TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays blanked the Royals by a score of 3-0 last night…Marked the club’s 1st shutout of the season… Pitched 10 shutouts last year (T-7th in the AL). Toronto has now won consecutive games on the heels of a three-game slide and is back at .500 for the season…Has started a season at 3-3 for the 3rd time in the last four years…Can earn their 1st series victory of 2023 with a win this afternoon.
VLAD TO THE BONE: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. connected for his 1st home run of the campaign last night as he led off the 8th inning with a 389-foot liner deep to right…Also picked up a pair of hits on singles in the 1st (102.3 MPH) and 6th (103.3 MPH) innings to go 3-for-4 with two runs scored…Marked his 40th career 3+ hit performance. The 24-year-old has recorded an MLB-leading 16 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this year, two more than 2nd-place Matt Chapman…Recorded 265 hard-hit balls over the course of last season, the most in the Majors (2nd: José Abreu – 256).
DAULTON IS DIALLED IN: Daulton Varsho singled twice and doubled in a 3-for-4 evening…Marked his 1st three-hit game as a Blue Jay and his 3rd multi-hit effort…Is now batting .333 (8- for-24) with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI through six games (.935 OPS).
STAT CHAPMAN: Matt Chapman singled and collected two RBI last night…Is now batting .522 (12-for-23) with five doubles, two walks, and five RBI for a 1.299 OPS through six games…The 12 hits and .522 AVG are currently both 1st in the Majors. The third baseman’s hot start also has him leading MLB in doubles (5) while sitting T-7th in extra base hits…Among AL batters, is T-2nd in OBP (.560), 4th in OPS, and 7th in SLG (.739),
HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched 63 hits so far, tied for 3rd most in MLB…Their team batting average of .292 sits 2nd in the Majors as the season begins (STL: .324)… Currently rank 1st in the AL in OBP (.363), 7th in SLG (.384), and 7th in OPS (.748).
MANOAH ON A MISSION: Alek Manoah pitched his way through 4.1 innings before allowing his 1st hit last night…Finished with 7.0 scoreless frames, allowing just that lone single while walking four and striking out five…Dating back to last season, three of his last four starts have been scoreless. The 25-year-old righty now has 26 quality starts since the beginning of last season, 2nd most in among all MLB pitchers…His 207.0 innings pitched over that span are 4th most in the AL while his 2.35 ERA also ranks 4th and his 1.02 WHIP sits 7th
LENGTHY ROAD WORK: The Blue Jays start the season with 10 straight road contests as renovations wrap up at Rogers Centre… Ties the longest road trip to kick off a campaign in team history (10G in 1984)…Marks the 3rd trip of 10+ games to begin a season by any team in the last 20 years, joining the 2019 Red Sox (11G) and the 2022 Athletics (10G)…Played three games in St. Louis (1-2), are now in Kansas City (2-1) for four contests and will wrap up the trip with three games in Anaheim. Toronto’s .556 road win% in 2022 (45-36) ranked 3rd in the AL and tied for 2nd best in team history (1st: .580 in 1993)…Blue Jays hitters led the AL in road runs (416), AVG (.266), OBP (.331), SLG (.428), and OPS (.759)…The pitching staff ranked 5th in the AL in road ERA (3.70), 5th in road WHIP (1.24), and 6th in road opponents’ batting average (.245)..
GAUS FOR EXCITEMENT: Kevin Gausman returns to the mound for his 2nd start of the season…Went 6.0 innings on April 1 at STL and was charged with three unearned runs while recording seven K’s…Ranked 5th in the AL with 205 strikeouts in 2022 and finished 11th in ERA (3.35).
GETTING ON: Toronto has had 89 runners reach base through five contests, 3rd most in the AL while the two teams ahead in that ranking have played an extra contest… Are now on a streak of 24 games with 8+ runners on base, the longest of all MLB clubs (courtesy Stats Perform).
The Blue Jays led the AL in times on base in 2022 (2,395) as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied for 3rd most among AL hitters at 306.
MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE TEAM: The Blue Jays led the Majors in 2022 with a .264 team batting average and 1,464 hits…Also led the AL in OBP (.329), SLG (.431), and OPS (.760) while ranked T-1st in extra-base hits (519), 2nd in runs (775), 2nd in doubles (307), and 3rd in home runs
(200)…Topped the AL in AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS for the 1st time in team history. Blue Jay batters combined for a hard-hit (95+ MPH) percentage of 44.3 in 2022, the top rate in MLB (2nd: ATL – 43.5) while their average exit velocity of 90.2 MPH was also highest in the Majors (2nd: ATL – 89.9).
VS. THE ROYALS: All-Time: 222-200
2023: 2-1 Road: 101-110
Road: 2-1 Kauffman Stadium: 101-110
The Blue Jays went 5-2 against the Royals last season, taking two of three contests at Kauffman Stadium…Have taken each season series since 2018, now 22-9 vs. KC over that span. Whit Merrifield is facing his former team for the 1st time…The 9th-round pick of the 2010 draft debuted with the Royals in 2016 and played in 863 games across seven seasons…Batted .286, was named to two All-Star teams, and led the AL in hits in both 2018 (192) and 2019 (206). Matt Chapman went 10-for-27 (.370) with three doubles, two home runs, and six RBI in the seven games against the Royals last season…Is now a career .351 (40-for-114) hitter with 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 21 RBI across 31 contests (1.047 OPS)…His career .649 SLG vs. KC ranks 3rd best among active hitters (min. 100 AB). George Springer leads all current Blue Jays with 45 career games played vs. KC…Has hit .238 (43-for181) with eight doubles, two triples, 10 homers, and 31 RBI for an .826 OPS.
STARTING PITCHER – Kevin Gausman, RHP #34
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 2nd start of the season…Took the loss in his season debut on 4/1 at STL, giving up 3 runs (all unearned) on 8 hits and a walk over 6.0 innings with 7 strikeouts. Owns a 2.76 FIP since the start of the 2020 season, the 2nd-best mark among qualified hurlers (1st: Corbin Burnes – 2.52).
2022 HIGHLIGHTS: His career-best 2.32 FIP ranked 2nd among all MLB hurlers (Carlos Rodón – 2.31)…Was 5th in the AL with 205 strikeouts and finished 11th in ERA (3.35). Twirled 6.1 innings of one-run ball in Game 1 of a doubleheader on 5/7 at CLE, giving up 6 hits with 5 strikeouts while walking his 1st batter of the season (Franmil Reyes with 2 out in the 4th)…Faced 136 consecutive batters to the begin the year without issuing a walk, the longest streak in franchise history (Paul Quantrill – 90 in 2001), and the 3rdlongest streak across the Majors since 1974 (Mark Eichhorn – 146 in 1991, Dan Quisenberry – 146 in 1982). Earned the win on 8/2 at TB, throwing 8.0 shutout innings with a hit, a walk, and 10 strikeouts…Became the first Blue Jays pitcher to go 8+ scoreless since Alex Manoah on 9/13/21 vs. TB, and the first to do so on the road since Ryan Borucki on 9/17/18 at BAL…Recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 4th time this season and 3rd time in his last 6 starts. Named AL Player of the Week for 8/1-8/7, going 1-0 with 14.0 scoreless innings pitched (7H, BB, 15K)…Was his 1st PotW nod…Was the 9th Blue Jays pitcher to take Player of the Week honours…Became the 2nd pitcher in team history to tally at least 15 K’s without more than 1 BB across 2 consecutive scoreless outings, joining Brandon Morrow (4/28-5/3/12). Picked up his 9th win on 8/19 at NYY…Scattered 4 hits and a walk over 7.0 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts… Marked his 6th scoreless outing of the season and the 3rd in his last 4 starts. Landed a no-decision on 9/21 at PHI as he tossed 6.0 scoreless innings 5H, 2BB, 8K)…Was his 6th outing of 6+ scoreless IP. Took a no-decision on 9/26 vs. NYY, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk over 6.1 innings with 7 punchouts…Became the 2nd pitcher in team history to record 200 K’s in his 1st season as a Blue Jay (Roger Clemens – 292 in 1997).
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Set career-best marks in 2021 innings pitched (192.0), wins (14), quality starts (20), ERA (2.81), strikeouts (227), opponents’ AVG (.210), and WHIP (1.04).
Named an All-Star for the 1st time in his career in 2021 and finished 6th in NL Cy Young voting…Signed a 5-year deal with Toronto on 12/1/21.
Selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2012
First-Year Player Draft.
VS. THE ROYALS:
Facing the Royals for the 3rd time in his career and the 2nd time as a Blue Jay…Met KC last year on 7/14 in Toronto, tossing 6.0 frames of two-run ball (7H, 2BB, 6K)…His only career visit to Kauffman Stadium came on 5/14/17 as a member of the Orioles (3.1 IP, 9H, 5ER, 2BB, 3K).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
BLANK SPACE: The Royals were shut out for the third time in 6 games last night, falling in a 3-0 decision to the Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium…they were held to just 2 hits—both singles—and went 0-for-4 in scoring situations, spoiling another strong performance by Zack Greinke, who allowed just 1 run over 6.0 innings, lowering the starting rotation’s ERA to 2.59 (9 ER in 31.1 IP)…Toronto starter Alek Manoah allowed only 1 hit over 7.0 scoreless innings and escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the 3rd and a two-on, 1-out jam in the 5th.
The Royals are 1-5 through 6 games for the third time in the club’s 55-year history…despite the slow start, the other two Royals teams to open the season 1-5 each went on to finish the year with a win percentage above .500, as the 1993 Royals finished 84-78 (.519) and the 1994 Royals went 64-51 (.557).
THE GOOD: Through the first 6 games of the season, Royals starting pitchers Zack Greinke, Jordan Lyles, Brad Keller, Brady Singer and Kris Bubic have combined for a 2.59 ERA (9 ER in 31.1 IP), which ranks 4th in the Majors and is more than 2 runs lower than their 4.76 ERA (440 ER in 832.2 IP) from last season, when Royals starters ranked 27th out of 30…the Royals starting rotation is one of three in the Majors that hasn’t allowed a home run this season, along with the Braves and Rays…in all 6 starts, Royals starters have held their opponent to 2 runs or fewer and only Keller, who pitched 4.2 innings on Sunday, failed to complete 5.0 innings.
All Royals pitchers—starters and relievers—have combined to throw first-pitch strikes at a 63.0% rate, which ranks 10th in the Majors and is a significant improvement on 2022, when they ranked 30th at 58.0%.
Today the Royals turn to Lyles, who allowed 2 runs (1 ER) in 5.1 innings in his season debut on Saturday.
THE BAD AND THE UGLY: The Royals have been shut out three times already, matching the Major League record through the first 6 games of a season, most recently done by the 2021 Washington Nationals…they scored 9 runs in Saturday’s win vs. Minnesota but have combined for just 5 runs in their remaining 5 games, and their 14 total runs are tied for their 4th fewest in franchise history through 6 games…their run total ranks last in the Majors, as does their .155 team batting average, .265 slugging percentage and .519 OPS.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Despite the lack of results on offense, the Royals lead the Majors with a 91.8 mph average exit velocity, according to Baseball Savant, ahead of the Dodgers (91.5), Cardinals (91.1), Rays (90.6) and Braves (90.4), teams that rank 1st, 3rd, 2nd and 7th, respectively in OPS…the Royals rank 2nd in the Majors with a 51.9% Hard Hit Rate—which is defined by balls with an exit velocity of at least 95.0 mph—and trail only the Dodgers (55.2%) in that category…but despite consistently making hard contact, the Royals rank last among all 30 teams with a .190 Batting Average on Balls in Play and their expected batting average is 70 points higher than their actual batting average, another stroke of bad luck that is the largest gap in the Majors.
SERIES SPEAKING: Today marks the final game of this 7-game homestand, which is the Royals longest season-opening stay since 1990, when they began with 8 home games vs. Baltimore (1-1), Toronto (1-2) and Cleveland (2-1)…the Royals were swept in 3 games by Minnesota last weekend and have lost two of the first three vs. Toronto this week…today they’re seeking a split of this 4-game set, but with a loss they would clinch back-to-back losing series to begin the season for the first time since 2010, when they went 1-2 vs. Detroit and Boston.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The Royals added three veteran non-roster invites to their Opening Day roster in Jackie Bradley Jr., Matt Duffy and Franmil Reyes…Bradley Jr., who appeared on the 2013 and 2018 World Series winning teams in Boston, coaxed a walk last night, had 1 of the Royals 2 hits, and has already made his Rawlings Gold Glove Award-winning presence felt, making starts at all three outfield spots…Duffy, a World Series champion with San Francisco in 2014 and the Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2015, had 3 of the Royals 4 hits Tuesday night and is 5-for-7 through 2 games with the Royals…Reyes, who hit a career-high 37 HR in 2019 and hit 30 HR in 2021, recorded his 1st hit as a Royal Tuesday night on a 455-ft. home run that sailed over the fountains in left-center field and marked the longest homer by a Royal in two years…according to Elias, Reyes is the fourth player on the Royals active roster to have his 1st hit with the team be a HR, joining Nate Eaton on July 14, 2022 at Toronto, Vinnie Pasquantino on July 1, 2022 at Detroit and Zack Greinke on June 10, 2005 at Arizona.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Today’s 1:10 p.m. CT start marks the first of 4 straight day games for the Royals, including a trio of day games this weekend in San Francisco…tomorrow’s 3:35 p.m. CT start will be the Giants home opener, and will be followed by 3:05 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday…that means 7 of the Royals first 10 games will be played during the day, and they’re scheduled for 64 day games this season, which would match 2021 for their 2nd most in team history, trailing only last season, when they played a club-record 69 day games. Ê Today marks the sixth of 12 consecutive days with a game before the next off day next Thursday, April 13.
VS. TORONTO: The Royals are 1-2 through the first 3 games vs. Toronto, and they’ll attempt to split the 4-game set with a win today…they are 8-20 in four completed season series since 2018 and have not won a season set vs. Toronto since 2017, when they went 4-2…after today, these teams won’t meet again until September, when the Royals will travel north of the border, where they haven’t won a series since taking two of three in 2017.
Since the Royals defeated Toronto in the 2015 ALCS, they’re 15-28 (.349) in 43 games vs. the Blue Jays.
CAPTAIN SALVY: The Royals announced last week on Opening Day that Salvador Perez has been named team Captain…Perez, 32, joins Royals Hall of Famers George Brett (1989-93), Frank White (1989-90) and Mike Sweeney (2003-07) as the only team Captains in club history…Salvy is a seven-time American League All-Star, a five-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a two-time Royals Les Milgram Player of the Year…he was unanimously named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 World Series, and ranks among the Royals all-time leaders in home runs (223, 2nd), RBI (732, 7th), extra-base hits (472, 7th), total bases (2,207, 8th), doubles (238, 9th) and hits (1,278, 8th).
PACE OF PLAY: The new pitch timer rules implemented for 2023 have already produced dramatic results through the first seven days of the season…through 87 games that have ended in 9 innings, the average game time has been 2 hours, 36 minutes, and only 11 of the 87 games (12.6%) lasted at least 3 hours…the Royals 6 games have averaged 2 hours, 28 minutes, which is 8 minutes below the league average…compared to 9-inning games across the Majors last season, average time of game is down 27 minutes, while batting averages are up from .243 to .247, runs per game are up from 8.6 to 9.0 and stolen base success rates have jumped from 75.4% to 80.5%…the current success rate of steals would shatter the Major League record set in 2021 at 75.7%.
TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (0-1, 1.69 ERA)
JORDAN LYLES is making his 2nd start of the season and 323rd appearance (216th start) of his career today vs. Toronto…he was originally selected by Houston in the 1st round (38th overall) of the 2008 Draft out of Hartsville High School (S.C.), and signed a two-year contract with the Royals on Dec. 28, 2022.
STRONG DEBUT IN GAME 2: Lyles was a tough-luck loser in his Royals debut last Saturday afternoon, when he worked 5.1 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts, with 1 of those 2 runs scoring after he exited the game…the lone earned run allowed came in the 1st inning as Byron Buxton hit a 2-out double, setting up Jose Miranda for an RBI single…he went on to retire 14 of his final 18 hitters and exited with 1 out and two on in favor of Ryan Yarbrough, who was also making his Royals debut and allowed an inherited run to score on a sac. fly.
2022 IN REVIEW: Lyles led the Orioles with a career-high 32 starts in his only season with Baltimore last year, which tied for the 3rd most in the American League…he matched a career high with 12 wins, the most by an Orioles pitcher since John Means had 12 in 2019, and the most by an Orioles right hander since Dylan Bundy had 13 in 2017…he matched a career high with 13 quality starts, also doing so in 2021.
Lyles eclipsed the 100-pitch threshold in 11 of his 32 starts (34.4%), tying him for 6th in the AL in 100-plus-pitch games, ahead of Justin Verlander and Shohei Ohtani, who both recorded 10 games of at least 100 pitches last season.
Pitching in the American League East for the first time in his career, Lyles struggled mightily vs. the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays, going 6-7 with a 5.94 ERA (59 ER in 89.1 IP), and those teams combined to slash .301/.363/.523 (111-for-369) off him with 18 home runs…when facing all other opponents, Lyles was 6-4 with a 2.91 ERA (29 ER in 89.2 IP) and an opponents’ batting average of .249 (85-for-341) with just 8 homers allowed. WALKING THE WALK: Jordan enters today’s start with a career 2.3% K/BB rate (1024/448), including a 2.8 BB/9 rate in 2021 and a 2.6 BB/9 rate in 2022….among pitchers with at least 60 starts since 2021, his BB/9 rate of 2.72 ranks 5th in the American League, trailing only Cole Irvin (1.98), Jameson Taillon (2.13), Gerrit Cole (2.19) and José Berríos (2.24).
SLOW TO START: Through the first eight seasons of his career (2011-18), only 115 of his 217 Major League outings (53.0%) were starts…but since the 2019 season, 100 of his 105 appearances (95.2%) have been in a starting role, making him one of 21 pitchers to make at least 100 starts since the 2019 campaign.
WORKHORSE: The Royals are the eighth club Lyles has played for at the Major League level and he has played in parts of now 13 seasons with Houston (2011-13), Colorado (2014-17), San Diego (2017-18), Milwaukee (2018-19), Pittsburgh (2019), Texas (2020-21), Baltimore (2022) and Kansas City (2023)… since the beginning of 2021, his 364.1 innings rank 4th among American League pitchers, including a career-high 180.0 innings with Texas in 2021.
He was one of only four pitchers in the AL to record at least 175.0 innings from 2021-2022, along with Gerrit Cole, Cole Irvin and Robbie Ray.
Across his 13 seasons and 322 Major League appearances, he has only been placed on the Injured List on five occasions: June 10-29, 2019 (left hamstring tightness), March 28-April 4, 2019 (right side discomfort), June 24-July 29, 2018 (right elbow inflammation), June 1-end of season, 2015 (sprained left big toe) and June 5-Aug. 6, 2014 (fractured left hand).
VS. TORONTO: Lyles has made 7 career appearances (6 starts) vs. the Blue Jays, and is 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA (25 ER in 33.1 IP), but that includes 3 appearances between 2013-16…the remaining 4 outings have come in the last two seasons, in which he is 2-2 with a 7.20 ERA (16 ER in 20.0 IP).
In his most recent start vs. Toronto last Sept. 16, he covered 5.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts, and earned his 11th loss…the Blue Jays countered with a bullpen game, started by Trevor Richards, and saw seven pitchers all record no more than 2.0 innings.
FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME: Over the course of his 13-year career, Lyles has fared better when pitching in front of his home fans, going 36-38 (.486) with a 4.74 ERA (359 ER in 682.1 IP) in 164 appearances…in 158 appearances (109 starts) on the road, he’s 30-53 (.361) with a 5.46 ERA (394 ER in 649.1 IP)…in 2022 while pitching for the Orioles, Lyles pitched extremely well while in Camden Yards, pitching to a 3.47 ERA (32 ER in 83.0 IP) across 14 starts, but was hit hard on the road, where he was hit to the tune of a 5.25 ERA (56 ER in 96.0 IP) in 18 starts.
Although he’s just starting to call The K “home,” he’s looking to change course here, as he’s 1-2 in 4 starts with a 4.30 ERA (11 ER in 23.0 IP) at The K.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Lyles has been nothing if not a consistently strong defender, averaging less than 1 defensive miscue per season (12 in 1331.2 IP)…he has not committed an error since Sept. 22, 2020, and has made 66 appearances (64 starts) since his last miscue in the field.
His 364.1 innings without an error since 2021 are the 2nd most among all pitchers, trailing only Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (394.1).
