Daily Clips
March 25, 2017
LOCAL
Orlando, Duffy strong against Mariners
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan & Greg Johns/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220661248/seager-iwakuma-lead-mariners-past-royals/
Perez returns behind the plate
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220795424/royals-perez-catches-in-return-to-lineup/
Hosmer has done it all at every level
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220757892/royals-hosmer-has-had-success-everywhere/
Duffy would do Classic again in a heartbeat
Lefty hopes to use emotion of special event to lead into regular season
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220748714/royals-duffy-would-do-classic-again/
Still positioned to starting Opening Day, Danny Duffy passes another test in return to Royals
March 24, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article140695453.html
Eric Hosmer and Danny Duffy bring their WBC gold medals back to Royals camp
March 24, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article140659688.html
Royals vying for spot on Opening Day roster stay positive
March 24, 2017 By Shelby Hyde/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article140604958.html
Why Royals’ Matt Strahm needs to throw a slider
March 24, 2017 By Lee Judge/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/judging-the-royals/article140518318.html
Crews work on renovations at Kauffman Stadium ahead of Opening Day
March 24, 2017 By John Batten/KSHB.com
http://www.kshb.com/sports/baseball/royals/crews-work-on-renovations-at-kauffman-stadium-ahead-of-opening-day
NATIONAL
Terrance Gore Doesn't Chop Wood
March 24, 2017 By David Laurila/FanGraphs.com
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/terrance-gore-doesnt-chop-wood/
MLB TRANSACTIONS
March 25, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions
LOCAL
Orlando, Duffy strong against Mariners
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan & Greg Johns/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220661248/seager-iwakuma-lead-mariners-past-royals/
Kyle Seager continued warming up with his first Cactus League home run and Hisashi Iwakuma pitched 5 2/3 strong innings on Friday afternoon as a Mariners split squad topped the Royals, 4-3, at Peoria Stadium.
Paulo Orlando led off the fifth with a solo homer off Iwakuma. Orlando went 2-for-3 and Jorge Soler added a two-run home run with two outs in the ninth. Alex Gordon added a pair of base hits for the Royals.
Danny Duffy, making his first start for the Royals since returning from the World Baseball Classic title run for Team USA, allowed three runs on three hits over six innings while throwing 86 pitches.
"I think that's my first quality start ever in a Spring Training game," Duffy said, smiling. "It felt pretty good. Got a couple balls up, but other than that it's pretty much what I wanted."
Seager's two-run homer in the third, on the heels of a run-scoring double by Mitch Haniger, accounted for Seattle's scoring against the Royals' southpaw.
"Kyle Seager has swung the bat a lot better the last couple days," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "He's starting to get it going. He wanted to face the left-hander Duffy, who is really good. He's one of the best left-handers in the league. We didn't have a lot of opportunities, but we got something going that inning."
Iwakuma was perfect for his first three frames and finished with four hits and one run with no walks and four strikeouts in a 77-pitch performance. He'll make one more appearance next week before opening the season as Seattle's No. 2 starter in Houston.
"I feel like I'm making good steps toward the season," Iwakuma said after his best start of the spring. "Today was a big step for myself when you look at the results. So yeah, I feel like I'm ready to go."
Royals Up Next: Right-hander Ian Kennedy, expected to be the No. 2 starter this season, takes the mound against the Brewers in a 3:05 p.m. CT start (MLB.TV) at Surprise Stadium. First baseman Eric Hosmer, just back from the World Baseball Classic, could be back in the lineup.
Mariners Up Next: Lefty Dillon Overton gets the Cactus League start in Saturday's game against the Rangers at Peoria Stadium with a start time of 1:10 p.m. PT (MLB.TV). James Paxton is slated to start a Minor League contest after being pushed back a day due to illness
Perez returns behind the plate
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220795424/royals-perez-catches-in-return-to-lineup/
A familiar face was behind the plate for the Royals on Friday -- All-Star catcher Salvador Perez.
Perez played defensively for the first time since injuring his knee in a collision with Drew Butera at home plate while playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic on March 11.
Perez caught six innings in the Royals' 4-3 loss to the Mariners.
"He looked like vintage Sal," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He looked liked he always does."
Perez suffered inflammation in his left knee as well as a hyperextension in his right elbow.
Both injuries have healed, Perez said. "I felt good with both. Knee was good. No problems."
Now Perez will be in hurry-up mode to get his timing back at the plate before the regular season starts April 3.
"I need to get as many at-bats in as I can," Perez said. "When I'm not going to catch, I'll DH. That's the plan."
Hosmer has done it all at every level
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220757892/royals-hosmer-has-had-success-everywhere/
Eric Hosmer's championship quest now is complete.
With the World Baseball Classic title in hand, Hosmer believes he has won it all at every level.
"That was the one that was missing," said a smiling Hosmer, who was back in the Royals' clubhouse Friday morning. "I've won high school, state national things, summer ball, Minor League titles at different levels, big leagues."
But Hosmer isn't about to quit striving for more.
"You can never win enough World Series rings," Hosmer said. "I remember the parade in Kansas City. I'd like to do that again."
Hosmer, who was a unanimous selection the all-WBC team, said there was no doubt he would play on the team again.
"It was a fun experience," Hosmer said. "I think we had the right group of guys. It's different because you're playing against these guys for years and years and then you're on the same team. Over time, we just grew together."
The celebration Wednesday night felt a lot like winning a World Series, Hosmer said.
"It was like any other playoff celebration," Hosmer said. "We had champagne. We kept saying, 'There's nothing like champagne in March.' Everyone was spraying it around. We enjoyed it.
"At the beginning, we didn't get enough credit for how much we wanted to win for our country. It meant a lot for all of us players."
Duffy would do Classic again in a heartbeat
Lefty hopes to use emotion of special event to lead into regular season
March 24, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/220748714/royals-duffy-would-do-classic-again/
When it was over, when the United States had beaten Puerto Rico, 8-0, on Wednesday night to capture the World Baseball Classic title, left-hander Danny Duffy had one more mission to complete.
Duffy had to find his USA and Royals teammate Eric Hosmer amid the sea of bodies and celebration.
"I was looking for him with a trophy in my hand for about 30 minutes," Duffy said Friday after returning to camp. "I wanted a picture with him holding the trophy. That was important to me."
The memories of the championship will stick with Duffy forever.
"Just winning a gold medal for my country," Duffy said. "That's not something you get to do every day."
And Duffy certainly contributed. He started and got the victory in a must-win game against the Dominican Republic last Saturday.
While Duffy said he felt the pressure that day, his approach was the same as always.
"Just execute and keep it simple, like I normally do," Duffy said. "I thought I did a good job of just focusing and keeping my emotions under wraps."
The experience of playing in the Classic is something Duffy said he would do again in a heartbeat. He hopes other American players will feel the desire to play in 2021.
"I sure hope so," Duffy said. "When we got there, we kept hearing about who wasn't there. No disrespect to anyone else, but we felt a little disrespected with the talk of who wasn't there. We wanted to be there, so why were we getting shaded? We were a pretty good team and we proved it.
"You know, I saw what Noah Syndergaard said, that you don't get to the Hall of Fame or the World Series by playing in the Classic. That's all good and fun, but it's about winning a gold. You may not feel passionate about the Classic, but we do."
In fact, Duffy said playing in the Classic could help him with the Royals in 2017.
"It felt like the World Series in March," he said. "I think I can take some of that feeling into the season. I think just taking that emotion into the season will help."
Still positioned to starting Opening Day, Danny Duffy passes another test in return to Royals
March 24, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article140695453.html
As he entered the visitors clubhouse after his first Cactus League start in more than two weeks, Danny Duffy plopped down on a stool and began to untie his shoes.
He had allowed three earned runs in six innings in the Royals’ 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He finished his day with a short bullpen session to elevate his pitch count beyond the 86 he threw in the game. He peeled off his shoes one by one and deemed the performance a success.
"This might be my first quality start in spring training ever," Duffy said. "So I’m excited about that."
Duffy returned to camp on Friday after helping the United States win gold at the World Baseball Classic. He is days away from being officially named the Royals’ Opening Day starter, though manager Ned Yost has yet to confirm the assignment. The announcement is expected this weekend, perhaps either Saturday or Sunday. But first, the Royals wanted to evaluate Duffy up close after he allowed one earned run in eight innings across two starts at the World Baseball Classic.
After six innings, he passed the test.
"Everything clicked in the fourth, fifth and sixth," Duffy said.
The final line was not without flaws. Duffy yielded three runs in the bottom of the third, surrendering a booming double to Mitch Haniger and a two-run homer to Kyle Seager. Both hits came as Duffy experimented with a two-seam fastball.
"I’m just trying to throw a couple of those every game," Duffy said.
Duffy was attempting to start his two-seamer inside and let it run back over the corner. Both pitches were left up and over the middle of the plate.
"I wanted to start it off the plate and bring it back," Duffy said. "I don’t do that very often. I just wanted to work on certain things that I might utilize during the season. And we worked on them for sure, but they didn’t do what I wanted them to do.”
As the outing continued, Duffy settled back in and finished with four strikeouts. He is scheduled to throw close to 65 pitches in his final spring tuneup on Wednesday before facing the Minnesota Twins on April 3. For one day, he was happy to take another step toward the regular season.
"I’m very pleased with the results," Duffy said.
The Arms
The Royals have shown little concern over the spring performance of reliever Kelvin Herrera, a two-time All-Star who will take over the closer’s job this season. It’s spring, after all.
Herrera, though, allowed another run on Friday after replacing Duffy in the seventh inning. This one was unearned. Herrera allowed a leadoff single before another runner reached base following a throwing error from Humberto Arteaga. The run scored when Guillermo Heredia delivered a single through the hole at shortstop. Herrera has posted a 3.86 ERA, allowing 10 hits in seven appearances this spring.
After Herrera departed, Joakim Soria and Matt Strahm combined to throw a scoreless eighth inning.
The regular guys
Jorge Soler, who served as the DH on Friday, continues to look more comfortable at the plate. He hit a two-run homer off Emilio Pagan in the ninth inning on Friday. That came three days after he hit his first homer of the spring against the Diamondbacks in Scottsdale.
Soler has also homered twice in minor-league games after spending part of the last week at minor-league camp, hoping to find his timing with extra at-bats. He finished 1 for 4 on Friday with two strikeouts.
Left fielder Alex Gordon began the day in the leadoff spot and finished 2 for 3. He’s now batting .375 this spring. Paulo Orlando added two hits while starting in right field.
The young guys
Raul Mondesi started at second base and finished 0 for 2. Peter O’Brien replaced Paulo Orlando in right field and went hitless in two at-bats.
Eric Hosmer and Danny Duffy bring their WBC gold medals back to Royals camp
March 24, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article140659688.html
The door to the baseball clubhouse swung open, and into the room walked Eric Hosmer, a water bottle clutched in his arm, an American flag on his cap, a gold medal hanging from his neck.
Hosmer, the Royals’ first baseman, returned to camp at just past 8 a.m. Friday morning after helping the United States conquer the World Baseball Classic. And as the room perked up upon his entrance, Hosmer had just one question.
“Where’s Salvy at?” he asked.
Hosmer kept walking, moving through the middle of the clubhouse and turning right toward the in-house kitchen, where a dozen or so players were poking at plates of eggs and eating breakfast. As he disappeared from view, Hosmer found Royals catcher Salvador Perez. The room exploded in a din of laughter and shouting.
Hosmer and teammate Danny Duffy had been away from camp for more than two weeks, competing for the United States in WBC rounds in Miami, San Diego and Los Angeles. They rejoined their teammates 10 days before opening day, carrying memories, medals and bragging rights into the Royals’ clubhouse.
“At the beginning of it,” Hosmer said, “(Team) USA didn’t really get enough credit for how much we cared about winning for our country, and I think it grew on everybody as the tournament went on. It meant a lot for all of us players.”
The United States’ roster lacked a deep cast of superstars, including Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard and many others. The rotation was made up of Duffy, Toronto’s Marcus Stroman, Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer and Washington’s Tanner Roark. By the end, it didn’t matter.
As the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico invigorated the tournament with their passion, energy and jubilant fan bases, the United States stormed to its first gold medal in the fourth edition of the World Baseball Classic. As Duffy stood in front of his locker Friday, the unexpected nature of the title increased the satisfaction.