Daily Clips
June 24, 2017
LOCAL
Down 3 in 9th, Royals rally to stun Blue Jays
June 24, 2017 By Wilson Alexander and Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Walk-off Whit: Merrifield's 2B caps comeback
Royals snap 0-29 skid when trailing after 8 innings
June 24, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
Royals agree to deal with Feliz; Young DFA'd
June 23, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Vargas eyeing MLB-leading 11th win vs. Jays
June 24, 2017By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Big Slick celebrity softball game always a hit
Rudd, Sudeikis, Riggle, Stonestreet take swings for charity
June 23, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
Royals score four runs in ninth to stun Blue Jays, get record back to .500
June 23, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Vahe Gregorian: Royals back to the future with another great escape
June 23, 2017By Vahe Gregorian/KC Star
With the game against Blue Jays on the line, Alex Gordon comes through for Royals
June 24, 2017By Alec McChesney/KC Star
Royals sign former Brewers closer Neftalí Feliz and drop Chris Young
June 23, 2017 By Pete Grathoff and Alec McChesney/KC Star
After nearly quitting baseball, Bubba Starling is closer than ever to the big leagues
June 23, 2017By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
MINORS
Chasers Fall to Memphis 8-4 in Front of 7,936
Stout fires 3.2 shutout frames in relief, Schwindel drives in 2
June 24, 2017 By Andrew Green/Omaha Storm Chasers
Drillers Top Naturals, Snap Streak
Tulsa ends 6-game losing streak to Northwest Arkansas with 8-2 win
June 23, 2017By Tulsa Drillers
Bullpen Holds Strong as Rocks Prevail
Four two-out, run scoring hits fueled the Rocks over Salem
June 23, 2017By Wilmington Blue Rocks
Legends rained out; doubleheader Saturday
June 23, 2017By Lexington Legends
Mets Offense Too Much for Royals in Friday Loss
Kingsport scores early and often in 16-1 win
June 23, 2017By Matt Krause/Burlington Royals
MLB TRANSACTIONS
June 24, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Down 3 in 9th, Royals rally to stun Blue Jays
June 24, 2017 By Wilson Alexander and Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Whit Merrifield's two-run double capped a wild ninth inning as the Royals rallied for a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. It was Merrifield's first career walk-off hit.
The Royals faced a 4-1 deficit entering the ninth before mounting a two-out rally, as they had previously been 0-29 when trailing after the eighth inning. Salvador Perez doubled with one out and then scored on a two-out single by Alcides Escobar. Alex Gordon followed with an RBI to score Brandon Moss, who had kept the line moving with a walk, to make it 4-3. After Gordon's hit, right-hander Jason Grilli replaced Aaron Loup.
Merrifield said his goal wasn't to win the game with one swing. He took the first two pitches then fouled off the third. After taking another ball, Merrifield squared up a 93-mph fastball and sent it over the head of left fielder Dwight Smith Jr. Escobar trotted home, and Gordon came around to score the winning run from first.
"I was just hoping [Perez] wouldn't run out on the field too soon," Moss said. "[Escobar] scored and Salvy was already on the way out and I was like, 'Wait, wait, wait, we've gotta make sure Gordo gets around, too.'"
The Royals, who improved to .500 for the first time since April 19, mobbed Merrifield in the middle of the field.
"I try to soak in those moments as long as I can," Merrifield said.
Though the Royals celebrated, the Blue Jays felt the pain of letting one slip away.
"We had it and couldn't get that final out," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "We missed a lot of [scoring] opportunities, too."
Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna was unavailable to pitch in the ninth. Osuna, who has 19 saves, wasn't feeling good, according to Gibbons. Left-hander J.A. Happ worked 6 2/3 innings and allowed just four hits and one run. He has given up four runs over three straight quality starts.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Breaking out: The Blue Jays took the lead in the fourth inning when shortstop Troy Tulowitzki doubled to right-center after first baseman Kendrys Morales was hit by a pitch. Morales scored from first on the play. With Tulowitzki on third base three batters later, Junis uncorked a wild pitch. Tulowitzki scored easily for a 2-0 lead. Before his double, Tulowitzki only had four extra-base hits over a 22-game span since coming off the disabled list.
Evading trouble: The Royals threatened to tie it in the seventh inning before Happ and Barnes retired three straight batters to end the inning. Lorenzo Cain doubled and Eric Hosmer reached on an error by second baseman Ryan Goins to put runners on the corners with none out. Perez then singled to score Cain. But Happ induced a pop out from Mike Moustakas and struck out Moss. Barnes got Escobar to fly out to keep it 2-1.
QUOTABLE
"This game can rip your heart out and tonight was one of those nights." -- Happ
WHAT'S NEXT
Blue Jays: Right-hander Marco Estrada (4-5, 4.98 ERA) will make a club-leading 16th start on Saturday in the middle game of the series against the Royals at 2:15 p.m. ET. Estrada has allowed 14 home runs in 85 innings, but the spacious dimensions at Kauffman Stadium could work in his favor.
Royals: Left-hander Jason Vargas (10-3, 2.27) will look for his Major League-leading 11th win on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. CT. Vargas allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings in his previous outing, a win over the Angels.
Walk-off Whit: Merrifield's 2B caps comeback
Royals snap 0-29 skid when trailing after 8 innings
June 24, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
Whit Merrifield did some quick math before the bottom of the ninth began in the Royals' 5-4 walk-off win over the Blue Jays on Friday night. Trailing 4-1 and Merrifield due up seventh, he knew if he was going to bat again, it would be with a chance to win the game -- and that's exactly what happened.
With runners on first and third and two out, Merrifield worked an at-bat against Blue Jays right-hander Jason Grilli to a 3-1 count. Grilli's next pitch, a 93-mph fastball middle-in, would be the last of the game as Merrifield sent it over the head of left fielder Dwight Smith Jr., and the Royals completed their first ninth-inning comeback of the season.
"You always want to get up with the game on the line," Merrifield said. "That's why you play the game. It's not always going to happen the way it did tonight, but it's fun when it does."
Before Merrifield's first Major League walk-off hit, he had flied out to right in the first inning and hit a line drive right at Josh Donaldson in the third. Statcast™ measured the ball's exit velocity at 105.6 mph. As Merrifield walked back to the dugout, he threw his bat into his opposite hand, knowing he couldn't have hit it much better.
"I felt like I had good at-bats all night so it was nice to come through when it mattered," Merrifield said.
Following a strikeout in the sixth, Merrifield hit a double under the glove of Smith, but the Royals, then trailing 2-1, couldn't drive him in. However, that eventually put Merifield in position for his ninth-inning heroics.
Down 4-1, the Royals mounted a two-out comeback as Brandon Moss walked and Alcides Escobar singled. At that moment, starter Jake Junis said the televisions inside the clubhouse cut out. When Alex Gordon singled to make it 4-3, the pitchers inside couldn't see it. The feed returned in time for Merrifield's at-bat, and they were confident he'd come through.
As the hit sailed over Smith's head, Escobar trotted home and Gordon sprinted around from first with the winning run. Moss said he was worried Salvador Perez would rush the field too soon. While Gordon slid headfirst into home, the Royals mobbed Merrifield. Jorge Bonifacio chest bumped him mid-air, knocking Merrifield to the infield grass. The crowd at Kauffman Stadium roared in approval as the Royals returned to .500 for the first time since April 19.
Said Merrifield: "I try to soak in those moments as long as I can."
Royals agree to deal with Feliz; Young DFA'd
June 23, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals general manager Dayton Moore said the move to designate right-hander Chris Young for assignment was something discussed two weeks ago.
"It was very difficult," Moore said on Friday. "... As the season progressed, we thought we would perhaps have to make a move [like this]."
Then, when Moore was driving home after the Royals' dramatic 6-4 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday, he received a call from his staff that the club had reached a deal with right-hander Neftali Feliz, who recently had been DFA'd by the Brewers.
Moore called Young to his home on Thursday morning and delivered the news.
"It was hard," Moore said. "But it was the right thing to do.
"He was the MVP of our pitching staff in 2015 in my mind. He was one of the pillars of our team. He'll be missed. I know that I'm a better person for being around Chris. I'd like to partner with him in the future in some endeavor."
Royals manager Ned Yost said Young had the "heart of a gladiator."
But after Young's terrific season (11-6, 3.06 ERA) in 2015, he never was quite the same here. His ERA ballooned to 6.19 last season in 34 games. This season, he had a 7.50 ERA in 14 games.
Moore said Young, 38, expressed a desire to continue pitching for another club. The Royals will have seven days to trade Young or give him his outright release.
Young is owed over half of his $5.75 million contract this season, plus a $1.5 million buyout for 2018.
Meanwhile, the Royals believe they can get some production out of the 29-year-old Feliz, who still throws in the 96- to 97-mph range.
"Low risk, high reward," Yost said.
In 29 games for the Brewers this season, Feliz was 1-5 with a 6.00 ERA.
"I think he was better than those numbers," Yost said. "He was like 8-for-9 in save situations and had a lot of scoreless outings.
"[Pitching coach] Dave [Eiland] looked on video of him and saw some mechanical things he can tweak."
Moore was in the Braves' scouting department when Atlanta signed Feliz as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2005.
"He was a skinny kid back then with a big arm," Moore said. "I thought, 'Mariano Rivera.'"
Yost, noting that Feliz hasn't pitched in nine days, said he will ease him into low-leverage situations at first.
"He can be a setup guy, for sure," Yost said.
Feliz also has pitched for the Rangers, Tigers and Pirates.
Vargas eyeing MLB-leading 11th win vs. Jays
June 24, 2017By Robert Falkoff/MLB.com
Royals left-hander Jason Vargas has already built a strong case that he deserves to be on the American League All-Star team. On Saturday, he'll have the opportunity to provide more convincing evidence.
Vargas, the Major League co-leader in wins with 10, will take on the Blue Jays in search of a sixth consecutive victory. Showcasing pinpoint control and baffling hitters with change-of-speed deliveries, Vargas is tied with Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw as the only MLB pitchers to reach the double-figure victory mark thus far. After a thrilling 5-4 walk-off win over the Blue Jays on Friday, the Royals will seek their fifth straight series win on Saturday.
Vargas is 5-1 with an AL-best 1.81 ERA at home. That means Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada doesn't figure to have much margin for error.
Estrada has eight quality starts in his 15 outings this year and the Blue Jays have a 7-8 record in games when Estrada has taken the mound.
Three things to know about this game
• The Blue Jays have averaged just 3.3 runs per game during Estrada's starts and are hopeful they can begin to give him more cushion the remainder of the season.
• Vargas has allowed the fourth-lowest average in the American League with runners in scoring position. In those situations, hitters are batting just .183 against Vargas.
• The Royals are 6-3 on Saturdays, marking their highest winning percentage day of the week.
Big Slick celebrity softball game always a hit
Rudd, Sudeikis, Riggle, Stonestreet take swings for charity
June 23, 2017By Wilson Alexander/MLB.com
Comedian "Weird" Al Yankovic's nickname might better describe his batting stance, a low crouch in which he raises the bat high above his head. In his first at-bat in Friday afternoon's Big Slick Celebrity softball game at Kauffman Stadium, Yankovic struck out while hacking at a pitch. In the game where rules are arbitrary, he was given a few chances before that appearance.
"Playing today brought back some painful memories," Yankovic said. "As you can probably tell from watching, I have no baseball skills."
However, in his second at-bat, the man behind the parody tunes "White and Nerdy," "Eat It" and many others laid down a swinging bunt and beat the throw to first base. He then kept running toward the field level stands, giving high fives along the way. The crowd cheered.
"I'm batting .500, right?" Yankovic said. "If I did that in the Major Leagues, I would be making some serious coin."
Yankovic and over two dozen other celebrities were at the game, which was a silly affair meant to cause a laugh while raising money for Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, one of the nation's top pediatric medical centers.
What Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis began eight years ago as a celebrity poker tournament and party to raise money for the non-profit hospital has since raised over $4.5 million.
Children's Mercy Pediatrician-in-Chief Michael Artman said the money has been used to help remodel the hospital's bone marrow transplant unit, provide family spaces and play rooms, purchase an entertainment system for every oncology bed and buy more than $500,000 in advanced early detection equipment.
Though the softball game, which included a home run that rolled through a temporary fence in the outfield, a fake fight at third base and a walk-off home run from Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, was enjoyable for the thousands of fans who arrived early before Friday night's Royals-Blue Jays game, the goal of this game and the rest of the weekend's events is to continue raising money for the hospital.
"It's really good to see people from Kansas City coming back and raising money for a good cause," fan Michaela Weihe said.
Earlier in the day, four of the five hosts of the weekend-long event -- Eric Stonestreet, David Koechner, Rudd, and Riggle -- visited Children's Mercy. That, they said, is the best part of the weekend. Playing inside a stadium that they grew up going to is just an added bonus. For that reason, Riggle added they'll likely return to Children's Mercy on Saturday morning.
Said Stonestreet, "Raising money for the hospital and raising money for these kids is an honor."
Royals score four runs in ninth to stun Blue Jays, get record back to .500
June 23, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
As the Royals’ improbable ninth inning unfolded on Friday night, second baseman Whit Merrifield began to do the math.
“I counted out in my head that if it worked out, I was going to get to hit and I had confidence in our guys to get the job done, and they did,” Merrifield said. “I had a chance and took advantage of it.”
Merrifield, the seventh batter in the ninth inning, delivered a two-run double as the Royals scored four times and stunned the Blue Jays 5-4 in front of a sold-out crowd at Kauffman Stadium. Merrifield thought it was his first walk-off hit since 2010 when his single for South Carolina won the College World Series against UCLA.
The Royals (36-36) got back to .500 for the first time since April 19 when they were 7-7.
It was their second straight improbable victory, coming two days after Salvador Perez’s eighth-inning grand slam shocked the Red Sox in a 6-4 Royals win. The Royals are an American League best 14-6 in June, and now two games out of a wild-card spot and three games behind the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians.
At one time, the Royals were 10-20, but they have won 10 of 12 to get back to the even point in the standings.
“That’s always your goal, especially when you are (10) games under .500 at one point, is to get to .500 and then you can seriously start to think about competing,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Toronto led 2-1 going to the ninth inning and tacked on a pair of runs against Joakim Soria that seemed to doom the Royals.