Daily Clips
June 26, 2018
LOCAL
Keller cools Halos with 7 scoreless in 5th start
Rookie allows just 2 singles in KC's makeup from Jackie Robinson Day
June 25, 2018By Jordan Wolf/MLB.com
Royals host makeup of Jackie Robinson Day
Angels return to KC for rescheduled matchup from April 15
June 25, 2018By Jordan Wolf/MLB.com
While Royals' Lucas Duda was batting Monday, a proposal took place behind him
June 26, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The Royals' most encouraging part of a mostly miserable season
June 25, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
This Royals fan didn't need a free hand to catch a foul ball
June 25, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Brad Keller's best outing of rookie year provides Royals a respite from brutal June
June 25, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
Yost leaves Royals' decision on Heimlich to GM but says ‘I believe in second chances’
June 25, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
Alcides Escobar in yet another new position in Royals lineup Monday
June 25, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
The top eight defensive plays by Royals' Alex Gordon in the month of June
June 25, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
‘You’re changing your life’: As rumor mill churns, Royals reflect on what it’s like to be traded midseason
June 26, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
MINORS
Express Evade Chasers, 7-1
Round Rock ride big 2nd inning to series-opening win over Omaha
June 25, 2018By Omaha Storm Chasers
Blue Rocks Steal Series Opener from Hillcats
Running Rocks Steal Five Bases to Bring Home Win
June 25, 2018By Wilmington Blue Rocks
Royals Take Back-and-Forth Affair from Braves
Burlington scores five in the seventh to win first game of 2018
June 25, 2018By Justin Gallanty/Burlington Royals
NATIONAL
Carrasco feels 'back to normal' after testing arm
Indians pitcher on DL since June 16 after line drive struck elbow
June 25, 2018By Jordan Bastian/MLB.com
Iglesias, Martin sworn in as US citizens
June 25, 2018By Tyler Fenwick/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
June 26, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Keller cools Halos with 7 scoreless in 5th start
Rookie allows just 2 singles in KC's makeup from Jackie Robinson Day
June 25, 2018By Jordan Wolf/MLB.com
After possibly the best-pitched game of the season for the Royals, manager Ned Yost found a unique way to describe the uniquely sharp showing from his staff.
"It was pretty super-duper," Yost said.
Rookie Brad Keller and the bullpen combined for a three-hit shutout against the Angels on Monday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, fueling a 2-0 victory in a makeup of an April 15 game (Jackie Robinson Day) postponed by frigid weather.
Keller went seven strong -- allowing just two hits and one ball to reach the outfield -- in his first career win as a starter. No Angels batter advanced past first base against the right-hander.
"Just banging strikes, on the attack, everything that you want," Yost said of Keller's dominant start. "Just a great pitching performance. Never was in any real trouble and had the game in total control."
Keller has been sharp in all five of his starts with Kansas City, but this one had career highs in innings, strikeouts and pitches (109 overall, 67 strikes). His ability to keep pitches down and where he wanted carried him past a powerful Angels lineup.
"I was able to keep the ball down, keep them off-balance," Keller said. "Slider felt really good today, and made some adjustments in the bullpen prior to this game, and it felt really good."
Joining Mel Stottlemyre Jr. in 1990, Keller is just the second Royals starter to throw at least seven shutout innings while allowing two or fewer hits within his first five Major League starts.
Tim Hill came on to relieve Keller in the eighth but was pulled after hitting David Fletcher with a pitch. Kevin McCarthy came on after Hill, and found himself in trouble as Fletcher stole second and advanced to third on a groundout.
With Chris Young at the plate and the speedy Fletcher on third with just one out, McCarthy struck out Young on four pitches. After getting Ian Kinsler to ground out one pitch later, McCarthy escaped with the lead intact.
"Mac did a great job ... big pitches with the runner on third, to strike out Young and then to get Kinsler, who's always been a thorn in our side," Yost said. "It was a great job."
The one run of support Keller received before exiting the game came in the fourth, when Hunter Dozier led off the inning with a double over the head of left fielder Justin Upton on the first pitch. Lucas Duda singled Dozier home in the next at-bat for the game's first run.
Kansas City did more damage late in the eighth, when Adalberto Mondesi walked and raced to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run with Whit Merrifield at the plate. Rosell Herrera knocked Mondesi in shortly after, marking a career-high three-hit game for the recently added Royal.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Wily Peralta came on in the ninth to close, and struck out two before allowing Albert Pujols to reach and bringing the tying run to the plate. Peralta persisted, however, getting Luis Valbuena to fly out and picking up his first career save.
"I thought he threw the ball really, really well," Yost said. "Come in, got the first two outs, boom boom. Pujols with the base hit brings the tying run up. Tough battle against Valbuena, but made big pitches when he needed to to get us in the clubhouse with the win."
SOUND SMART
At 22 years and 33 days, Keller is the youngest Kansas City starting pitcher to win a start since the late Yordano Ventura (22 years, 326 days) back in April 2014. The only starter younger to win a game this season is Jaime Barria of the Angels.
UP NEXT
Right-hander Jakob Junis (5-8, 4.43 ERA) will start the opener of a two-game set against Milwaukee on Tuesday as Kansas City travels to its third city in three days. Junis allowed three runs in six innings last time out against the Rangers, but he couldn't get the run support necessary to avoid his fifth straight loss. Right-hander Freddy Peralta (2-0, 2.30) will start for the Brewers.
Royals host makeup of Jackie Robinson Day
Angels return to KC for rescheduled matchup from April 15
June 25, 2018By Jordan Wolf/MLB.com
Jackie Robinson Day was more than two months ago, but the celebration of the legendary figure at Kauffman Stadium was delayed until Monday.
The Royals' game against the Angels on April 15 was postponed due to severe cold, and it was rescheduled for Monday's shared off-day. As the teams took the field to settle a series Los Angeles led, 3-0, all on-field personnel wore No. 42 jerseys and special patches to commemorate the legacy of the late Dodgers icon.
That legacy is kept alive through this celebration, which serves as a persistent reminder of Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier.
"What he did is hard to comprehend," Royals skipper Ned Yost said back on April 15. "Nowadays, we play this game in a different era. Players today have a bit of an idea because it's a special day, but they have no idea what he went through. What he did was groundbreaking. What he did, in my opinion, is one of the most courageous things in sports."
Yost said this day alone may not be enough to truly represent Robinson's impact.
"To be able to honor him once a year on Jackie Robinson Day, I think, we should probably do it more than once [a year]," Yost said.
Robinson's legacy is rivaled by none in baseball, as shown by the game taking an entire day to pay respect to him.
In the eyes of Kansas City ace Danny Duffy, though, Robinson's impact extends far beyond the diamond.
"He's obviously a very important figure in baseball and, on a broader scale, in world history, especially American history," Duffy said. "He was a pioneer. A lot has changed since then, and there's a long way to go still. But his family should be very proud of him. I certainly am."
As has been tradition each April 15 since 2009, Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day with all players and on-field personnel wearing Jackie's iconic number. For 2018, there were additional on-field uniform elements, including a commemorative patch on all team caps and jersey sleeves, socks emblazoned with "42," and a new lightweight hooded fleece for batting practice and dugout wear, also featuring the "42" logo. MLB will donate all proceeds from the sale of such items to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which is a public, nonprofit organization that perpetuates Robinson's legacy by giving a four-year scholarship in his name and providing leadership development for minority college students as well as through building the Jackie Robinson Museum.
The museum will commemorate the life of Jackie Robinson as an athlete, activist and icon, illuminating his long-lasting impact across society through state-of-the-art exhibits, precious artifacts, film and other media. The National Jackie Robinson Museum Legacy Campaign has raised more than $25 million, and the museum is set to open in 2019.
While Royals' Lucas Duda was batting Monday, a proposal took place behind him
June 26, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
In the time it took for Royals first baseman Lucas Duda to swing and miss a pitch, two people's lives changed forever.
Duda was facing the Angels' Tyler Skaggs during the seventh inning of Monday's game at Kauffman Stadium when a fan in a Mike Trout jersey got down on one knee and proposed to a woman in a Royals shirt.
It happened in the front row behind Duda.
Why then? Well, perhaps the fan waited until the seventh inning to make sure that their sports allegiances wouldn't have a negative effect on their relationship.
These in-game proposals are usually between innings and shown on the Crown Vision board. Not so in this case.
The Angels announcers noticed the proposal taking place:
Click the link to view the video.
The Royals' most encouraging part of a mostly miserable season
June 25, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
In the moment a losing season or a lost season can feel like a distinction without a difference, and maybe that's how this ends up, because there have been times when Kyle Davies and Felipe Paulino looked like pieces of a future Royals rotation, too.
So, you know. Disclaimers and all that.
But maybe this is different. This sure feels different. Looks different.
Pitches different.
Brad Keller is a 6-foot-5 Georgian with a mid-90s fastball. He is not yet 23 years old. He finished last season with a 5.03 ERA in Class AA for the Diamondbacks. He began this season as a Rule 5 reliever — essentially baseball's version of a clearance sale — and now already he is the single most encouraging thing to come from a mostly dreadful season.
On Monday, against two Hall of Famers and the 10th-best offense in baseball, Keller's best day yet — seven innings, two hits, two walks, six strikeouts, no runners past first base and no balls to the outfield until the sixth inning.
"I have no idea why this guy was available," Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred said. "None."
This was Keller's fifth and most complete start in his transition out of the bullpen. He's thrown 25 2/3 innings, allowed 24 hits, seven runs, 11 walks and struck out 17. That's a 2.49 ERA, and giving up a .250 average and a .271 slugging percentage across an admittedly small sample size.
Keller is a reminder of how baseball surprises, and of flimsy rebuilding plans that are heavy on specifics and light on flexibility. Last winter, the Diamondbacks did not believe him worthy of their 40-man roster. This spring, the Royals hoped they might have a serviceable relief pitcher.
Now, they see a young pitcher with more than enough velocity on two fastballs, a compounding slider, and a developing changeup and curveball.
"Exactly what I expected out of him," manager Ned Yost said.
Yost is endlessly positive about his players, but even he doesn't mean that literally. Or, at least, he doesn't mean the results. Nobody does this every time, but the start on Monday against a strong lineup is a template for the best version of Keller.
He struck out at least one hitter with each of the his three pitches — a sinking fastball that moves down and in on right handers, a four-seamer that stays up with a tick more velocity, and a slider that bites hard and down.
Keller recorded 21 outs — six strikeouts, and 12 groundouts, including three double plays. This is a key to his pitch profile. His command is good enough that nearly three of every four pitches is a fastball, with the slider serving to keep hitters honest. He has a changeup, too, though he isn't throwing it in games yet.
"Work on it in the bullpen," Keller said. "Then compete in the games."
That's a potentially important point, too, because it's a sign that Keller is well equipped to maintain this success and perhaps even improve. A changeup would play well off the fastballs and slider, further handcuffing hitters from expecting any one pitch. Eldred expressed confidence in that pitch, saying Keller's ability to command it was a major part of why they wanted to transition him to the rotation.
Keller will be cautious in introducing the pitch, knowing his success already depends heavily on his ability to throw strikes consistently. If he's in the strike zone, staying on or ahead of hitters, his attacking style plays well. When he falls behind, that's when the trouble comes.
Even during this success in the rotation the walk numbers are too high. He averaged nearly four walks per nine innings last year at Class AA. His stuff is good enough to induce weak contact and misses in the strike zone. The key is keeping it in the strike zone.
"He doesn’t get nervous," Yost said. "He just doesn’t. It’s not that he has to avoid getting nervous. He doesn’t get nervous. He’s got all the confidence in the world in his abilities. He knows when he steps on that mound, he’s gonna be on the attack."
Again, some of this is Yost playing his role as swagger coach, particularly with young players, and particularly in a season that's gone so wrong.
Because Keller does get nervous. Of course he does. He's 22, and before this season had never pitched above Class AA. Fail here, now, and he goes back to the grind of waiting in the minor leagues. That's a lot to take on.
So what matters here is how he deals with those nerves. How he blocks that out, not just transitioning to the major leagues but now into a rotation.
The Royals think they can be good again, and relatively soon. Keller is under club control through at least 2023, which extends beyond the internal expectation of competitive baseball.
There was a time he projected as a potential cornerstone of the next dominant bullpen, and that was more than enough for a Rule 5 pick.
But the more this season goes, the more it looks like he could be a starter. His size, velocity, and stuff line up with a fourth or fifth starter. When he throws strikes, it ticks up a bit, and if he can bring the changeup along and continue to navigate the emotional stress of the big leagues then the Royals really have found something.
If all of that happens, no matter what else, this losing season will not be lost.
This Royals fan didn't need a free hand to catch a foul ball
June 25, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
This Royals fan picked the perfect time to go to the concession stand.
During the fourth inning of the Royals' 2-0 win over the Angels, Albert Pujols fouled off a pitch from Brad Keller.
The fan was returning to his seat and had his hands full, carrying a beer and a tray. Before heading down the aisle, he spotted the ball, which bounced toward the man and into his cup of beer for the easiest catch you'll ever see.
The man casually walked to his seat and showed off his souvenir.
Take a look:
Click the link to watch the video.
Brad Keller's best outing of rookie year provides Royals a respite from brutal June
June 25, 2018By Sam McDowell/KC Star
The measures within a rebuild are rarely easy and rarely enjoyable, but the grind is particularly difficult for those who preceded it in Kansas City, those whose initial seasons here were composed of more meaningful games in the standings. And so Royals manager Ned Yost outlined a blueprint last week to provide some veteran players a day off from a most difficult month.
Brad Keller extended the break an extra 24 hours.
Keller pitched the best game of his rookie season Monday, seven scoreless innings that sparked a 2-0 Royals victory against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium.