Daily Clips
August 12, 2017
LOCAL
Moose's pair of homers can't end Royals' skid
August 12, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan and Fabian Ardaya/MLB.com
Duffy's outing spoiled by shaky seventh inning
Left-hander is confident Royals, who have lost 11 of 14, will bounce back
August 12, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Melky faces White Sox, gets standing ovation
August 12, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Kennedy looks to get on track vs. White Sox
August 12, 2017By Fabian Ardaya/MLB.com
Royals’ August swoon continues in 6-3 loss to the White Sox
August 12, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals starter Trevor Cahill hopes to return ‘sooner’ after recurrence of shoulder issue
August 12, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals’ Melky Cabrera enjoys ‘sentimental’ trip back to Chicago
August 12, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals may be slumping, but they’re still swinging at a record pace
August 12, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Why getting swept in the I-70 Series hurt the Royals more than usual
August 12, 2017By Lee Judge/KC Star
MINORS
Chasers Hold Off I-Cubs 6-5
Pena & Schwindel keep hot bats going in front of 7,127
August 12, 2017Omaha Storm Chasers
Duenez homers again as Naturals claim opener
Samir Duenez homered for the second time in as many nights in the 2-1 win over Frisco
August 12, 2017Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Clutch Hitting and Great Pitching Earn Blue Rocks Victory
Wilmington Uses Wire-to-Wire Win to Open Series
August 12, 2017Wilmington Blue Rocks
Sensley's two HRs power Charleston to 7-3 win
August 12, 2017Lexington Legends
Voyagers Drop Series Opener to Idaho Falls
Three-Run 6th Lifts Chukars at Melaleuca
August 12, 2017By Shawn Tiemann/Great Falls Voyagers
Royals Drop Friday Game to Yankees
Jones, Rohlman drive in runs in 4-2 defeat
August 12, 2017By Matt Krause/Burlington Royals
MLB TRANSACTIONS
August 12, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Moose's pair of homers can't end Royals' skid
August 12, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan and Fabian Ardaya/MLB.com
Rookie Adam Engel's second triple fueled a four-run seventh, capped by Tim Anderson's two-run home run, as the White Sox surged to a 6-3 win over the slumping Royals on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Royals, who have lost five straight and 10 of 12, dropped to five games behind the American League Central-leading Indians and 1 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race. Mike Moustakas hit his 33rd and 34th home runs for the Royals, pulling within two of Steve Balboni's club record of 36 in 1985.
"Individual accomplishments don't really mean anything if you're not playing good ball," Moustakas said. "And right now, we need to get back to playing the way we know how to play."
Royals manager Ned Yost echoed those sentiments: "Nobody likes to go through these streaks. It's no fun by any stretch of the imagination. But we also know we have the ability to get hot and run off a bunch of wins."
Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, acquired from the Nationals in December and making his White Sox debut, was dominant early, striking out six through three no-hit innings. But Lopez, ranked as the club's No. 6 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, surrendered Moustakas' first home run in the fourth. Lopez went six innings, giving up four hits and two runs while walking three.
"I think that my key today was just my focus," Lopez said through interpreter Billy Russo. "I was focused all game, and I was able to command all my pitches. The changeup was very good. Fastball. I commanded the strike zone in and out. I felt very, very comfortable with all my pitches, and I was able to command all of them."
"He's got good stuff," Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield said of Lopez. "Good changeup, good curveball. It's tough when you haven't seen a guy and he comes out throwing 98."
Aaron Bummer worked two scoreless innings to pick up his first Major League win. Tyler Clippard, the lone veteran acquired in a flurry of trades last month, allowed a run on a wild pitch, but he recorded his third save of the season and second for the White Sox.
Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was strong through six innings before running into trouble in the seventh. He went 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and five earned runs.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Stop right there: The Royals had a chance to do some serious damage after Moustakas' one-out homer in the fourth. Cheslor Cuthbert and Alcides Escobar followed with sharp singles, but Lopez got Alex Gordon to fly out to center and Drew Butera to foul out to third, ending the threat.
"As a pitcher, I know that I'm going to allow some hits," Lopez said. "But I think that the key is just to keep your focus on the game and keep your confidence, and that was what I did. I gave up three hits in a row, but then I kept my confidence, and I was able to get out of that inning."
"I actually thought that was his best inning to test him," said White Sox catcher Kevan Smith, whose first-inning double opened the scoring. "That was great to have for him in the middle, because he was kind of cruising a little bit, and I was wondering when he was going to hit some adversity. But he got it, he got through it, and it was a good one."
Squeeze play: The White Sox, already with a 3-2 lead after Engel's second triple, which scored Leury Garcia, tacked on another run when Yolmer Sanchez executed a safety-squeeze bunt. Engel scored on a close play at the plate as Duffy's throw to Butera was just late.
"A lot of different things that he can do that benefitted us today and will continue to do as he develops at the Major League level," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of Engel's performance. "I think we're hopeful that things will continue to improve and he'll be able to maintain some consistency."
QUOTABLE
"He just has really, really alive stuff. He just needs to keep on the path that he's going, keep learning to use all of his pitches and pitch off that fastball. I mean, we can't shy away from that fastball. I feel like even when hitters know it's coming, it's still a tough pitch to get to. When he gets that angle that [pitching coach Don Cooper] talks about, he's almost unhittable." -- Smith, on catching Lopez
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Outfielder Nicky Delmonico's infield single in the fifth inning off Duffy made him the first White Sox player since Larry Rosenthal in 1936 to reach base safely in each of his first 10 career games. Delmonico's hit had some luck to it -- it only had a hit probability of 11 percent, according to Statcast™.
Engel became the first White Sox player since Alejandro De Aza on Aug. 16, 2011, to triple twice in a game with his go-ahead RBI triple into the gap in left-center in the seventh inning. He became the first White Sox rookie to achieve the feat since Pete Ward on April 11, 1963, against the Angels. At 25 years and 245 days old, Engel is the youngest White Sox player to triple twice in a game since Sammy Sosa (21 years, 241 days old) on July 11, 1990.
WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Right-hander Ian Kennedy (4-8, 4.83 ERA) will face the White Sox for a third time this season on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Kennedy gave up six hits and six earned runs in six innings in an 11-3 loss to the Cardinals on Monday.
White Sox: Right-hander James Shields (2-4, 6.03) will take the mound at 6:10 p.m. CT on Saturday in the middle game against the Royals, his former team, at Guaranteed Rate Field. Shields has just one quality start since coming off his first-ever stint on the disabled list for a right lat strain on June 18.
Duffy's outing spoiled by shaky seventh inning
Left-hander is confident Royals, who have lost 11 of 14, will bounce back
August 12, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals left-hander Danny Duffy gave his team six strong innings of two-run ball, but a few mistakes in the seventh tarnished his night as the Royals fell, 6-3, to the White Sox on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
And that's what Duffy will remember most, as his team dropped its fifth straight. The left-hander allowed five runs, three of which came in the seventh, over 6 1/3 innings to go with eight strikeouts.
"I felt really good in the fourth, fifth and sixth," Duffy said. "Ball was coming out really good. But it happened really quick [in the seventh]. I've got to be better than that.
"Two games in a row, I spotted the other team the lead. I've got to pitch better than that."
Duffy most lamented the fact he also gave up runs in each of the first two innings.
"Our offense has been great, doing a great job, but it's hard when I go out there in the most important part of the season and spot them runs.," Duffy said. "It's very frustrating."
The Royals have fallen five games behind the first-place Indians in the American League Central and 1 1/2 games behind the Twins for the second AL Wild Card spot. Since winning nine straight in late July, Kansas City has dropped 11 of its last 14.
"It all happens quick in this game sometimes," Duffy said. "We're in a frustrating period right now, but we're going to come out of this. It's about continuing to battle. There's no lack of competitiveness, no lack of fire. We're not happy with this period of the season. None of us are.
"And we shouldn't be happy. We haven't been playing good baseball."
Duffy insisted he and his teammates would snap out of this spell soon.
"I don't think there's some kind of complex," Duffy said. "We're just in a bad spot. It's a brutal part of the season, but there is a lot of season left. We're going to do better."
Melky faces White Sox, gets standing ovation
August 12, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals outfielder Melky Cabrera made his first trip back to Chicago on Friday and back to see his former White Sox teammates.
But while Cabrera said through White Sox interpreter Billy Russo that he is a little sentimental about the return, Cabrera has no plans to grab any postgame dinners or lunches with his former teammates this weekend.
"I don't have any plans," said Cabrera, who went 1-for-4 and received a standing ovation before his first at-bat in the Royals' 6-3 loss. "We are in the race for the postseason and all my focus is on that. And my family is here."
Cabrera did recall how tough it was almost two weeks ago to be traded, though he was happy to be going to the playoff-contending Royals.
"It was kind of difficult because I played here 2 1/2 years," he said, "but that's part of the business. I have a lot of good memories. I know the guys. It's kind of sentimental. It's tough to be in that situation."
Cabrera did praise White Sox fans who made him one of their favorites.
"I'm just thankful for their support," Cabrera said. "I came here to play hard and I think that is why they supported me so much."
Kennedy looks to get on track vs. White Sox
August 12, 2017By Fabian Ardaya/MLB.com
Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy will square off against White Sox righty James Shields on Saturday in the middle game of this series at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Royals, who surged to grab one of the two American League Wild Card spots with a strong start to the second half, have struggled of late -- going 2-9 in their last 11 games after a 6-3 loss in Friday's series opener -- including dropping five in a row. Kansas City sits five games back of the first-place Indians in the AL Central and 1 1/2 behind in the Wild Card race.
Kennedy (4-8, 4.83 ERA) has struggled through his last two August starts, including allowing seven runs (six earned) over six innings in a loss to St. Louis. He has faced the White Sox twice this season, and couldn't get out of the fifth inning either time. He allowed five runs (four earned) in 4 1/3 innings at Kauffman Stadium on May 4, and allowed six runs (five earned) in four innings against the White Sox at home on July 21.
The 32-year-old is slightly better on the road this season, with a 4.30 ERA as a visitor as opposed to his 5.43 mark at home. Each of Kennedy's four wins this season have come on the road. He has made seven career starts against the White Sox, going 2-2 with a 4.70 ERA.
Shields (2-4, 6.03), who pitched for the Royals from 2013-14, struggled with a 9.00 ERA in five July starts, but was strong his last time out in allowing four runs (three earned) over six innings against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Shields has just one quality start since coming off his first-ever stint on the disabled list for a right lat strain on June 18.
Three things to know about this game
• The White Sox should have All-Star right fielder Avisail Garcia back in the starting lineup after an off-day on Friday. Garcia, who recently missed 10 games with a strained ligament in his right thumb, complained of some fatigue during Thursday's 3-2, extra-inning win over the Astros.
• Shortstop Alcides Escobar was in the starting lineup for the 286th straight game for the Royals on Friday, extending the longest active streak in baseball. On Thursday, he passed Miguel Tejada's streak of 284 consecutive games at shortstop for the same club -- which was the longest streak of its kind since Cal Ripken's record 2,216 games for the Orioles from 1982-96.
• Ian Kennedy has at least one strikeout in each of his 260 career Major League outings, which is the second-longest active streak to begin a career behind David Price's 264.
Royals’ August swoon continues in 6-3 loss to the White Sox
August 12, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
On the morning of July 30, two baseball teams made a trade.
They were two clubs, two front offices, two organizations moving in opposite directions. The Chicago White Sox had long ago waved the white flag on the 2017 season, dealing valuable assets last winter and using this summer as an investment in the future. The Royals, meanwhile, had gazed at their hand, looked around at the competition and pushed their chips to the middle of the table.
So on a Saturday night in late July, Royals general manager Dayton Moore found himself on the phone with White Sox general manager Rick Hahn, chatting from a hotel room in Cooperstown, N.Y. Moore’s team had just concluded a nine-game winning streak, and by the next morning, the deal was done: The White Sox sent outfielder Melky Cabrera back to the Royals for two minor-league pitchers. The Cabrera acquisition offered an upgrade for a offense and shot of a confidence for a clubhouse. A team just 21 months removed from a World Series championship was ready to chase a third postseason appearance in four years.
That was 13 days ago. It feels like a lifetime. On Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Royals fell 6-3 to the White Sox, losing for a 10th time in 12 games. On a cool night on the South Side of Chicago, a cast of White Sox prospects and leftovers delivered the latest shot to a postseason run.
“We haven’t been playing great baseball,” Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas said.
Royals starter Danny Duffy was average, allowing five runs in 6 1/3 innings. The bullpen surrendered another back-breaking shot. The offense was limited to two solo homers from Moustakas off White Sox rookie Reynaldo Lopez. A season inched a little closer to the brink.
For 12 games, Cabrera has been a productive cog in the middle of the Royals lineup. The rest has fallen apart.
The latest setback was decided when Duffy hit a wall in the seventh and the White Sox put up four runs, capped by a three-run homer from shortstop Tim Anderson off reliever Peter Moylan. The loss left the Royals (57-58), under .500 for the first time since July 19 and five games behind first-place Cleveland in the American League Central.
“It happened really quick,” Duffy said.
Duffy was talking about a seventh-inning burst that featured a leadoff single from Leury Garcia, a second triple from center fielder Adam Engel on a pitch in the middle of the zone, and a successful safety squeeze from Yolmer Sanchez. But Duffy could have been referencing the Royals’ nightmare over the last two weeks.
The pitching staff had posted a 6.38 ERA across 10 games in August before allowing another six runs on Friday. The bullpen has collapsed after a dominant run in July, yielding 18 earned runs in the last five games.
Moylan’s high-leverage magic has disappeared across the last week. The unit appears exhausted and taxed to the limit. The starting rotation has not been much better, ranging from solid to decent to disastrous.