Daily Clips
May 25, 2017
Thursday's Royals-Yanks matchup postponed
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals' bats can't match Hammel's solid start
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan and Bryan Hoch/MLB.com
Royals see Hammel take 'good step forward'
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Moore 'not throwing up the white flag' on '17
GM says he believes Royals are postseason-caliber club
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Gordon returns as Royals place Karns on DL
Almonte tabbed to start Thursday's finale against Yanks
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals’ series finale against the Yankees is postponed
May 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Royals shut out for a fifth time, fall 3-0 to the Yankees
May 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
After adding bulk to his frame, Royals’ Whit Merrifield displaying pop at the plate
May 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Miguel Almonte to make first career start Thursday; Gordon returns, Karns on DL
May 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Why the Royals got to the Yankees in the seventh inning
May 25, 2017By Lee Judge/KC Star
MINORS
Omaha Shut Down in Nashville Again, 4-0
Chasers still seeking first run of series
May 25, 2017Omaha Storm Chasers
Naturals drop a pair to the RoughRiders on Wednesday
Frisco claims the May 23 suspended game by a 7-6 final before winning Game 2, 8-5
May 25, 2017Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Blue Rocks Scratched by Hillcats in Late Inning Loss
Lynchburg Scores Two Runs in Ninth
May 25, 2017By Cory Nidoh/Wilmington Blue Rocks
Legends sweep Hickory
May 25, 2017Lexington Legends
MLB TRANSACTIONS
May 25, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Thursday's Royals-Yanks matchup postponed
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Rain postponed the Royals-Yankees game scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
The game has been rescheduled for Sept. 25, a Monday, at Yankee Stadium. The start time has not been determined.
The Royals will have just concluded a 10-game road trip that ends in Chicago at that point before returning home for a season-ending regular-season six-game homestand starting Sept. 26.
Thursday's postponement could be a break for manager Ned Yost and the Royals' starting pitching situation. The Royals would have been searching for a starter on Tuesday because right-hander Nathan Karns isn't eligible to return from the disabled list until Wednesday.
Rookie right-hander Miguel Almonte was scheduled to make his first Major League start on Thursday, with right-hander Ian Kennedy scheduled for a Friday start. Yost could keep Kennedy on his regular schedule and push Almonte back to Tuesday when the Royals are home against Detroit.
Royals' bats can't match Hammel's solid start
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan and Bryan Hoch/MLB.com
Luis Severino harnessed his electric arsenal to produce the deepest outing of any Yankees starting pitcher over the last two weeks, firing eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory over the Royals on Wednesday night at the Stadium.
Severino gave the Yanks' fatigued bullpen a breather by limiting Kansas City to just four hits in a 114-pitch performance, increasing New York's lead to a season-high 2 1/2 games over Baltimore in the American League East. DellinBetances struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth save.
"It feels good to help the team, to give an outing like this," Severino said. "I have to keep working, keep trying to be in the game more. I feel more confidence in my changeup and my fastball. I feel good."
The first Yankees pitcher since May 8 to complete at least seven innings, Severino called it the best outing of his brief career. Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain would probably agree, saying that Severino was "lights out" and "pretty much unhittable."
"You can look at film all day, but stepping in the box is a whole other world," Cain said. "Throwing 96 to 100 [mph], huge slider, changeup. I don't know where they found that guy, but he's pretty darn good."
Didi Gregorius hit his third homer -- and second of the series -- and scored twice. Matt Holliday and Brett Gardner also drove in runs as Royals starter Jason Hammel logged six-plus innings, permitting three runs and six hits. Kansas City has lost eight of Hammel's nine starts.
"Our guys were facing a 100 [mph fastball] with a never-before-seen curveball," Hammel said. "That's tough."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
More than one way to do it: Each of the previous 15 runs in the series had been driven in via homers before Gary Sanchez led off the sixth inning with a single, stole second base -- just his second career steal -- and advanced to third on a Salvador Perez throwing error. Holliday lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right field that gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. It was Perez's first error since last Aug. 25 at Miami.
"Someone just always steps up for us," Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge said. "You never know who's going to step up. After a loss, we always try to bounce back."
Immediate impact: Alcides Escobar was first-pitch swinging from the beginning of the game, barreling a 97.1-mph Severino fastball to deep center field, where center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury ran it down before crashing into the wall. According to Statcast™, Escobar's ball had a 73 percent hit probability. Ellsbury left the game an inning later and was diagnosed with a concussion and a sprained neck.
"It's a great play. It set the tone of the game," Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner said. "Escobar's standing on third, or it's 1-0 if it comes out of his glove. Great play on his part. I know Sevvy appreciated it and it allowed Sevvy to get into a good groove and carry that momentum right through the eighth."
WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Rookie right-hander Miguel Almonte will make his first Major League start on Thursday in the series finale against the Yankees at 12:05 p.m. CT. Almonte, 24, is 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA in seven appearances, six starts, at Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Yankees: Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (5-3, 6.56 ERA) hopes to bounce back from the roughest two-start span of his career on Thursday at 1:05 p.m. ET as the Yankees complete a four-game set with the Royals. Tanaka has permitted 14 earned runs in his last 4 2/3 innings (27.00 ERA) after going 5-0 with a 2.78 ERA in his previous five outings.
Royals see Hammel take 'good step forward'
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Yes, there was a bright side to a 3-0 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday night: The Royals may have fixed right-hander Jason Hammel.
Hammel came into the game with a 6.20 ERA and having been pounded for 12 runs in his previous 13 innings. But with the help of a rainout last weekend, the Royals were able to push his start back a few days, allowing Hammel to work on some mechanical issues with pitching coach Dave Eiland.
Eiland persuaded Hammel to abandon his closed-shoulder stance in his setup and encouraged Hammel to use a more squared-up approach.
The difference in Hammel's pitches was noticeable on Wednesday. He went six-plus innings and gave up six hits and three runs. Hammel didn't strike out a batter in his previous outing over six innings. But this time, Hammel struck out seven.
"Personally, a good step forward," Hammel said. "Good curveball, good slider, good changeup. Fastball had good downward action.
"The extra side sessions I got in really helped. I made the adjustment to get more square with my shoulders. Last year, I made the adjustment to close up my shoulders because normally I fly open so much. So I was basically trying to give myself more time, but it made it too long to catch up with my back side. I started getting too comfortable with it and I was missing too much arm side. So we opened it back up.
"Everything I threw tonight was breaking downward. My fastball ... I didn't miss up much."
The only real mistakes Hammel made were two two-seamers to red-hot Didi Gregorius, who homered in the third, and doubled and scored in the seventh.
"He's so hot right now," Hammel said. "It was basically the only two fastballs that I yanked and they came back out over the outer third."
In the end it didn't matter much in the outcome: The Royals were stymied by Yankees right-hander Luis Severino, who threw eight shutout innings.
"But I've got to keep the ball in the yard no matter what the other guy is doing," Hammel said. "You give up a homer and that's still a point for the bad guys.
"A loss is never good, but it's something I can build on."
Moore 'not throwing up the white flag' on '17
GM says he believes Royals are postseason-caliber club
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals general manger Dayton Moore prefers to hold off until at least 40 games are played before making any proclamations during a season.
And with the Royals just past that marker and off to a sluggish start at 19-26 entering Wednesday night's game against the Yankees, Moore is even more adamant that this season's team is a postseason contender.
"My thought process hasn't changed," Moore told MLB.com. "I thought this was a playoff-caliber team coming out of Spring Training and I still think that way."
Moore shot down rumors of a potential fire sale of pending free agents ranging from Eric Hosmer to Jason Vargas last week. Trading away pieces for the sake of trading doesn't make sense, Moore said.
"You just don't know what can happen down the road," Moore said. "We could win 40 games in August and September and win the [American League Central].
"I'm not throwing up the white flag. We just go. We go and we play and we do everything we can as an organization to win every game. We strive to get better every day.
"We are going to remain focused on winning in 2017, and I mean throughout 2017. We believe we owe it to our players and to our fanbase. We'll remain laser-focused on winning."
Moore has been pleased with certain elements of this season's team, especially the power surge (52 home runs), as the Royals are on pace to shatter the club record of 168 in a season.
Moore, though, emphasized that the Royals need to be more versatile offensively.
"I like the added power, don't get me wrong," he said. "But you look back at the 2014 and 2015 teams, and those teams fought with everything they had to get on base and drive guys in. If there's one issue right now, it's runners in scoring position -- we're not doing well in that department."
The Royals are hitting .202 with RISP -- last in the Majors entering Wednesday.
"It'll even out over time," Moore said. "I believe this offense will prove that."
One element that has been missing is speed. Jarrod Dyson was traded away, Paulo Orlando was demoted to the Minors and then sustained a fractured shin, and Raul Mondesi was not able to hold onto his job at the Major League level.
"You still have to win games multiple ways," Moore said. "We haven't abandoned the speed element. We started the season with Raul Mondesi and Terrance Gore on the roster. We could still see them in the near future. We've got Billy Burns in the system. We'll have Paulo Orlando. We'd certainly have that speed element in September.
"A lot of baseball left. We've had some exceptional games where we executed at all levels. We've had games where we've played poorly in all phases. So we just need to be more consistent."
Gordon returns as Royals place Karns on DL
Almonte tabbed to start Thursday's finale against Yanks
May 25, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Rookie right-hander Miguel Almonte will make his first Major League start on Thursday afternoon against a very special team in a very special place: Yankee Stadium.
"That was my favorite team growing up," Almonte said through interpreter Pedro Grifol. "Alex Rodriguez was my favorite player."
Royals manager Ned Yost named Almonte his starter on Wednesday -- the same day right-hander Nathan Karns (forearm soreness) was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Thursday would have been Karns' spot in the rotation.
Outfielder Alex Gordon, back from paternity leave, took Karns' spot on the 25-man roster.
Almonte, who was called up Sunday, is 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA in seven games, six starts, for Double-A Northwest Arkansas this season.
Almonte said he already had some nerves about the start, but that teammates have been guiding him through the anxiety.
"Vargy [Jason Vargas] was telling me to just do the same thing I've been doing," Almonte said. "Throw strike one and just go out and pitch."
The Royals made Karns' DL move retroactive to Sunday, meaning he won't be able to be activated until next Wednesday.
"We'll need another starter on Tuesday then," Yost said. "We'll figure it out later."
Gordon returns
Gordon was back after returning from Kansas City where his wife, Jamie, gave birth to their third child on Monday, a girl named Joey Lynn.
"They're not back from the hospital yet," Gordon said. "But I can tell you it's incredible to have another child."
The Gordons have two young boys, Max and Sam.
On the subject of having a baby girl, Gordon smiled and said, "They say they soften you up, then steal your heart."
Royals’ series finale against the Yankees is postponed
May 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
The Royals’ series finale against the New York Yankees on Thursday afternoon has been postponed because of inclement weather, the Yankees announced Thursday morning.
The game has been rescheduled for Monday, Sept. 25 at Yankee Stadium. The start time is still to be determined. The Royals lost two of three here in New York, falling to 19-27 on the season. They will continue what will now be a nine-game road trip against the Cleveland Indians on Friday night at Progressive Field.
Rookie right-hander Miguel Almonte was scheduled to make his first career start on Thursday. The club could now push him back to Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium and allow Ian Kennedy to start on regular rest on Friday. Jason Vargas is scheduled to start on Saturday, while Danny Duffy will pitch on Sunday.
Almonte was needed in the rotation after Nathan Karns was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday. Karns is eligible to return this Wednesday.
According to a Yankees news release, fans with paid tickets for Thursday’s postponed game can use them for the rescheduled game on Sept. 12 or exchange their paid tickets for any regular season game at Yankee Stadium within 12 months of the postponed game.
Royals shut out for a fifth time, fall 3-0 to the Yankees
May 25, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
As he leaned back against a padded folding chair, Lorenzo Cain covered his mouth with his left hand and shook his head. It was late Wednesday night inside the visitors clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, moments after the Royals’ 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees, and Cain, the Royals’ center fielder, needed a moment to compose his thoughts.
Cain had just seen a firebolt in the form of a 6-foot-2, 215-pound starter named Luis Severino. He had seen a 99 mph fastball, a sharp slider, and a tidy little change-up that disappeared against left-handed hitters. He did not wish to see more.
“I don’t know where they found that guy,” Cain said. “But he’s pretty darn good, I’ll tell you that.”
Before Wednesday, few in this room had seen Severino, a 23-year-old starter who had just completed his 31st major-league start. They had watched video to prepare. They studied his tendencies and scouting report. But in the moments after Severino recorded eight scoreless innings and seven strikeouts in a dominating performance, they were left with a prevailing thought: The video does not do 99 mph justice.
“You can look at film all day,” Cain said. “But once you step in that box, it’s a whole other world.”
For eight innings, the Royals were handcuffed by Severino, the Yankees’ precocious, flame-throwing starter, who yielded just five base runners.
The Royals (19-27) dropped back to eight games under .500 as the calendar pushed toward June. After being shut out for a fifth time, they are now 2-4 on this 10-game road trip, which will conclude with three games in Cleveland, and they must win Thursday afternoon to salvage a series split here in the Bronx. Rookie Miguel Almonte will make his first career start for the Royals.
After the month of April was torpedoed by a nine-game losing skid, the Royals have settled for mediocrity in May. Following Wednesday’s loss, they are now 12-11 in their last 23 games, treading water in last place in the American League Central.