Daily Clips
June 28, 2017
LOCAL
Strahm serves up costly HRs against Tigers
June 28, 2017By Jason Beck and Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals' bats miss chance to rattle Verlander
KC offense stymied after 3-run 1st frame in loss to Tigers
June 28, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Kennedy looks to keep trending up vs. Tigers
June 28, 2017By Jordan Horrobin/MLB.com
Merrifield tops Trout in Statcast speed rankings
June 28, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Butera impressed by softball pitcher's riser
June 28, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals rotation shows cracks in 5-3 loss to the Tigers
June 28, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
New data shows Eric Hosmer is second-fastest first baseman in baseball
June 28, 2017By Rustin Dodd and Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Why Justin Verlander can be vulnerable in the first inning
June 28, 2017By Lee Judge/KC Star
MINORS
Chasers Walloped in Doubleheader, 14-6 & 10-2
Sky Sox' attack too much for Omaha in both ends of twinbill
June 28, 2017Omaha Storm Chasers
Rocks Held in Check in Fourth Straight Setback
Blue Crew Held to Three Hits in Loss
June 28, 2017Wilmington Blue Rocks
Legends rally in ninth, win 6-5
June 28, 2017Lexington Legends
Royals Earn First Two Wins of 2017
Burlington wins completion of suspended game 16-4, takes nightcap 4-2
June 28, 2017By Matt Krause/Burlington Royals
MLB TRANSACTIONS
June 28, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Strahm serves up costly HRs against Tigers
June 28, 2017By Jason Beck and Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Tigers returned from a nightmare of a West Coast trip and regained their winning ways in the friendly surroundings of the American League Central. Miguel Cabrera's three-run homer and center fielder Mikie Mahtook's fine catch at the wall helped Justin Verlander rebound from a Royals rally in the first inning, sending Detroit to a 5-3 win on Tuesday night at Comerica Park.
The win improved the Tigers to 17-11 against AL Central opponents this season, including 3-1 against the Royals. Detroit is 17-31 outside of the division, which built the hole it's trying to escape, but Tuesday's series opener began a stretch of 20 division games in 26 contests.
"Two in a row, I don't know if that's a streak, but it's a start," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said.
Five consecutive hits to start the game put the Royals in position to take control early, but Verlander (5-4) limited the damage and retired 17 of his next 20 batters. J.D. Martinez chipped into the lead with a second-inning solo homer off Royals starter Matt Strahm (2-5) before Cabrera's ninth home run of the year put Detroit in front for good in the third.
"If you're going to get to Verlander," Royals manager Ned Yost said, "you got to get to him early. We got his pitch count way up [29 pitches in the first inning] and we had some more chances, but he just settled in."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Miggy happy returns: Cabrera entered Tuesday mired in a 4-for-30 slump over his previous eight games, but he has usually found his better form against the Royals in his career. His third-inning opposite-field line drive was his 26th career home run off Kansas City pitching, and his first homer off a lefty this season.
"I didn't think it was a bad pitch," Strahm said. "It was outside, a little up. But that's why he's one of the greatest hitters ever."
Mahtook's mad dash: Though Perez has generally owned Verlander in his career -- 23-for-55 lifetime -- he has no such claim on spacious Comerica Park. His fifth-inning loft to right-center field would've been a home run in most other ballparks, but Mahtook ran it down, crashing into the center-field wall to make the final out of the inning.
"He made a great play," Perez said. "But this is like the only park that's an out. That's the way it goes."
QUOTABLE
"I don't think anyone in this clubhouse has written us off. Same thing happened last year. We lost 11 of 12 in May and people started writing us off then. But baseball's a funny game. Sometimes you need a wakeup call. Sometimes you can ride out highs for a while." -- James McCann
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Mahtook's catch was the 10th out recorded on a ball projected to travel 400 or more feet at Comerica Park this season, according to Statcast™. That matches the league-leading total of 400-foot outs at the Royals' home park of Kauffman Stadium.
UNDER REVIEW
In the Tigers' sixth with a runner on first and none out, Jose Iglesias sent a grounder to third baseman Mike Moustakas, who threw to second for a forceout. Iglesias also was called out on the relay to first. The Tigers challenged and the call was overturned in 33 seconds.
WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Right-hander Ian Kennedy (1-6, 4.95 ERA) will start the middle game of this series vs. the Tigers on Wednesday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Kennedy gave up two earned runs over 4 2/3 innings on Wednesday against the Red Sox and received a no-decision in a game the Royals rallied to win, 6-4.
Tigers: Left-hander Daniel Norris (4-5, 4.66) will try for his first win in six career starts against the Royals on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET in the middle game of this series at Comerica Park. Norris pitched five innings in a no-decision last month in Kansas City.
Royals' bats miss chance to rattle Verlander
KC offense stymied after 3-run 1st frame in loss to Tigers
June 28, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Royals thought they had Justin Verlander right where they wanted him.
Verlander labored through a 29-pitch first inning, in which he gave up three runs. But in the end, the Royals missed several opportunities to punch a bigger hole in the game and that was costly in a 5-3 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday night in the series opener.
"If you're going to get to Verlander," Royals manager Ned Yost said, "you got to get to him early. We got his pitch count way up and we had some more chances, but he just settled in."
The first five Royals recorded hits off Verlander, with Jorge Bonifacio producing an RBI single and Salvador Perez delivering a two-run single.
But with two on and none out, the rally fizzled right there. Mike Moustakas grounded out, Brandon Moss struck out and Alcides Escobar hit a shot off Verlander that caromed to second baseman Ian Kinsler for the final out.
Moss' strikeout came with runners on first and third and one out.
"I chased some bad pitches," said Moss, whose averaged dropped to .179. "When you're struggling, you start guessing and trying to force things. That never works.
"But then again, he made some great pitches. He made the best three curveballs he did all night to me in the first inning. I knew he was going to throw curveballs because he needed a strikeout there. They looked good coming out of his hand."
The Royals had two on and none out again in the third inning. But Perez struck out, Moustakas flied out, and Moss lined out hard to Kinsler.
"It's frustrating, but you can't hang your hat on one at-bat," Moss said. "The overall volume of at-bats lately haven't been very good. I'd like to get a hit, obviously. But it's not like I deserved any hits in the other at-bats."
To be fair, the Royals did hit several balls on the nose. Alex Gordon was robbed twice on hard-hit balls at infielders. Perez was robbed on a great catch by center fielder Mikie Mahtook -- the distance was a projected 427 feet per Statcast™.
"All you can do is control how hard you hit it," Perez said. "We hit some balls hard tonight. We didn't get the results. That's baseball."
Kennedy looks to keep trending up vs. Tigers
June 28, 2017By Jordan Horrobin/MLB.com
Right-hander Ian Kennedy looks to continue a positive trend for himself and the Royals, while lefty Daniel Norris aims to help the Tigers secure a series win when they square off in Wednesday's middle game at Comerica Park.
Kennedy's previous start against the Tigers on May 31 lasted just three innings, his second-shortest outing of the year and his fifth loss. That start capped a rocky month for Kennedy, who was 0-3 with an 11.30 ERA in four May outings. He's since rebounded in June, going 1-1 with a 4.57 ERA.
Norris has a respectable 3.81 ERA in five career starts against the Royals, but his five-inning, three-run start earlier this year was only good enough for a no-decision. He's held Royals sluggers Salvador Perez and Eric Hosmer to a combined 2-for-22 (.091), but the current roster is still hitting .301 against Norris.
Three things to know about this game
• Giving up home runs has been a problem for Kennedy this season. He's allowed 14 in 13 starts, including at least one in each of the past 10 starts. While Tigers catcher Alex Avila is only 2-for-13 (.154) in his career against Kennedy, both those hits were home runs.
• Of the 14 home runs Kennedy's allowed, 13 have come against fastballs, accounting for 11.2 percent of the total number of batted balls those pitches have produced. That's the highest homer rate among all pitchers with at least 100 batted balls off fastballs (four-seamers, two-seamers, sinkers). He's holding opponents to a .133 batting average (6-for-45) on his changeup, which is fourth lowest among pitchers who've allowed at least 40 changeups in play,
• Norris has been tagged on his four-seam fastball so far this year. He ranks second in highest slugging percentage (.544) and batting average against (.337) among pitchers who've allowed at least 150 four-seam fastballs in play, according to Statcast.
Merrifield tops Trout in Statcast speed rankings
June 28, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
When Statcast™'s speed ratings hit Twitter on Tuesday, Royals players took notice.
One who noticed the rankings was Whit Merrifield, who ranked the third fastest second baseman in baseball, based on Statcast™'s speed metric, defined as "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second window" on the bases.
Merrfield's speed metric (28.6) ranked behind the Marlins' Dee Gordon (29.3) and the White Sox' Alen Hanson (28.7).
"It does feel pretty good," Merrifield said. "I feel like sometimes my speed sometimes gets overlooked a little. It's nice to have some validation. I work pretty hard on my speed."
What Merrifield liked the most was that he ranked ahead of Mike Trout (28.4).
"Let that sink in," Merrifield said, smiling.
Eric Hosmer ranked as baseball's second-fastest first baseman at 27.5, behind former Royals prospect Wil Myers (28.5), now with the Padres.
"That doesn't surprise me," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "[Hosmer] is a good baserunner. Really good."
Merrifield added, "Oh, yeah, he moves pretty good."
Lorenzo Cain was sixth among center fielders at 29.2, and was the fastest Royal.
Butera impressed by softball pitcher's riser
June 28, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals catcher Drew Butera got the assignment of catching famed Oklahoma softball pitcher Paige Parker last week, when Parker was scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Kauffman Stadium.
Parker, a native of Independence, Mo., was a first team All-American in 2016, and second team All-American in '15 and '17. She has led her the Sooners to back-to-back national championships in '16 and '17.
"She was going to throw out the first pitch, and I didn't want to catch a softball pitcher without ever having done it before," Butera said. "I asked if she wanted to throw a few in the cages so I could get used to it.
"The first rise ball, I mean, I knew it would rise, but nothing like that."
The warmup session was captured on video with several of Butera's teammates observing.
"It was really cool," Butera said. "She had a drop ball, which was like a splitter, and a curve, which was like a cutter. But to me, that rise ball, it still blows me away. I was like, 'How do you hit that?' I guess you don't. That's why she's the best.
"It was cool to see the video of the guys' reaction behind me."
Royals rotation shows cracks in 5-3 loss to the Tigers
June 28, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
On May 28, Royals starter Danny Duffy sprinted to cover first base in Cleveland and was lost for six weeks. He fell awkwardly while hustling toward the bag and strained an oblique muscle in his side. The Royals would have to learn how to live without one of their top two starting pitchers.
In that moment, the predicament appeared dire. In the month since the injury, the Royals’ starting rotation entered Tuesday with a 4.12 ERA in its last 135 1/3 innings. The number was the second lowest in the American League during that span. A unit cobbled together with rookies, veterans and transitioning relievers helped propel a team back into contention in the American League Central.
Now Duffy is set to return in a matter of weeks, and that event cannot come soon enough. On a Tuesday in Detroit, a 5-3 loss to the Tigers produced the latest reminder of a rotation that turns brittle toward the back end.
In his third start since leaving the bullpen, Matt Strahm was nicked for five runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings. The bulk of the damage came on a three-run blast by Miguel Cabrera and a solo homer by J.D. Martinez.
“I don’t know,” Strahm said. “My stamina was there today, I felt. But they were getting the bat on the ball, and I just couldn’t put people away.”
Strahm is still new to this. He is learning a different role at the major-league level and building up his arm strength. Before this month, he had never started a game above Class AA Northwest Arkansas. On Tuesday, he reached 80 pitches for the first time. He looked like a pitcher who had never done so before.
In the bottom of the second, Martinez feasted on a 91 mph fastball that was supposed to be located up and in and stayed low in the zone. One inning later, Cabrera sprayed a three-run shot into the seats in right field.
The moment wiped away the Royals’ 3-0 lead against Detroit starter Justin Verlander and changed the evening, yet the location of the pitch appeared somewhat reasonable. On a 1-0 offering, Strahm threw an 83 mph change-up that sat on the outside corner. Cabrera, a former MVP and future Hall of Famer, reached his bat out and poked the ball out of the ballpark.
“It was a little up more than I wanted it to (be),” Strahm said. “But that’s why he’s one of the greatest hitters.”
Here was another lesson in being a starter. In the moments after the loss, Strahm said he needed to exhibit better command with his off-speed stuff. He needed to work ahead. He needed to attack with his fastball early in counts.
In spring training, he sought to add a slider to his repertoire, hoping to induce more swings and misses. As a member of the rotation, he also needs to be able to throw it for a strike early in counts.
“It’s just tough,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “As a reliever, you can get by with command issues coming in (and pitching) in short spurts. As a starter, you can’t.
“It’s just learning to command the ball better.”
The Royals are still waiting on Duffy and Nathan Karns, who will not be back before late July. For now, they are seeking to make it work with Strahm and JakobJunis.
For Strahm, who has allowed 10 runs in his last two starts, the real problem came in his inability to retire shortstop Jose Iglesias, who led off the third inning with a single, or center fielder Mikie Mahtook, who was down 1-2 before rapping a single to left on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.
The Royals (37-38) dropped to 9-19 against the American League Central as they opened a three-game trip to Detroit. The woes inside the division have been a year-long bugaboo. In the first week of April, they opened the season with three straight losses in Minnesota. On Tuesday, they fell to a combined 4-15 against the Tigers, Twins and Chicago White Sox.
The Tigers (34-42) were supposed to be a factor in the AL Central, while the Twins were thought to be enmeshed in another year of rebuilding. Both have been thorns in the side of the Royals.
As they arrived at Comerica Park on Tuesday for the start of a short road trip, the Royals ambushed Verlander for five consecutive hits and three runs in the top of the first. Whit Merrifield ignited the burst with a booming double to deep center field, and Salvador Perez finished it by lofting a two-run single into right field, pushing the lead to 3-0. But that was that.
The offense wasted an excellent opportunity to blow open the game in the first. Perez just missed a homer to deep center later in the evening, clubbing a ball 420 feet to dead center. Mahtook made a spectacular play at the wall.
“Only in here, it’s an out,” he said