Daily Clips
June 17, 2017
LOCAL
Cain's 2 HRs lead KC to 6th straight win
June 17, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan and Maria Guardado/MLB.com
KC eyes 7th straight in rookie clash at Big A
June 16, 2017ByKaelen Jones/MLB.com
Gordon seeing results from mechanical tweak
June 16, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Howser's influence resonates, 30 years later
Royals manager's steady hand guided 1985 champs before his passing in '87
June 16, 2017By Tracy Ringolsby/MLB.com
Lorenzo Cain blasts two more homers as Royals win their sixth straight game
June 16, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
MLB’s Rob Manfred to announce new partnership with Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
June 16, 2017By Josh Tolentino/KC Star
Edinson Volquez on former Royals teammate Yordano Ventura: ‘I still think about him all the time’
June 16, 2017By Vahe Gregorian/KC Star
MINORS
Chasers Strike Early, Earn Split in 10-6 Win
Offense propels Omaha to 2nd straight victory
June 16, 2017By Omaha Storm Chasers
Drillers Eliminated with 4th Straight Loss
Tulsa blanked 4-0 by Northwest Arkansas
June 16, 2017By Tulsa Drillers
Sox Baffled by Blue Rocks 7-0 Friday
Salem Bats Silent Again in Second Straight Shutout Loss
June 16, 2017By Ben Gellman/Salem Red Sox
Legends break open close game, win 14-3
June 16, 2017By Lexington Legends
MLB TRANSACTIONS
June 17, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Cain's 2 HRs lead KC to 6th straight win
June 17, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan and Maria Guardado/MLB.com
Lorenzo Cain continued to swing a hot bat for the Royals, homering twice and driving in three runs to extend Kansas City's winning streak to a season-high six games with a 3-1 victory over the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium.
Cain opened the scoring with a solo shot in the third, added an RBI single in the fifth and capped his big night at the plate with another home run in the eighth. Cain, who is 13-for-30 (.433) with 11 RBIs over his last seven games, now has six home runs on the road trip and nine of his home runs have come since May 23.
"I'm just swinging at better pitches," Cain said. "That's always the key to this game. Swing at good pitches. When I've gotten good pitches to hit, I've been able to do damage. So that's the biggest difference."
Cain's production helped back a dominant outing from right-hander Ian Kennedy, who flirted with a perfect game en route to tossing six innings of one-run ball and earning his first victory since Sept.11, 2016. Kennedy retired the first 17 batters he faced before surrendering a home run to Cliff Pennington with two outs in the sixth inning, which cut the Royals' lead to 2-1.
"It feels really good," Kennedy said of getting a win. "My last start, I got a hit and a walk and everyone was saying 'Good job.' But I said, 'I'll trade a hit, a walk, anything to get a win.' Some people didn't know I didn't have a win [for a while]. But I'm glad to just get one. Maybe more to come."
It marked Kennedy's second gem of the season against the Angels. On April 16 vs. the Halos at Kauffman Stadium, Kennedy struck out 10 and fired eight shutout innings.
Right-hander Jesse Chavez pitched seven strong innings for the Angels, yielding two runs on nine hits while walking none and striking out four, though he was charged with the tough-luck loss.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Pennington break up the perfect game: Kennedy stymied the Angels for five innings before Pennington finally got them on the board with two outs in the sixth with his first home run of the season. Pennington, who started at second base in place of Danny Espinosa, launched a 3-1 fastball to right-center field, bringing the Angels within one. With the blast, Pennington snapped an 0-for-10 funk and collected his first extra-base hit of the year.
"We all knew that it was going on, but just trying to go up there and get a good pitch to hit, just like every at-bat," Pennington said of Kennedy's bid for a no-hitter. "He came right at me with a fastball, and I got it pretty good."
Kennedy navigates trouble: The Angels continued to threaten after Pennington's homer, as Cameron Maybin lined a double down the left-field line, and Kole Calhoun drew a walk to put the potential tying run on second and go-ahead run on first with two outs in the sixth. Kennedy worked out of the jam by inducing a popup from Albert Pujols, keeping the Royals' 2-1 lead intact. Kennedy departed the game after allowing one run on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
"He's one of the best hitters there is," Kennedy said of Pujols. "There's a reason he has 600 homers. I wasn't really going to give in, but I had to grind it out. I knew Escobar was no slouch. He swung 3-0, it was probably a ball. Then I executed a pitch away, enough where I got an out."
QUOTABLE
"I know Cliff pretty well. I mean, he's a terrible friend. I told him he's a terrible friend and I was deleting his phone number." -- Kennedy, on former D-backs teammate Pennington breaking up his perfect game
"We're trying to figure out what the rest of the league has that we definitely don't. Every time we see him it's like, 'Golly, everything is on the corner, everything is the same.' When he's making pitches to us, he's making quality pitches." -- Pennington, on Kennedy's dominance against the Angels
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Cain's first blast of the game was his hardest-hit and farthest homer of the season, with an exit velocity of 107 mph and an estimated distance of 436 feet, according to Statcast™.
WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Rookie right-hander Jake Junis (2-0, 4.67 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals at 7:15 p.m. CT on Saturday. Junis held the Padres to three runs -- on three solo home runs -- in the Royals' 8-3 win over the Padres on Sunday.
Angels: Right-hander Alex Meyer (2-3, 4.05 ERA) will start for the Angels on Saturday in the third game of this four-game series at 5:15 p.m. PT. It will be Meyer's first career appearance against Kansas City.
KC eyes 7th straight in rookie clash at Big A
June 16, 2017ByKaelen Jones/MLB.com
The Angels hand the ball to right-hander Alex Meyer (2-3, 4.05 ERA) on Saturday, looking to snap the Royals' six-game winning streak. Kansas City will counter with fellow rookie right-hander Jake Junis (2-0, 4.67).
Meyer, winless in his last four starts, is seeking his first win since May 14 against Detroit. The 6-foot-9 flamethrower allowed two runs on five hits and five walks, while striking out five Twins over 4 2/3 innings in his most recent start.
Meanwhile, Junis recorded a career-high six strikeouts over seven innings -- the lengthiest outing of his career -- in his latest start, a win against San Diego. He is making his fourth career start and sixth appearance of the season in what will be his first game against the Angels.
Three things to know
• Left-handed batters are slashing .265/.359/.618 and have hit three home runs off Junis this season. He'll need to be careful of Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun (batting .373 with five home runs in June), who is one of two American League players hitting at least .365 with five home runs this month.
• Both starting pitchers will be opposed by a fellow rookie for the third time this season. Meyer, is 1-0 such meetings, has been previously countered by Minnesota's Adalberto Mejía and Oakland's Jharel Cotton.
For Junis, also 1-0 in such matchups, Saturday marks the third straight start he's opposed a rookie pitcher after facing Houston's David Paulino and San Diego's DinelsonLamet.
• Angels right-handed reliever Cam Bedrosian -- who's been on the disabled list since April 22 with a right groin strain -- is expected to be activated ahead of Saturday's contest. Los Angeles' bullpen has performed well in his absence, allowing only 19.8 percent of inherited runners to score (89 of 111 runners stranded), the lowest mark in the league.
Gordon seeing results from mechanical tweak
June 16, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The difference in Royals left fielder Alex Gordon's offense over the last two weeks has been remarkable, especially when one considers his dreadful start to 2017.
As recently as June 2, Gordon sat at .172 with no home runs and nine RBIs. He hadn't even hit a double in almost a month, slugging at .202 overall.
That's when Royals batting coach Dale Sveum suggested to Gordon that part of the reason he wasn't making consistent contact or driving the ball was he had no power base. Gordon simply wasn't loading his back hip and leg.
"You have to go back to go forward, at least with any power," Sveum said. "He was getting to his front side with no power behind his swing."
Through several drills, Gordon began committing to the new approach.
The results were almost immediate. In his last nine games before Friday, Gordon is hitting .313 while slugging at .719. He has four doubles and three home runs in that span. He simply is Alex Gordon again.
Gordon, though, rarely likes to talk about hitting mechanics, at least not publicly.
"I'm just trying to put the work in and try to keep my head up," Gordon said. "Obviously, when you're going to go through your struggles in baseball sometimes, you just try to find a way out of it.
"We've been working with Dale, trying to get a better load with my approach and hit the ball with more power. I'm trying to work on it every day."
The results have pleased everyone from manager Ned Yost to Sveum.
"[Not loading] has been a little bit of an issue for a while for him," Sveum said. "So now it's just committing to that and installing it. I think it had been the source of some problems. He's kind of a rotational guy anyway, and then when you don't load, you just sort of spin out."
Sveum has been around too long to proclaim anyone, including Gordon, "fixed."
"It's a game of constant adjustments," Sveum said. "But the one thing you know about Alex is that he is going to put the work in."
Gordon might even have another secret weapon: Espressos.
Peter Moylan recently introduced Gordon and several other Royals to drinks from an espresso machine Moylan purchased for the Kauffman Stadium clubhouse. Moylan recently opened an espresso and breakfast cafe near his home in West Melbourne, Australia.
Gordon fell in love with Moylan's espresso concoctions and bought an espresso machine for the club to use on the road.
Gordon, a mild coffee drinker previously, now admits he loves espressos and has one right before every game.
Does the caffeine jolt last the whole game?
"I think so," Gordon said, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe that's what's helping me."
Howser's influence resonates, 30 years later
Royals manager's steady hand guided 1985 champs before his passing in '87
June 16, 2017By Tracy Ringolsby/MLB.com
The memory is vivid for George Brett.
He dropped by the hospital to visit Royals manager Dick Howser, who was about to undergo surgery for a brain tumor. And after the two exchanged pleasantries, a picture on the stand next to Howser's bed caught Brett's attention.
"I didn't know he thought that much of me as a person to put a picture of me and him in his hospital room," Brett said of that late July night in 1986.
The following spring, the reality hit. Howser, who had led the Royals to a World Series championship in 1985 with his ability to bring along a young but talented pitching staff, wouldn't be returning to the Royals.
"I remember when he came back in Spring Training [in 1987]," said Brett. "He had his jersey from the year before, but he had lost so much weight it looked like he was wearing Cecil Fielder's jersey. He was weak, but he addressed the team, and everything was great. Fort Myers was really hot that day. And he got out on the field, and 10 minutes later, he was in his office.
"That's when he was done. I remember going in his office and said, `You all right?' He said, 'I don't think I'm going to be able to make it. I'm not strong enough. I don't feel good out there. I have no energy.' You can't manage a team if you don't have the energy. I don't think he ever put on a uniform again."
Howser passed away less than four months later, 30 years ago Saturday.
Baseball lost a brilliant manager and a wonderful human being. And the Royals stumbled.
Kansas City had advanced to the postseason seven times between 1976 and '85, twice making it to the World Series, not to mention coming back from 3-games-to-1 deficits against the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series and then the Cardinals in the World Series to claim that 1985 title.
But it was another 30 years before the Royals got back into the postseason, losing the World Series to the Giants in 2015 before returning the next year and beating the Mets for the franchise's second World Series championship.
Time has only strengthened the memory of Howser for those players he managed.
Rockies manager Bud Black, for example, took No. 10 for his uniform in honor of Howser.
"He's the guy who gave me my chance and believed in me," said Black.
Howser stood only 5 feet, 8 inches, but was a giant in the game. He managed with confidence and determination. He wasn't about to be pushed around.
Howser is the only manager to resign from the Yankees during the George Steinbrenner regime, and at least three times when Howser managed the Royals, he turned down overtures to return to the Yankees at significantly more money than he earned in Kansas City.
And Howser's arrival in Kansas City after the settlement of the 1981 midseason strike was a welcomed event by the Royals.
"He was so easy to play for," said Brett. "I don't think he ever had a yelling, screaming match, like other managers do. … His demeanor was calm. He didn't get too excited when things were going [well], and didn't get down when things were going bad. He'd end every meeting with, '[Heck] with it. We'll get it done. I have confidence in you guys. You guys just relax, go out there and play.'"
And the Royals not only went out there and played, but they played well.
Howser's ability to lead was never more evident than in the spring of 1984. As if a major remake of a rotation wasn't challenge enough, four members of the Royals had been convicted of cocaine possession the previous year and spent the offseason in prison.
Howser, however, wasn't about to be distracted. The focus was on what was ahead, not behind. And he quickly assimilated rookies Bret Saberhagen and Mark Gubicza -- both coming out of Double-A -- and Danny Jackson into the pitching routine, along with Black, who had split the two previous seasons between the Royals and Triple-A Omaha.
A team that found itself in last place and 11 games below .500 (40-51) on July 17 began a turnaround the next two nights, Gubicza and Saberhagen pitching the Royals to victories against the Orioles that sent the Royals on their way to a 43-27 finish en route to an AL West title. They were swept by the Tigers in the ALCS, but the stage was set for 1985.
"He just stuck with [the young pitchers]," said Brett. "They weren't polished their first year, but they were good. The way he handled them, showing a lot of confidence in them that first year in the big leagues, turned out to be an integral part of our ball club. That was a great starting rotation."
It certainly showed in the seven-game World Series success against the Cardinals in 1985. The starting pitchers worked 55 1/3 of a possible 62 innings -- including two complete games by Saberhagen, who capped the World Series with a complete-game victory.
"He had a great mind and a great feel for players," said Black, who pitched 15 years in the big leagues and was a pitching coach with the Angels and manager of the Padres before being hired last offseason by the Rockies. "He knew -- whether it was me, Danny Jackson, Charlie Leibrandt, Sabes or Gubicza -- we were legit big league pitchers. We were competitive, not scared. And team guys -- even though we were young. …
"That's something I have carried on in my career, the belief in a player. The gut instincts on a player are usually right. I've grateful Dick was my manager and had that belief in me because there were some up-and-down performances early. But I felt he thought, long-term, I could be successful."
Howser was right, to the surprise of nobody who knew him.
Lorenzo Cain blasts two more homers as Royals win their sixth straight game
June 16, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Lorenzo Cain clutched his cell phone in his right hand and leaned back in a leather chair here on Friday, relaxing inside the visitors clubhouse at just past 4 p.m.