The Royals sent their ace, James Shields, to the mound in Wednesday’s finale and, as usually happens when James Shields pitches, their attack turtled and resulted in a 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros.
Forty games in, approximately one-fourth of the way through the season, and the Royals are 20-20 after suffering a weekend sweep in Oakland. Let’s get this out of the way: It was a brutal weekend. Three one-run losses after holding early leads in each game. The quarter point in the season is when teams traditionally step back and take a hard look at themselves. And if Bob Dutton’s latest Q&A is any indication, fans are doing that, too.
The Royals suffered their fourth straight one-run loss Monday night — they’re now one game under .500. After the game, manager Ned Yost said that starter Jeremy Guthrie had struggled with command, finding the right arm slot and keeping the ball down. Guthrie walked three, two of them scored, and the Royals lost this one 6-5.
Forty games in, approximately one-fourth of the way through the season, and the Royals are 20-20 after suffering a weekend sweep in Oakland. Let’s get this out of the way: It was a brutal weekend. Three one-run losses after holding early leads in each game. The quarter point in the season is when teams traditionally step back and take a hard look at themselves. And if Bob Dutton’s latest Q&A is any indication, fans are doing that, too.
The young third baseman, lugging a paltry batting average at the All-Star break in his first full major-league season, felt lost and dejected. Then George Brett and his hitting coach, Charlie Lau, put together a plan, one that included mechanical adjustments and fundamentals but emphasized the mental approach, something Brett says can help current Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, mired in a one-for-34 skid at the plate.
Services for former Royals broadcaster Fred White, who died on May 15, will take place on May 28 at the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village.
The script changed Sunday for the Royals, but not the ending as they concluded a three-game weekend pratfall in the East Bay with a 4-3 loss to the Oakland A’s.
After Sunday’s crushing 4-3 loss to the Oakland A’s, Royals manager Ned Yost acknowledged he will “probably” will pull the eighth-inning duty away from struggling reliever Kelvin Herrera.
The Royals should know why the city they play for is suspicious. Nothing personal, guys, but Alex Gordon and Sal Perez and especially James Shields and Jeremy Guthrie might want to know why a fan base starved to watch a winner is watching their best team in 20 years like it’s a wild grizzly bear.
While the Royals’ rotation is much improved over recent seasons, one run isn’t often going to be enough. It was Ervin Santana who paid the price Saturday night for failing to pitch a shutout in a 2-1 loss to the Oakland A’s.
The questions to Royals manager Ned Yost Saturday afternoon concerned third baseman Mike Moustakas, his ongoing struggles and how patient the Royals were willing to remain and for how long.
Roughly forty games into Kansas City’s season, it’s time to make some assessments of this team’s advantages and its shortcomings.
Rookie Brandon Maurer is going through some growing pains, and the Seattle Mariners are feeling ill, too.
Ian Desmond singled in Bryce Harper in the 10th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game series sweep.
Mike Trout even surprised himself in adding to his growing list of impressive big league achievements.
Brandon Phillips and the Cincinnati Reds are getting the good bounces right now. Ike Davis and the New York Mets certainly are not.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly criticized his team and benched All-Star right fielder Andre Ethier, then watched Los Angeles beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-2 Wednesday.
As Bryce Harper ran back to chase Gregor Blanco's hard-hit fly in the ninth inning, memories of last week's scary collision with the wall at Dodger Stadium suddenly surged into his mind.
Chris Davis went 4 for 4, including his AL-leading 14th homer, and the Baltimore Orioles got a three-run shot from Matt Wieters in a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night.
The Minnesota Twins were one out away from ending their longest losing streak of the season.
Madison Bumgarner is back on track. After a couple of rough starts in May, he pitched another gem.
An abbreviated outing by Ramon Ortiz put the Toronto Blue Jays in a hole they couldn't climb out of.
