Daily Clips
June 7, 2017
LOCAL
Hou-stunner! KC, Moose end Astros' streak
June 7, 2017 By Wilson Alexander and Brian McTaggart/MLB.com
Whit delivers with double in crucial 4-run 8th
Tying hit sets stage for Royals' dramatic walk-off win in 9th
June 7, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Salvy maintains lead in All-Star voting
June 6, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Vargas aims to stay hot in matchup with 'Stros
June 7, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
Moustakas clubs walk-off homer as Royals stop Astros’ winning streak at 11
June 6, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals reliever Seth Maness a pioneer in baseball’s battle against elbow injuries
June 6, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Scott Alexander inching closer to a return to Royals’ bullpen
June 6, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals could target prep pitchers with their first-round draft pick
June 6, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
MINORS
Soler Drives in 3, Sounds Club Chasers 7-3
Omaha RF Jorge Soler homers & records 3 RBI in defeat
June 6, 2017 By Andrew Green/Omaha Storm Chasers
Northwest Arkansas Falls In Game 1 Of Series
The Naturals dropped 2.0 games behind the Cardinals as Springfield begins the key 5-game series with a 4-2
June 6, 2017By Naturals PR Department
Third Time's a Charm in Rocks Stunning Win
Blue Rocks Bash Three Homers in Ninth to Earn Series Sweep
June 6, 2017By Wilmington Blue Rocks
Fireflies score five in eighth, win 5-3
June 6, 2017By Lexington Legends
MLB TRANSACTIONS
June 7, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Hou-stunner! KC, Moose end Astros' streak
June 7, 2017 By Wilson Alexander and Brian McTaggart/MLB.com
The Astros' 11-game winning streak came to a screeching halt when Mike Moustakas hit a walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth to propel the Royals to a 9-7 victory on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
The Astros' streak was the longest in the Major Leagues this season and third-longest in club history. Houston dropped to 36-2 when leading after seven innings -- with both losses coming to Kansas City -- as the bullpen allowed six runs and six hits in the final two innings.
Down 7-1 in the fourth inning, the Royals clawed back, as Whit Merrifield's bases-clearing double off Astros closer Ken Giles capped a four-run eighth inning that tied it at 7. The hits by Merrifield and Moustakas both came off sliders from Giles.
"They won almost every critical moment," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "When you do enough of those, they're going to come up with a big inning, and they did -- a couple of big innings. Certainly, they deserve a lot of credit for some at-bats. There was a walk in the eighth that kept the inning alive and then a few too many hittable sliders, and we walk out of here with a loss."
The Astros jumped on Royals rookie Jake Junis, scoring a combined seven runs in the third and fourth innings to knock him from the game. It was the ninth straight game that Houston has scored at least six runs. But Royals relievers Kevin McCarthy, Travis Wood and Mike Minor combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings while the offense rallied.
"We felt good when we were down 7-2," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We didn't feel like we were out of the game."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Inning-extender: The Astros' four-run fourth could have easily been a one-run inning. With two out, Carlos Correa hit a ground ball to Cheslor Cuthbert at third base, but Cuthbert's throw pulled first baseman Eric Hosmer off the bag. Correa was awarded a hit and an RBI as Josh Reddick scored from second. Carlos Beltran then homered for a 7-1 lead.
"Every time we're ahead in the game it seems like we win those type of ballgames, and today was one of those where the opposing team came back," Beltran said.
Holding the tie: With a runner on second and two out in the ninth, Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar saved a run when he ranged far to his left, spun and threw out Alex Bregman at first base.
QUOTABLES
"I didn't make my pitches when I needed to. I let my team down. It's all on me. In my eyes, this team won today. My failure shouldn't overshadow what these guys today. The guys did exactly what they needed to do and with my failures, it's my fault," -- Giles
"[Giles] threw it and I didn't think I could hit it, so I didn't swing. And it was a ball." -- Merrifield, on laying off a 98 mph fastball with two strikes that narrowly missed, before hitting the tying double on the next pitch
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
In the fourth inning, Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain hit a grounder headed for center field. Astros shortstop Correa made a diving stop, then threw a bullet (75 mph per Statcast™) to first base on one hop. Cain originally was ruled safe, but the call was overturned.
WHAT'S NEXT
Astros: Lefty ace Dallas Keuchel (9-0, 1.67 ERA) will take the mound against the Royals on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium. Keuchel has won 11 consecutive decisions dating to August.
Royals: Left-hander Jason Vargas (7-3, 2.08) will start against the Astros on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. CT. Vargas scattered seven hits in a complete-game win against the Indians on Friday -- his first shutout since 2014.
Whit delivers with double in crucial 4-run 8th
Tying hit sets stage for Royals' dramatic walk-off win in 9th
June 7, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The heroics of Mike Moustakas' walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth inning of the Royals' 9-7 win on Tuesday night likely never would have happened without a dramatic four-run rally against the Astros' vaunted bullpen in the eighth.
Down 7-3, the Royals erupted for four runs, three coming home on Whit Merrifield's clutch double into the left-field corner off closer Ken Giles that tied it at 7.
One day after his 19-game hitting streak ended, Merrifield was back smashing the ball with two doubles on the night.
The eighth-inning double nearly didn't happen: Merrifield took an 0-2 pitch from Giles, a 99-mph heater, that barely missed the corner outside.
"He threw it and I didn't think I could hit it," Merrifield said. "When you throw 100, but [catcher Evan Gattis] was set up pretty far out so maybe it looked better than it was."
Merrifield knew he was in for a tough at-bat. He finally pounced on a hanging 1-2 slider.
"Giles is a go get-em from the get-go," Merrifield said. "He throws 100 [mph] with a bang-em slider. Just looking for a mistake and I got one. Just got the bat on it and it found a good spot."
Royals manager Ned Yost wasn't surprised by Merrifield's at-bat.
"That's a good at-bat," Yost said. "That's what he strives to do when he gets in that box is put together good at-bats. He's got a good eye. He's a selective hitter. He tries to get a good pitch to hit, and when he gets one he tries to drive it."
The rally from being down 7-1 was one of the feel-good moments of the season for the Royals.
"It was awesome," Merrifield said. "And especially against a team like that. Hopefully we can build on it. We've had situations like this before and haven't been able to build. Hopefully we can this time and carry us on the rest of the series.
"Hopefully it can get us over the hump."
Merrifield believes it will.
"We're a good team," Merrifield said. "We got good hitters up and down the lineup. A lot of us got off to a slow start, but we're feeling better right now."
Salvy maintains lead in All-Star voting
June 6, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals catcher Salvador Perez leads all American League catchers in the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot for the second straight week.
Perez, a four-time All-Star, has garnered 692,867 votes, ahead of Baltimore's Welington Castillo, who has 543,146 votes.
Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer is fourth among AL first baseman in voting, about 76,000 behind the leader, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera. Hosmer was the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard.
Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, June 29, at 10:59 p.m. CT. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com At Bat and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35 ballots cast.
Following the announcement of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will have comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @AllStarGame on social media.
Vargas aims to stay hot in matchup with 'Stros
June 7, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel (9-0, 1.67 ERA) and Royals lefty Jason Vargas (7-3, 2.08) -- the two starting pitchers with the lowest ERAs in the Majors -- will square off on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.
With the only ERA under 2.00, Keuchel has the lowest mark among qualifying starters this season, while Vargas ranks second. Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is third at 2.28.
Neither Keuchel nor Vargas allowed a run in his previous start. Vargas shut out the Indians on Friday -- his first complete game and first shutout since Aug. 13, 2014. That same day, Keuchel held the Rangers to three hits over six innings. In a previous matchup this season, Vargas earned the win as Keuchel took a no-decision in the Royals' 5-1 victory on April 7 at Minute Maid Park.
"[Keuchel] has got a tremendous changeup. He doesn't make mistakes," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Darned-near flawlessly good changeup. He has the ability to spot his fastball extremely well."
Added Yost: "You can probably give the same description for Vargy, too."
Things to know about this game
• Keuchel has induced the type of contact Statcast classifies as "poorly hit" at one of the highest rates of any pitcher in baseball. Of his 194 batted balls allowed this season, 138 have been poor contact, a 71.1-percent mark that ranks as fifth best in the Majors of the close to 150 pitchers with 100-plus balls in play against them.
• Though he's hitting below the .200 mark this season, Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar has performed well against Keuchel in his career, going 6-for-19 (.316) with one home run. The home run snapped what had been a 455 at-bat stretch without a home run for Escobar.
• Vargas' changeup and curveball have both been extremely effective this season. Combined, he's allowed a .153 average in at-bats ending with offspeed pitches, per Statcast research. That ranks the seventh lowest of 55 pitchers who have ended at least 100 at-bats with offspeed pitches this season, and the pitchers ahead of him are big names: Carlos Carrasco, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Yu Darvish and Carlos Martinez.
Moustakas clubs walk-off homer as Royals stop Astros’ winning streak at 11
June 6, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
The most epic comeback of this Royals season is Alex Gordon stumbling and tripping and face-planting across home plate in the eighth inning Tuesday night. It is second baseman Whit Merrifield ripping a bases-loaded, game-tying double to left field off Astros closer Ken Giles. It is Mike Moustakas, extinguishing the longest winning streak in baseball with a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth.
It is all these moments, coalescing in a 9-7 victory Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals coming back from six runs down and ending the Astros’ winning streak at 11 games, the celebration spilling out onto the infield grass. Houston had not lost when leading by four or more runs entering the eighth inning since Game 4 of the 2015 American League Division Series. Yes, that game.
Moustakas reveled in a Gatorade bath. The bullpen received plaudits for its work. And yet, in the moments after the victory, there was Gordon, the struggling former All-Star, savoring a win after snapping a home-run drought that had stretched to 192 at-bats, smiling big and laughing after the least graceful run you have seen in weeks.
“OK, I’ll explain what happened,” Gordon said, allowing a sly smile inside a victorious clubhouse.
The moment came in the bottom of the eighth. The Royals trailed 7-4, with the bases loaded after a Gordon walk. Merrifield was hanging tough against Giles, the closer who can touch 100 mph and dominate opponents with a nasty slider.
Merrifield was looking for a mistake, he would say. He got one in the form of a hanging breaking ball, roping a double to the wall in left field. Gordon was off to the races, circling around second and digging around third and expecting a close play at home. Except the play was not close. Cheslor Cuthbert and Moustakas threw their hands up, the universal signal to stay upright. And now Gordon was caught, five awkward steps toward home before he touched the plate and crashed face-first into the dirt.
“I tried to brace myself,” he said. “But then I started swimming, and the only thing I cared about was touching home plate. That’s what happened. It doesn’t matter how it looked.”
The three-run double tied the game at 7-7, the Royals coming all the way back after trailing 7-1 after 4 1/2 innings. The four-run rally in the eighth set up the walk-off heroics from Moustakas in the ninth.
With a man on first and two out, Moustakas put a barrel on a slider from Giles, launching his 15th homer into the Kansas City night, the baseball landing 418 feet from home plate.
“That guy throws hard,” Moustakas said. “I was kind of looking for something out over the plate and caught a slider out there and put a good swing on it.”
In some ways, of course, the victory seemed to come from nowhere. The Royals (25-32) were facing baseball’s best team. They were starting a rookie pitcher in Jakob Junis, who was tagged for seven runs. They trailed 7-1 after the Astros (42-17) piled up four runs in the fourth inning.
On Tuesday afternoon, in the hours before another bout with the American League’s most incendiary offense, Royals manager Ned Yost sat inside the dugout at Kauffman Stadium and tried to explain the dangers of playing the Astros.
The night before, he had witnessed the relentless nature of the Astros’ attack. In a few hours, he would watch the Royals take a another shot and rise up from the mat, erasing a six-run deficit. They were staggered and bloodied and armed with a rookie starter against a team that had won 11 straight. And yet, Yost felt strangely calm.
“We didn’t feel like we were out of the game,” he said. “Guys were continuing to battle. Guys were continuing to compete offensively. You just had a good feeling about it.”
To play against the Astros, to pitch against their torrid bats and maneuver through their stacked lineup, can be akin to going 12 rounds with a heavyweight champion, Yost said. The punches come in flurries, he said, every body shot taking its toll.
“Last night, it felt like a boxing match,” Yost said. “We came out in the second round, and they kind of knocked us back a little bit. We were dazed … and they knocked us back again.
“We just kept battling until the ninth inning, where they mixed in a hard right that we didn’t see coming and, boom, the game’s over.”
This time, the Royals weathered the onslaught and fought back. This time, little by little, the comeback began. Gordon would crushed a solo homer to deep center field against Astros starter David Paulino in the bottom of the third, slicing the lead to 3-1. It was his first homer since Sept. 25, 2016, a drought that stretched 192 at-bats and the first 50 games of his 2017 season.
In the moments after the homer, the Royals’ dugout remained perfectly still, intentionally ignoring the meaning of the blast. Gordon shook his head, smiling as he screamed back at his teammates and breezed toward the dugout tunnel. It was the most satisfying — and humorous — slight he had received in weeks.