palattella/MLB.com
With the Royals celebrating Mother's Day on the road for their finale with the Indians, they will honor their 2018 Honorary Bat Girl, Mila Ellsworth, a day later.
Ellsworth was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015 at the age of 36 and underwent chemotherapy and surgery to combat a BRCA 1 mutation. She will be honored during pregame ceremonies prior to the Royals' Monday night matchup against Tampa Bay. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 CT.
Ellsworth lives in Olathe, Kan., with her husband and three children, and has since undergone a lymph bypass surgery due to lymphedema. She held a fundraiser at the University of Kansas Cancer Center to help support breast cancer research, and she still continues to coach softball.
"The Royals are thrilled to join Major League Baseball to honor breast cancer advocates from across the country," Royals vice president of community relations Ben Aken said in a press release. "Mila is an inspiration to many in our community, both on and off the softball field, and we look forward to welcoming her and her family to Kauffman Stadium."
The Royals wore newly designed caps highlighted by a pink crown and blue brim on Mother's Day. The team also donned a pink ribbon on the left side of its uniforms, as well as other assorted pink equipment. Players also had the opportunity to use pink bats stamped with the MLB breast cancer awareness logo. Proceeds from all gear sold will go to to Susan G. Komen as well as Stand Up to Cancer.
Royals catcher Drew Butera, in his eighth Mother's Day in the big leagues, understands the importance of celebrating this day and what it means to those affected by cancer.
"I'm thinking of all women who have been affected by breast cancer when I use a pink bat," Butera said. "That's the reason why we as a group wear pink, to support breast cancer and breast cancer survivors. It's for all women who have had breast cancer, or are battling breast cancer."
The Honorary Bat Girl program was introduced in 2009 to raise awareness for MLB's annual "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative, which raises awareness for the breast cancer cause.
Ball boy at Royals-Indians game showed amazing agility to avoid line drive
May 14, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The job of a ball boy or girl at a Major League Baseball game is to field balls hit down the left- or right-field line.
But sometimes a baseball is hit so hard in their direction that safety is the first concern.
That was the case during Sunday's Royals-Indians game at Progressive Field when Cleveland's Rajai Davis crushed a ball down the right-field line, and the ball boy had little time to react.
The ball boy showed some amazing footwork as he avoided the ball ... and managed to keep hold of his stool all the while.
Take a look at this video from Cut 4:
Click the link to view the video.
In loss to Indians, Danny Duffy becomes latest Royals veteran pitcher to allow 9 runs
May 13, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy has been searching all season.
For a band-aid, a salve, a patch — anything to pull himself out of the worst stretch of his career.
The solution continued to evade him Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field, where the Royals lost to the Indians 11-2. In a series rubber match against the Indians, Duffy surrendered nine runs in 3 1/3 innings and watched from the center of the diamond as Jose Ramirez and Yan Gomes clubbed three-run home runs two innings apart.
Duffy has yielded four or more runs in four of his last five starts. The frustration has mounted. So much, in fact, that when he yanked on a jersey to speak briefly with reporters after the game, Duffy used the words "not good" or something resembling them eight times.
"I just haven’t been good. There’s no cure to this other than being good, and I haven’t been good," he said. "I wish I had another answer for you guys — I just haven’t been good."
Duffy had allowed more than seven runs in a game one time in his career entering Sunday. The 2011 Yankees drubbed him for eight runs and eight hits during Duffy’s rookie campaign.
Although he's thrown clunkers since, Duffy has never endured such an extended period of futility in his eight-year career. He's spent time on the disabled list for a number of injuries — he landed on it twice last year, once because of an oblique strain and another time because of an impingement in his left elbow — but he's mostly been effective. The 3.68 ERA Duffy amassed over 50 starts in 2016-17 ranked 21st out of 61 qualified starting pitchers.
Through the first month in any season he's been healthy — and Royals manager Ned Yost insists the left-handed pitcher is — Duffy has never encountered so much trouble.
After allowing six runs and facing 20 batters in three innings, Duffy sat on the visitors' dugout bench with his head in his hands and wondered where he has erred. The immediate answer on Sunday was trouble keeping his pitches down and the Indians taking advantage of the mistakes.
Beyond that, the quest is ongoing.
"Do I wanna say, ‘Yeah, I’ll fix this, I’ll be better?’" Duffy said. "Well, of course, and I believe that in my mind. There’s no lack of confidence. But I have not been good. ... My team deserves better than this."
Sunday’s outing caused Duffy's ERA to jump to 6.51 in 47 innings this season. Among qualified starters, the mark is one of the worst in the majors.
Duffy's latest misstep prolonged a recent trend. Entering Sunday, Royals starting pitchers had posted the highest ERA (6.66) in baseball in the last two weeks.
And now three of the last four to take the mound have logged nine-run outings.
The last time a Royals starter gave up nine runs, the offense built enough momentum to take Jason Hammel out of the decision and give the Royals a 10-9 win on Friday here.
Hammel praised his teammates then. He suggested the victory could help turn the Royals’ luck, give them a boost as they completed a six-game road trip with a series against the reigning American League Central Division leaders.
That never happened. The Royals scored two runs in a loss on Saturday and the damage they did Sunday barely marred the record of reigning AL Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber. Their two runs against the Indians starter were unearned — Jorge Soler reached base on an error to start the Royals’ short-lived attempt at a comeback in the sixth inning.
The Royals (13-27) return to Kauffman Stadium on Monday to start a three-game series against the Rays that begins at 6:05 p.m.
"There’s always concern when you go through a bit of an extended stretch but we just keep working," Yost said.
Danny Duffy and the Royals’ rotation make (bad) history in losing road trip
May 13, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
In a 15-year period from June 23, 1976 to June 7, 1991, the Royals did not have a starting pitcher allow nine earned runs in a game.
The stretch lasted four presidential administrations, the full decade of the 1980s, and the entire series history of the television show Dallas. It continued for more than 2,300 games. When a Royals pitcher started a game, it was safe to assume: He would leave and shower before allowing a ninth earned run.
And then came Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field, the final day of a six-game road trip. Royals starter Danny Duffy was hammered for nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings in an 11-2 loss to the Indians. For the third time in four days, a Kansas City starter had yielded nine earned runs.
The woeful performance began on Thursday night in Baltimore, when Ian Kennedy was waxed for nine earned runs and three homers in four innings in an 11-6 loss. It continued the next night in Cleveland, when Jason Hammel was crushed for nine runs before he could finish the fourth. It concluded on Sunday afternoon, when Duffy experienced the most painful day of a frustrating season — and maybe of his career.
“I just wasn’t making pitches,” Duffy said, opening a short two-minute interview. “There’s really nothing to it. I don’t know what else to say.”
Duffy dropped to 1-5 this season. His 6.51 ERA ranks second-to-last in the American League. For parts of four innings, he did not resemble the pitcher who had posted a 3.64 ERA in 2016 and 2017.
He could not command his fastball consistently. The Indians feasted on his slider. The result was a three-run homer from Cleveland’s José Ramírez that punctuated a five-run burst in the second inning. Yan Gomes added a knockout blow in the fourth, clubbing a three-run homer. Duffy allowed nine earned runs for the first time in his career.
“I felt like they were hitting everything a mile,” Duffy said. “It felt like everything I pitched had a good swing on it. … I have not been a good pitcher this year. I have not been good. There’s zero excuses. I just have not been good.”
In the moments after the loss, Duffy sought to avoid anything that would sound like an excuse. In multiple answers, he repeated that he has “not been good.”
“I just haven’t been good,” he said. “There’s no cure to this other than being good. And I haven’t been good. I wish I had another answer for you guys, I just haven’t been good.”
He is not the only guilty party. Hammel ranks right behind him with a 6.13 ERA, the third worst in the AL. Kansas City is the only starting rotation in the league with two pitchers holding ERA’s above 6.00. By comparison, Kennedy’s 4.61 ERA looks quite serviceable.
“It’s just a crappy effort, honestly, just really unacceptable,” Hammel said on Friday night. “Just really leave it at that.”
As their starting pitching crumbled, allowing 31 runs in four games, the Royals (13-27) lost another series in Cleveland. They finished a six-game road trip with a 2-4 record. They will return home to open a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
Just two days earlier, they had celebrated a thrilling 10-9 victory on Friday night. Salvador Perez had homered off Indians super reliever Andrew Miller. The Royals erased a five-run deficit. And yet, they could not muster any momentum. And Duffy finished the weekend making history instead.
“I thought his stuff was good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I thought his fastball was good. It was just the command; it just haunted him today. He just couldn’t dial it in.”
In the second season of a five-year, $65 million contract, Duffy had entered 2018 hoping to put a tumultuous year behind him. He had battled injury and weathered a citation for DUI in August. He set a goal during spring training to make more than 30 starts for the first time in his career. To this point, he has found only frustration.