Daily Clips
May 2, 2018
LOCAL
Royals rely on Soler power to clip Sox in 13th
Gordon's clutch home run in 9th inning forces extra frames
May 1, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals release Buchholz due to opt-out clause
May 1, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Jorge Soler's three-run homer in the 13th powers Royals to win over Red Sox
May 1, 2018By Maria/Torres/KC Star
Jorge Soler just had his best month with the Royals. An iPad helped him break through
May 1, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Outfield positioning? For the Royals, it’s in the cards
May 1, 2018By Lee Judge/KC Star
Mellinger Minutes: Sgt. Perez's lecture, the Chiefs' draft, Mahomes' future, KU's AD, and a Terez story
May 1, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
Five MLB All-Stars to take part in Negro Leagues Hall of Game event this summer
May 1, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
Did the birth of baseball launch angles come in 1885 in Caldwell, Kan.?
May 1, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
His older brother went deep in batting practice. Alex Gordon had to upstage him in victory over Red Sox
May 1, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
MINORS
Q&A: Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo details the progress of the club’s top prospects
May 1, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
Chasers Defeat Rain, Cubs, 7-4
Mondesi homers in rain-shortened victory
May 1, 2018By Omaha Storm Chasers
Naturals Claim The Series Opener, 4-2
Closer Jake Newberry records a six-out save in the victory over Springfield on Tuesday night
May 1, 2018By Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Wilmington's Valiant Comeback Falls Short
Rocks Strand Tying-Run at Third Base in Ninth
May 1, 2018By Wilmington Blue Rocks
NATIONAL
5 former All-Stars headline Hall of Game class
Allen, Grant, Lofton, Murray and Richard will be inducted in June
May 1, 2018By Deesha Thosar/MLB.com
Cueto lands on DL with elbow inflammation
May 1, 2018By Chris Haft/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
May 2, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Royals rely on Soler power to clip Sox in 13th
Gordon's clutch home run in 9th inning forces extra frames
May 1, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
It sure seemed like old times for Royals manager Ned Yost.
Jorge Soler belted a three-run home run in the 13th inning, and the Royals hung on for a wild, back-and-forth 7-6 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
"We just kept battling and battling," Yost said. "That's always been a hallmark of our team, no matter how difficult the times get. That's why I'm so proud of watching these guys."
Alex Gordon and Whit Merrifield delivered one-out singles, and Soler jumped on a 1-0 curveball from Brian Johnson and lifted it just over the Green Monster.
"I'm just happy the way we were able to win," Soler said through interpreter Pedro Grifol. "I was looking fastball, but I saw the breaking ball pop out of his hand and I put a good swing on it. I didn't think I hit it that well, but when I saw the outfielder turn, I knew it had a chance."
The excitement was far from over, though. Right-hander Burch Smith was one of two final relievers Yost had available in the bullpen for the 13th, and Smith immediately gave up a single and then hit a batter. After a fielder's choice, Yost opted for left-hander Brian Flynn, who allowed the inherited runners to score before securing the final two outs for his first career save.
"I was trying to get Burch through the whole inning," Yost said. "But I'm trying to win the game, too. So I went with the favorable matchup with Flynn."
The final out came when Eduardo Nunez, who had homered off Royals closer Kelvin Herrera in the 12th to tie it after Jon Jay's go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the frame, flied out to the center-field wall.
"I was ready to punch the guy out for my first save," Flynn said, smiling. "Instead I'm standing there holding my breath."
Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy pitched three scoreless innings to get the game to Herrera in the 12th. McCarthy didn't allow a hit and struck out two.
"Good two-seamers and good defense," McCarthy said. "I knew, extra innings, I had to throw strikes and go as long as I can. It was great. Good team win."
Gordon picked an opportune time for his first home run of the season, sending a 2-1, 97-mph fastball over the bullpen in right field off Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning, tying the score at 3.
Earlier, right-hander Brad Keller showed exactly why the Royals kept the Rule 5 Draft acquisition and believe in his potential as he struck out Hanley Ramirez with a 99-mph heater with the go-ahead run on third base and one out in the seventh inning.
Moments later, Keller showed why they must continue to show patience with the rookie as he fired a wild pitch, allowing the lead run to score.
Royals starter Jakob Junis was solid for five innings. He carried a 2-0 lead into the sixth when his out pitch, his slider, suddenly betrayed him. Mitch Moreland jumped on the 2-1 pitch from Junis with one out and blasted it over the right-field wall.
With two out, Rafael Devers pounded on another slider and belted it off the right-field wall for a double. Jackie Bradley Jr. then fisted a 3-1 slider into an open spot on the left side of the shift for an RBI single.
Junis went six innings and gave up seven hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out five.
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Some old-school Royals baserunning pulled off a run in the sixth. Jay led off with a single and moved to second with one out on Lucas Duda's single to left-center. Alcides Escobar hit into a fielder's choice, pushing Duda to third. With Gordon up, Escobar took off from first on a delayed steal. Escobar stopped several steps before second base to force a rundown. And as that rundown started, Jay sprinted for home plate and made it without a throw.
UP NEXT
Left-hander Danny Duffy (0-3, 5.40 ERA) takes the mound at 12:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday for the series finale at Fenway Park. Lefty Drew Pomeranz (0-1, 7.27) will start for the Red Sox. Duffy gave up four runs and six hits over six innings on Friday in a no-decision against the White Sox.
Royals release Buchholz due to opt-out clause
May 1, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Royals released veteran right-hander Clay Buchholz on Tuesday, the day of his opt-out clause in his Minor League deal.
Buchholz, 33, had been signed on March 25. He threw 16 Minor League innings between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha, giving up 10 hits and two runs, along with seven walks and nine strikeouts.
Buchholz, a former All-Star with the Red Sox, was traded to the Phillies prior to the 2017 season. He then missed most of the year because of right forearm surgery.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore said they had hoped to keep Buchholz in the Minor Leagues so he could continue to build arm strength.
"But he had that opt-out [clause], and he chose free agency," Moore told MLB.com. "It just wasn't the right fit."
Moore said the Royals were comfortable with their present starting rotation, which includes left-hander Eric Skoglund, who is coming off throwing his best game in the Major Leagues on Saturday: seven innings, two hits, one run and nine strikeouts.
"And we also have Justin Grimm and Nate Karns, who eventually will come off the disabled list, and we'll need room for that," Moore said.
The Royals also would have had to bump a player off the 40-man roster to make room for Buchholz.
Asked if the Royals considered Buchholz a possibility for the bullpen, Moore said, "We signed him as a starter, and his preference is to be a starter."
Jorge Soler's three-run homer in the 13th powers Royals to win over Red Sox
May 1, 2018By Maria/Torres/KC Star
For a year, the Royals were questioned if they’d made the right choice.
Fans, especially, wondered if the move to send closer Wade Davis to the Cubs in exchange for a strong outfielder who had yet to really prove himself in the major leagues was worth losing an integral member of a World Series-winning bullpen.
On Tuesday night in Boston, 16 months after the December 2016 trade brought outfielder Jorge Soler to Kansas City, the Royals were rewarded for holding on to hope.
Soler struck a 74 mph curveball offered by Red Sox reliever Brian Johnson into the Green Monster seats in left field. The three-run homer in the 13th inning paved the way for the Royals’ 7-6 win at Fenway Park.
With a mighty hack that muscled the ball 357 feet over the wall, Soler absolved Royals closer Kelvin Herrera of his first blown save of the year.
“I wasn’t looking for a breaking ball,” Soler said in Spanish, in the moments after hitting his first game-winning home run in a Royals uniform. “He’s a pitcher who doesn’t throw really hard. I was looking fastball. I saw the curveball there and made a swing on it.”
The Royals had fought from the ninth inning on to re-take a lead they lost in the sixth, when starting pitcher Jakob Junis surrendered a solo home run to Mitch Moreland and an RBI single to Jackie Bradley Jr.
Until then, Junis held his own in his first career outing against the Red Sox. Over six innings, he gave up seven hits and two earned runs to the best-hitting team in baseball. He also struck out five.
Before the sixth, Junis had limited the Red Sox to just five baserunners. He’d allowed four hits and issued a walk through five innings. When the Red Sox loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning, Junis turned to his vaunted slider and struck out Xander Bogaerts, the shortstop who on Monday hit the Red Sox’s sixth grand slam of the season.
“Junis gave us a heck of a start,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Made a mistake on Moreland, tried to go back-door slider and got it over the plate. Bradley fisted one against the shift, tied it up. A couple wild pitches, they take the lead. … (We) kept battling, kept fighting.”
After Junis left the game with the score tied 2-2, Andrew Benintendi scored the go-ahead run when Royals rookie reliever Brad Keller threw a wild pitch that rolled toward Mitch Moreland in the on-deck circle.
Alex Gordon provided the first glimmer of hope. He tied the game 3-3 in the ninth inning with his first homer of the season, off Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel.
Then Royals pitcher Kevin McCarthy provided three scoreless innings of relief. When he exited the game in the 12th, yielding to Herrera, the Royals had taken a 4-3 lead on Jon Jay’s sacrifice fly that scored Drew Butera in the top of the frame.
Herrera, who hadn't allowed a run in 11 appearances to start the season, made a mistake inside to Red Sox second baseman Eduardo Nuñez, who drove it over the Green Monster for another game-tying homer.
But Soler, who deposited his home run near where Nunez’s landed, provided the power Herrera needed for a victory. Brian Flynn earned the save.
The Royals improved to 8-21 and handed the Red Sox their eighth loss of the year.
“They would bend a little bit but they would never break,” Yost said. “That’s always been a hallmark of our team — these guys continue to battle no matter how difficult the times get.
“That’s why I’m always so proud of watching them out there fight. But it was good to get on the good side of one, too, when they’ve been fighting their tails off.”
Jorge Soler just had his best month with the Royals. An iPad helped him break through
May 1, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Royals outfielder Jorge Soler can often be seen ducking out of the team’s clubhouse, the hood of a T-shirt pulled over his head and an iPad tucked underneath his arm.
The device has become a weapon for him.
It’s loaded with video, flush with scouting reports on opposing pitchers. Similar ones exist for every hitter. It’s the strongest lifeline they have in a baseball world revolutionized by analytics.
But it wasn’t until this season, a few games into an April during which Soler hit .316 with 17 walks, his most in a calendar month, that he ever made use of the tool. He’d already gained an edge in the offseason when he refocused his approach in the batter’s box with the help of a privately contracted coach. This seemed like the logical next step.
His dedication to studying has paid dividends. Soler has never put together such a well-rounded month in his career. Although he had yet to tap into his power — his eight extra-base hits through Monday ranked behind Mike Moustakas' 15 and Alcides Escobar's 10 on the team — he reached base 43.4 percent of the time and knocked 24 hits in his first 24 games this season.
Combine those figures with improved plate discipline and Soler has provided manager Ned Yost an analogy to chew on.
“He just reminds me a little bit — I was always kind of amazed and wondered why he was so selective and that was (Carlos) Santana in Cleveland last year,” Yost said in his Fenway Park office this week. “Even though he’d hit (.260) he’d still have a (high) on-base with 25 home runs. … Adam Dunn the same thing.
“This kid seems to me a kid that’s gonna be kind of more the complete package. A lot of walks, a lot of power and can hit for average.”
All it took for Soler to put it together was a push. He began the season in an 0 for 11 rut, wherein he struck out and walked three times each. He made moderately hard contact with pitches, but flyballs never landed for hits and he often rolled groundballs right at infielders.
Then he was handed an iPad, offered instruction and encouraged to study.
“I kind of know what the pitcher is gonna do with me, which isn’t something I did before," Soler said.
In the weeks since, he’s batted .353 (24 for 68) and reached base safely in 19 of 20 games. He’s worked counts so well he sees 4.48 pitches per plate appearance, good enough for sixth in baseball entering Tuesday. He saw an average of 4.01 pitches in his first full major-league season in 2015.
Soler offered a simple explanation for his success: "I’m just trying to stay focused in every at-bat and make good swings on pitches."
In doing so, he’s become the hitter the Royals thought they were getting when they traded closer Wade Davis to the Cubs in exchange for the 26-year-old outfielder in December 2016.
For someone who’s been limited by injuries to 271 major-league games since his debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2014, this 2018 campaign is a crossroads. Thus far, he’s embarked on the right path.
"He's a sponge. He's always wanting to learn," Royals coach Pedro Grifol said. "He has the talent to be a pretty good hitter."
Outfield positioning? For the Royals, it’s in the cards
May 1, 2018By Lee Judge/KC Star
On a recent Sunday morning, just before a game against the Chicago White Sox, Royals outfielder Alex Gordon sat at his locker and studied a 3x5 card.
The card listed Chicago’s lineup and bench players and was divided into two categories: It told the Royals left fielder where he should position himself when the Royals had a right-handed pitcher on the mound, and where he should position himself when the Royals had a left-handed pitcher on the mound.
Those categories were subdivided into positioning before the hitter had two strikes on him and after the hitter had two strikes; that’s necessary because some hitters alter their approach once they get into a two-strike count.
Gordon doesn't carry the card with him to the outfield. He memorizes the card before the game starts. But some of the Royals' outfielders carry them in their back pockets or keep them in their hat and refer to them during games.
Royals outfield coach Mitch Maier was happy to share what's on the cards — he said the team's outfield positioning isn’t a secret. All an opposing team has to do is look at the field to know what the Royals are doing.
There are a couple of keys to deciphering the cards.
If a box next to a hitter’s name says “ST,” that means straight up; if you drew a line between first and second base and continued that line into the outfield, and the left fielder stood on that line, that would be straight-up positioning.