Daily Clips
March 30, 2018
LOCAL
Duffy, Royals burned by HRs on Opening Day
March 29, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Duda flashes pop with jack in first Royals AB
March 29, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Boyer, Goins make KC roster; Karns hits DL
March 29, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals launch Urban Youth Academy in KC
March 29, 2018By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
A day with Denny Matthews for his 50th KC Royals opener
March 29, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
Danny Duffy and the Royals bullpen implode in opening day loss to White Sox
March 29, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Kyle Zimmer had such promise. But the Royals' patience has run out
March 29, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
After return from DL, Nate Karns will pitch out of Royals' bullpen
March 29, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Whit Merrifield calls his first Opening Day with the Royals 'pretty awesome'
March 29, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The man who designed iconic Kansas City Royals logo in '60s recalls how he did it
March 29, 2018By Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian/KC Star
Hours before opener, Royals announce 25-man roster, cut Kyle Zimmer, Wily Peralta
March 29, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Royals' Greater Kansas City Day 2018 looking like 'one of the best' for charity
March 29, 2018By Matt Campbell/KC Star
In their Opening Day loss, the Royals witness life without Hosmer, Cain and — for a while — Pérez
March 30, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
The Royals are finally prepared to move on from Kyle Zimmer, an oft-injured former first-round pick
March 29, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
The Royals are on the next lap of their Circle of Life—make sure you enjoy it
March 29, 2018By Rany Jazayerli/The Athletic
Kansas City Urban Youth Academy Brings Kids Together Over Baseball
March 29, 2018By Sam Zeff/KCUR.com
The irony of Danny Duffy facing mentor, former Royal James Shields on opening day
March 29, 2018By Jared Koller/KC TV 5
MINORS
Blue Rocks Well Represented on Royals' 2018 Opening Day Roster
Thirteen Former Blue Rocks Make Big League Roster
March 29, 2018By Cory Nidoh/Wilmington Blue Rocks
Legends Add Alternate Jersey to Lineup
The body of the jersey will be Legends Bluegrass Blue with white piping, and the sleeves are Legends Regal Green
March 30, 2018By Emma Tiedemann/Lexington Legends
NATIONAL
Closer Holland agrees to join Cardinals
Right-hander adds experienced late-inning presence to St. Louis' bullpen
March 29, 2018By Joe Trezza/MLB.com
Tulo hits 60-day DL
Shortstop to miss at least first two months with bone spurs in right heel
March 29, 2018By Gregor Chisholm/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
March 30, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Duffy, Royals burned by HRs on Opening Day
March 29, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
For three innings, all seemed right for left-hander Danny Duffy and the Royals, who staked him to a four-run lead on Thursday. But after striking out five through three scoreless innings, Duffy was roughed up for five runs in the fourth and the White Sox never looked back, cruising to a 14-7 win on Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium.
Duffy went four innings and gave up seven hits and five runs. He threw 78 pitches.
But the bigger question, obviously, is Duffy's health. Duffy left his last Spring Training start with shoulder tightness. But Duffy reported the shoulder was fine.
"It's all good," Duffy said. "I felt like I had a couple more innings in me. I obviously wanted to go back out there [in the fifth], but they were being cautious. I just didn't have it in that fourth inning.
"Any time you have a 4-0 lead with me on the mound, you think you get a win out of that. I'm better than that."
But the Royals were no match for the power of the White Sox, who tied an Opening Day record with six home runs -- three by Matt Davidson. Davidson became the fourth player to hit three homers on Opening Day.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Sox dig the long ball: A 4-0 deficit quickly turned into a 5-4 White Sox lead in the fourth courtesy of South Side power. Jose Abreu started the scoring with a two-run homer off Duffy and Davidson then gave the Sox their first back-to-back homers in franchise history on Opening Day to cut the lead to 4-3. Tim Anderson tied the game three batters later, before Yoan Moncada's double put Chicago in front to stay.
Duda goes deep: First baseman Lucas Duda, who signed during Spring Training, belted a three-run home run in the first inning, becoming the first player to homer in his first at-bat with the Royals since Adam Moore in 2012. Duda hit a 2-0 cutter from Shields a projected 410 feet from the plate, according to Statcast™, into the right-center-field seats, giving Kansas City a 4-0 lead at the time. More >
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The only other team to hit six home runs on Opening Day was the 1988 Mets, who accomplished the feat against Montreal.
KELLER, HILL MAKE DEBUTS
Royals right-hander Brad Keller, a Rule 5 Draft acquisition, made his Major League debut in the sixth inning. Keller put the White Sox down in order, and he struck out one.
Left-hander Tim Hill also made his MLB debut in the seventh. Hill came on with one out and one on and hit the first batter he faced. He then got a weak groundout before exiting.
WHAT'S NEXT
White Sox: Lucas Giolito makes his season debut in the middle game against the Royals at 6:15 p.m. CT on Saturday. The right-hander posted a 2.38 ERA over seven starts for the White Sox last season.
Royals: Right-hander Ian Kennedy will get the start against the White Sox on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium. Kennedy went 5-13 with a 5.38 ERA in 2017. He posted a 7.65 ERA in four starts against the White Sox.
Duda flashes pop with jack in first Royals AB
March 29, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
First baseman Lucas Duda, a Spring Training free-agent signing, made his Royals debut with a bang in a 14-7 loss to the White Sox on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
Duda, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal essentially to replace Eric Hosmer, smashed a three-run home run off former Royals right-hander James Shields, giving Kansas City a 4-0 lead in the first inning on Opening Day.
"[Shields] was locating pretty well," Duda said. "But yeah, then I got a good pitch and I got it. Felt good."
Duda jumped on a 2-0 cutter from Shields and launched it a projected 410 feet from the plate, according to Statcast™, into the right-center field seats.
"I wasn't sure it would go out," Duda said. "It was cold. It was rainy. It was windy. I hustled out of the box just in case."
Duda, who hit 30 home runs for the Mets and Rays combined last season, became the first to hit a home run in his first at-bat for the Royals since Adam Moore did so in 2012. Duda became the fifth player in Royals history to perform the feat -- joining Moore, Calvin Pickering (2004), Yamil Benitez (1997) and Jon Nunnally ('95).
"It's funny because you watch him in Spring Training in BP and he was just really focused on going the other way," manager Ned Yost said of Duda. "But in BPs here, he is opening it up and you can really see how dynamic his power is. He got a pitch he liked and didn't miss it. He crushed it."
Duda's home run impressed his new teammates as well.
"Him getting a homer right off the bat was awesome," Royals left-hander Danny Duffy said. "He was always someone you didn't want to see up there. He's got pop."
Boyer, Goins make KC roster; Karns hits DL
March 29, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Royals went right down to the 10:30 a.m. CT deadline on Thursday to set their Opening Day roster and it featured several surprises, including placing right-hander Nate Karns on the 10-day disabled list, and designating for assignment right-hander Kyle Zimmer, a former first-round Draft pick, and right-hander Wily Peralta.
As expected, the Royals placed catcher Salvador Perez (MCL tear) on the 10-day disabled list and called up catcher Cam Gallagher. The club also placed infielder Adalberto Mondesi (shoulder impingement) and outfielder Bubba Starling (oblique strain) on the 10-day DL.
Here are the highlights from a flurry of moves:
Royals manager Ned Yost said Karns, who had been slotted in as the No. 4 starter, experienced inflammation in his elbow during his last two Spring Training starts. Yost said when Karns returns from the DL, he will go to the bullpen and be used much the way the club used Mike Minor last year -- multi-inning reliever.
"My mindset, even entering Spring Training, was he was probably going to be a reliever for us," Yost said. "Kind of like in the vein of Mike Minor. Same thing, he'd get to the 60-65 pitch mark and start to fatigue or get tired or tight. But I wanted to give him an opportunity to start this spring."
Said Karns, "It wasn't anything where I couldn't do my job. It just got to the point where we're worried about how dependable I'd be every fifth day. It's not in my interest or the team right now to leave everyone in limbo."
Left-hander Eric Skoglund will take Karns' spot in the rotation for now, slotting behind Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel and Jakob Junis.
Zimmer, 26, was the fifth overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, but he has not been able to stay healthy. A series of arm and shoulder issues restricted his career over the years, and he again was experiencing arm fatigue in Spring Training.
"He simply ran out of time," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "That's one thing that every player is experiencing. The clock is always running. There's always another player on the horizon, so we had to make moves for the here and now. Now, we hope we can keep him in the organization and continue to rehab him."
As expected, non-roster invitees Ryan Goins, an infielder, and right-hander Blaine Boyer made the Opening Day roster, thus predicating the DFA moves of Peralta and Zimmer to clear space on the 40-man roster.
The Royals remain on the hook for Peralta's $1.5 million big league salary, unless he is claimed or unless he opts for free agency. The Royals hope he can be outrighted to Triple-A Omaha.
Rule 5 Draft acquisitions Brad Keller and Burch Smith grabbed spots in the bullpen, as did lefties Tim Hill and Brian Flynn. After a terrific spring, Keller was a lock. Flynn is out of options. Hill's unique sidearm delivery impressed Yost and the coaching staff throughout the spring.
Royals launch Urban Youth Academy in KC
March 29, 2018By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Two years ago, standing before the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with a shovel and a hard hat, Dayton Moore had a grand vision for the youth of the greater Kansas City area.
That vision called for a state-of-the-art baseball, softball and education facility situated in the historic 18th and Vine District. Roll the tape forward to Thursday, when Moore's idea was realized with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially opened the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy.
"I wasn't sure we would ever win a championship here in Kansas City," the Royals' general manager said. "But I did know that we had a special obligation to grow the game of baseball and softball in this great city."
As time marched on and talks grew increasingly passionate about the proposed academy, Moore's commitment was unwavering.
"I said, 'We would rather have an Urban Youth Academy in Kansas City than win the World Series,'" Moore recalled. "Well, we got both."
The Kansas City Urban Youth Academy is the eighth associated with Major League Baseball. On behalf of MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred, the project was saluted by Tony Reagins, MLB Executive Vice President of Baseball & Softball Development.
"This [facility] is all we imagined," Reagins said. "It's about coming together for the right thing -- for kids. If you can do that, the sky is the limit. This is not just about baseball and softball -- it's about enrichment and building young lives."
The sprawling complex features four outdoor turf fields, an educational press box and a 38,000-square-foot indoor facility that includes a turf infield, four batting tunnels, four classrooms and an athletic training room. The $21 million building project was completed after a groundbreaking in April 2016.
"As we open this facility, we are going to bridge the gap in our community with the urban, suburban and rural parts of Kansas City," Moore said. "We are going to bring people together. Yes, it's the love of baseball. But it's the love of each other that makes this a special, special day."
While acknowledging the movers and shakers who pushed the massive project along, Kansas City mayor Sly James emphasized that the primary motivating force for all was a commitment to help the youth find solid footing for their journey in life.
"Leadership is a developed trait," James said. "When I am standing here, I know this place is going to develop leaders. Dayton made it very clear that if there are some people who make it to the Major Leagues, that's fantastic. If there are kids who make it to college, that's outstanding.
"And there will be some kids who none of those things will happen to. But they will all have been better for having been here, working with people who care about them, care about their character."
The Grand Opening celebration continues Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT. The Open House and Day of Play will feature a Western Athletic Conference softball game between the University of Missouri-Kansas City and New Mexico State University, as well as baseball games featuring local high schools and the local RBI programs. The day will also include baseball and softball instructional clinics and family activities.
A day with Denny Matthews for his 50th KC Royals opener
March 29, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
The 75-year-old man with thinning salt and pepper on top drives the same gold Ford Five Hundred past the same parking lot attendant and pulls into the same spot as the year before and the year before that and the year before and, well, you get the idea.
Denny Matthews steps out of his car in a navy blazer with gold buttons and a blue tie for his 50th opening day broadcasting the Royals on Thursday morning. He said he'd be here at 10:50. His gold watch reads 10:49. He's nothing if not dependable.
"We ready?" he said, smiling.
Matthews is the franchise's last remaining original employee. He predates everyone, and everything. His career is older than every Royals player, some of the coaches, a few of his broadcast partners, and Kauffman Stadium itself.
The team has raided his basement for old audio reels used in its Hall of Fame. He was the first person to say "Royals Win" on air, when Joe Keough singled over Tony Oliva's head in the 12th inning of the franchise opener.
The Royals are selling their history hard in this golden anniversary season. Promotions, giveaways, celebrations, the whole bit. The players wear a 50th-season logo on their left sleeves. Matthews, as much as anyone else, is that history.
He can tell the story of Muriel talking husband Ewing Kauffman into buying the team, because the doctor said Mr. K needed a hobby. He can tell you why Cedric Tallis liked to trade with National League teams, how Whitey Herzog taught a talented bunch how to win, and about how Tony Muser used to go off the second Matthews stopped recording the manager's show.
Matthews wears the club's 1985 championship ring, because it's smaller and more comfortable than the 2015 model. He only switched from a flip phone a couple months ago. He's a perfect proxy for this history.
His dad bought him a briefcase when he got the job, and Matthews has never taken anything else into a ballpark. There's a scratch on one side, where former Star sports editor Joe McGuff threw a typewriter onto it in the trunk of a cab in Detroit.
Inside the briefcase are copies of the same blank scorecard he's used for five decades, the same pair of sunglasses he bought in college, a solar-powered calculator, and a United States map he took from a flight early in his career.
Over the years, Matthews has broadcast all 864 men who've played for the Royals in 51 ballparks in 30 cities for two ownerships (plus a board of directors), six general managers, 19 managers (including interims), and generations of fans. Somewhere in Kansas City, a little girl listens to the same voice on the radio as her great-grandfather.