Daily Clips
June 25, 2017
LOCAL
Vargas first in MLB to 11 wins for red-hot KC
June 25, 2017By Wilson Alexander and Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Escobar, Gordon surging along with Royals
Yost: Pair's improved production 'big reason' for Kansas City's recent success
June 25, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
Liriano, Hammel set to duel in KC finale
June 25, 2017By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Royals beat Blue Jays 3-2, surpass .500 for the first time
June 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals pitcher Danny Duffy opens rehab assignment at Omaha
June 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
How Scott Alexander became a one-pitch wonder in the Royals’ bullpen
June 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
With the game against Blue Jays on the line, Alex Gordon comes through for Royals
June 25, 2017By Alec McChesney/KC Star
Former Royals slugger KendrysMorales on return to Kauffman: ‘It’s good to be loved’
June 25, 2017By Alec McChesney/KC Star
MINORS
8,424 Witness Duffy Rehab, Chasers Fall 3-1
Danny Duffy fans 3 over 2.2 frames to begin rehab assignment
June 25, 2017By Andrew Green/Omaha Storm Chasers
Wild Pitch Leads to 3-2 Win for Drillers
Tulsa improves second-half record to 4-1
June 25, 2017Tulsa Drillers
Rocks Can't Keep Up, Fall to Salem
The Rocks Surrendered Three Runs Late in a Tied Ballgame
June 25, 2017Wilmington Blue Rocks
Legends, Power split doubleheader
June 25, 2017Lexington Legends
Royals, Mets Postponed Saturday
Tickets Valid for any 2017 Royals Home Game
June 25, 2017Burlington Royals
NATIONAL
Mike Moustakas has a chance to blow Royals' home run record out of the water
Believe it or not, the Royals' record for home runs in a season is 36
June 25, 2017By Matt Snyder/CBS Sports
MLB TRANSACTIONS
June 25, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Vargas first in MLB to 11 wins for red-hot KC
June 25, 2017By Wilson Alexander and Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Left-hander Jason Vargas outdueled right-hander Marco Estrada for his MLB-leading 11th win as the Royals beat the Blue Jays, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
Vargas, whose 2.29 ERA ranks third in the Majors, allowed two runs over seven innings while striking out a pair. The Royals have now won five straight series and are 15-6 in June. Vargas has been a critical part of that, as he allowed a combined eight runs in five wins this month.
"[Vargas] has done a phenomenal job of messing with the hitter's timing, both with location and change of speeds," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Vargas gave up a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning on a solo home run -- one of two he allowed -- to Kevin Pillar, but the Royals soon retook the lead when Alex Gordon tripled off Estrada to score Alcides Escobar, who finished 3-for-3. Royals closer Kelvin Herrera earned his 18th save.
Estrada pitched well in the game, going seven innings and allowing three runs while striking out six, but Gordon's triple handed him the loss.
"Marco was really good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He looked like the old [Estrada] and went deep into the game. But we couldn't get much going offensively. Vargas is tough. He's leading the league in wins, and you can see why."
Troy Tulowitzki hit a solo homer, his first home run since May 29, but the Blue Jays couldn't mount a sustained attack against Vargas.
"[Vargas] knows how to pitch," Tulowitzki said. "He knows what he's doing out there."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Inning-ender: Trailing, 2-1, the Blue Jays threatened in the fifth when Pillar and Darwin Barney both singled to start the inning. But while trying to bunt, Luke Maile popped up and Salvador Perez caught the ball, prohibiting the Blue Jays from advancing. Vargas then induced Jose Bautista to ground into a double play, ending the inning without a run scoring. It was one of two double plays the Blue Jays hit into.
Gordo's go-ahead triple: After Toronto tied the game in the top of the seventh, Gordon gave the Royals the lead with his first triple of the season in the bottom part of the frame. With Escobar on first, Gordon smacked a ball into the right-field corner, scoring Escobar to retake the lead. It was Gordon's first triple since Sept. 20, 2016.
"Gordon's triple was big because Vargas was pitching his tail off," Yost said. "He ends up giving the home run in the seventh, and you really want to give him an opportunity to get that win."
QUOTABLE
"Escobar has been scuffling a little bit with the bat, but he's a good player. He puts the ball in play, and he's a heck of a shortstop." -- Gibbons, on Escobar's 3-for-3 day
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Escobar tagged and scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Whit Merrifield in the third inning, but the Blue Jays challenged the call. After a two-minute, 16-second review, the call stood, and the Royals tied the game at 1.
WHAT'S NEXT
Blue Jays: Left-hander Francisco Liriano (3-3, 5.76 ERA) gets the call for the final game of the series Sunday at 2:15 p.m. ET. Liriano has been plagued by walks, allowing a team-high 30 in 50 innings. Opponents are hitting .270 against him.
Royals: In the final game of this series against the Blue Jays, right-hander Jason Hammel (4-6, 4.83 ERA) will head to the mound Sunday at 1:15 p.m. CT. In four June starts, Hammel is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA. He's pitched at least 6 2/3 innings in each of those outings.
Escobar, Gordon surging along with Royals
Yost: Pair's improved production 'big reason' for Kansas City's recent success
June 25, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
When the Royals were struggling at the start of the season, shortstop Alcides Escobar and left fielder Alex Gordon were as well, at least offensively. As Kansas City has won 11 of its past 13 games -- the latest a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays on Saturday -- Escobar and Gordon's production has improved. Manager Ned Yost said the correlation is no coincidence.
"Our streak coincided with [Escobar] and [Gordon] swinging the bat better," Yost said. "That's a big reason why we've put a nice little winning streak together."
During Saturday's game, Escobar went 3-for-3 and scored two runs. On one of them, the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, it was Gordon who drove him home with a triple, his first of the season.
"When he hit it over the first baseman, I said, 'I'm going to home plate no matter what,'" Escobar said.
Less than 24 hours before, Escobar and Gordon both hit two-out singles before scoring on Whit Merrifield's walk-off double. In June, Escobar is batting .265 and Gordon .231, both markedly better than the under-.200 averages they sported in April and May. After going 24 games without an extra-base hit, Gordon has eight in his past 17 games.
"What it means is a nice little winning streak," said Yost, who added that the Royals' offensive flow has improved.
In Saturday's win, Escobar, who said he is trying to improve his patience at the plate, led off the third inning with a triple, also his first of the season. Two batters later, Merrifield hit a fly ball to shallow left field. Escobar said Royals first-base coach Rusty Kuntz told him that if the ball was hit in the air to left, Escobar was running. So as Steve Pearce caught the ball, Escobar took off. He slid into home plate safely, tying the game, 1-1. The Blue Jays challenged the call, but it stood.
Escobar was asked if Gordon had been the one in left field, would he have run? He laughed.
"If Alex Gordon's in left field, I'm staying at third base."
Liriano, Hammel set to duel in KC finale
June 25, 2017By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Royals right-hander Jason Hammel has been on quite a roll lately. On Sunday, the Blue Jays will try to slow him down.
Hammel has won his past three decisions, and he is coming off an impressive seven-inning performance against the Red Sox, when he allowed two runs. Hammel has five quality starts in his past six outings following some struggles early in the season.
The Blue Jays will counter with veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano, who has two quality starts in his 11 outings. The saving grace for Liriano has been excellent run support. Toronto has averaged five runs per game and is 7-4 in Liriano's appearances.
Things to know about this game
• Hammel is 4-2 with a 4.57 ERA vs. the Blue Jays in his career. In those 15 appearances, he has made 11 starts.
• Liriano has faced the Royals 18 times in his career, including 15 starts. He's 6-5 with a 4.45 ERA against them.
• The Royals have rebounded after starting June eight games under .500 at 22-30.
Royals beat Blue Jays 3-2, surpass .500 for the first time
June 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Early Saturday morning, in the hours before a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium, Royals manager Ned Yost was asked why Jason Vargas, the day’s starting pitcher, deserved inclusion in this year’s All-Star Game.
It was a simple question, a prompt that would allow Yost a platform to make an All-Star case for his team’s first-half MVP. He could have taken it anywhere. He could have discussed Vargas’ ERA — 2.29 after his 15th start. He could have weighed in on his value to the surging Royals, once left adrift and treading water in last place. But for a simple question, Yost preferred a brief answer:
“Wins and losses,” he said.
This was the case for Vargas on Saturday morning, and it was the case again in the afternoon, in the moments after the 34-year-old left-hander had held the Blue Jays to two runs in seven innings and notched his major-league-leading 11th win.
For pitchers, the win statistic may be an archaic measurement, one whose importance has diminished over the decades. Yet there is no questioning the value of Vargas, who momentarily slipped past Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
On the 82nd day of the baseball season, the Royals (37-36) moved above .500 for the first time, winning for the 11th time in 13 games and clinching their fifth consecutive series victory. On an afternoon inside Kauffman Stadium, the offense delivered late, repaying Vargas for shouldering an immense load during this volatile first half.
In the seventh, Alex Gordon raked a go-ahead triple into the right-field corner against Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada, scoring Alcides Escobar from first and breaking a 2-2 tie. The bullpen duo of Joakim Soria and Kelvin Herrera protected the lead in the eighth and ninth. Just 15 hours or so after a stunning comeback Friday night, the Royals used another vintage formula: Sterling starting pitching, daring base running, and ample production from the bottom of their lineup.
“That’s what good teams do,” said first baseman Eric Hosmer, who hit his ninth homer of the season in the fourth inning. “They find ways to win games late.”
The Royals sliced into the lead in the tightening American League Central, pulling within two games of first-place Cleveland and 1 1/2 games of second-place Minnesota after the Twins beat the Indians. They also improved to 11-4 in games started by Vargas.
And for the second straight day, they received a lift from the bottom of their lineup, once a wasteland of lost at-bats. Escobar finished 3 for 3 and scored two runs, outproducing the other eight batters in hits (two) and raising his batting average to .209, its highest point since April 20. Gordon came through with a clutch RBI in the seventh, ripping an elevated change-up down the line in right.
The moments came just one day after Escobar and Gordon played key roles in the out-of-nowhere ninth-inning rally. As Yost discussed this latest victory at his postgame press conference, he sought to draw a direct link between the emergence of Escobar and Gordon and a 15-6 record in June.
“Before, we would hit a dead zone and it was generally 7-8-9 and all the offensive flow would stop,” Yost said. “Now with Gordy swinging the bat much, much better, and Esky swinging the bat much, much better, there’s no stoppage of the offensive flow.”
On Saturday, Escobar’s flow was not textbook, though it did resemble his offensive game. He recorded two bloop singles and tripled on a fly ball to right-center field in the third when right fielder Jose Bautista and center fielder Kevin Pillar struggled to communicate. Yet after a mentally grueling season at the plate, Escobar smiled. He could feel good about something.
After his triple in the third, he tagged and scored on a shallow fly ball to left field, wisely testing the arm of left fielder Steve Pearce. In a victorious clubhouse, Escobar said he had simply followed the scouting report.
“If they hit the ball to left field — run,” Escobar said.
The run tied the game at 1-1 and set up Hosmer’s go-ahead homer in the fourth. On a 1-0 change-up, Hosmer launched a ball high into the air in right field. With some aid from the wind, it carried and carried, just over the right-field wall, a projected 381 feet from home plate for his ninth homer of 2017.
The Royals carried the 2-1 lead into the seventh. Vargas allowed his second homer, surrendering a game-tying solo shot to Pillar after giving up a solo homer to Troy Tulowitzki in the second. Inside the Royals’ dugout, Hosmer said, a collection of hitters felt obligated to cover for Vargas.
“As an offense, you really want to pick up your guy right there,” Hosmer said.
The combination of Escobar and Gordon produced the decisive run. Vargas became the first Royals pitcher to secure his 11th win by June 24 since Kevin Appier in 1995.
“The fellas came back,” Vargas said.
For now, there are still more than two weeks until the All-Star Game. It is July 11 in Miami, in the city in which Vargas began his career. He will have two more starts before then, time to bolster his credentials even more. But at the moment, his case is impressive.
At 11-3 with a 2.29 ERA, he ranks first in the American League in wins and second in ERA behind Houston’s Dallas Keuchel. According to the FanGraphs’ version of Wins Above Replacement, he has been one of the four most valuable starters in the AL.
In a Royals’ season that began with a miserable April, including a 10-20 start, and continued with a valiant charge back up the standings, Vargas has been the club’s rock, its most consistent and valuable piece.
“You could make a strong case for it,” Yost said.
On Saturday, the rock delivered another strong performance. And the Royals took another step. This time, they moved past .500. Now, Yost says, they must keep going.
“We battled back,” Yost said. “We’ve gotten there. Now the goal is to get past it.”
Royals pitcher Danny Duffy opens rehab assignment at Omaha
June 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals pitcher Danny Duffy allowed two runs in 2 2/3 innings on Saturday in his first rehab start for Class AAA Omaha.
It was his first game action since sustaining a strained oblique muscle in late May while covering first base in Cleveland.
Facing the Memphis Redbirds, the top affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, Duffy allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three. He worked two scoreless innings before allowing a walk and a two-run homer to Randal Grichuk, a former slugger with the Cardinals, in the third.
Duffy threw 48 pitches. He is expected to make three rehab starts for Omaha. He will likely be on a pitch count of 60 to 65 pitches in his next start.
“I had a hard time getting downhill a little bit today,” Duffy told reporters at Werner Park in Papillion, Neb. “But other than that, I felt like everything was working.”
How Scott Alexander became a one-pitch wonder in the Royals’ bullpen
June 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
The idea sounded preposterous at first, so wild that Scott Alexander didn’t believe it could work. He kept listening to his teammates, the ones that kept imploring him to throw more sinkers. Did they understand the math?
Alexander, the Royals’ left-handed reliever, knew that his sinker was his best pitch, the weapon that propelled him to the big leagues. A fastball with more than 4 inches of downward movement, the pitch was a true sinker — a “dive bomber”, in the words of Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland. It induced ground balls at a high clip and vexed opposing hitters. Yet as Alexander logged innings out of the bullpen in 2016, he was already throwing the pitch close to 75 percent of the time. How could he throw more?