KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
ST. LOUIS SHUTOUT: The Royals flirted with history in yesterday’s 7-0 win in St. Louis…they came within 6 outs of baseball’s rarest of feats, as opener Josh Staumont (1.0 IP) and bulk pitcher Mike Mayers (6.0+ IP) retired the first 21 batters before Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras led off the 8th inning with back-to-back singles…that spoiled the Royals bid for the 24th perfect game in Major League history and the first combined effort…the 21 batters retired to begin a game matched Bret Saberhagen (June 21, 1985 vs. Seattle) for the 2nd most in franchise history, trailing only Jorge López, who retired the first 24 batters on Sept. 8, 2018 at Minnesota…Taylor Clarke escaped the two-on, no-outs jam in the 8th and Amir Garrett went 1-2-3 in the 9th as Royals pitchers combined for their 2nd shutout of the season while allowing a season-low 2 hits.
The Royals offense pounded out a season-high-tying 16 hits, including a career-high-tying 4 hits by Nicky Lopez and 3-hit efforts by Nick Pratto and Vinnie Pasquantino…Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey both homered in the 9th inning to give Kansas City its largest shutout win ever vs. the Cardinals.
After out-dueling his mentor, Adam Wainwright, who he pitched with in St. Louis from 2016-19, Mayers now owns a 1.35 ERA (2 ER in 13.1 IP) and 14 strikeouts (9.5 K/9) in 3 outings (1 start) with the Royals.
HBD, KRAFTY!: Royals Assistant Director of Media Relations, Ian Kraft, is celebrating his 27th birthday today, and shares this date of birth with former Royals outfielder Brett Phillips (29), 12-time All-Star Manny Ramírez (51) and Hall of Famer Amos Rusie, who was born on this date in 1871 and won the pitching triple crown with the New York Giants in 1894…Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, who was born in Wichita, attended Kansas and came to be known as the Kansas Comet, was born on this date in 1943, but passed away in 2020.
The Royals had won 8 consecutive games on this date before they lost, 7-3, in Cleveland last season.
On this date in 1987, Paul Splittorff and Cookie Rojas were inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame.
S YOU MAY KNOW: Tonight’s game will wrap up this 2-game set in St. Louis and conclude the month for the Royals, who are 10-16 in May after going 7-22 in March and April…the Royals have hit 36 HR in 26 games this month, which are tied with Minnesota for the 3rd most in the American League, trailing only the Yankees (50) and Rays (40)…Kansas City’s 36 HR are their most in any May in franchise history, 2 more than the previous record of 34 HR set in May 2017…that 2017 team set the single-season franchise record with 193 HR, and with 56 HR through 55 games this year, the Royals are on pace for 165, which would mark the 3rd most in club history.
The Royals have held a lead in 20 of 26 games this month—including each of their last 4 games—but they’re just 10-16 in May with 10 blown lead losses…for the season, the Royals 18 blown lead losses are the 3rd most in the Majors, 1 more than the Cardinals (17) and 1 fewer than the A’s and White Sox (19 each).
WALK THIS WAY: Royals pitchers yesterday did not issue a single walk for the fifth time this year, the 3rdmost such games in the American League, 1 shy of Texas and Seattle (6)…this is noteworthy for a few reasons, because the Royals 5 such games this year match their total from all of last season, when they had a Majors-low 5 games with no walks…it’s also odd because the Royals this year have issued the 3rd-most walks in the Majors.
Tonight’s starter Zack Greinke has issued 8 walks to the 236 batters he’s faced in 57.1 innings this season, and both his 1.3 BB/9 and 3.4 BB% rank 3rd in the Majors behind George Kirby and Anthony DeSclafani.
I-70 SERIES: The Royals began the 2023 edition of the I-70 series yesterday with a 7-0 win to mark their
4th shutout victory over the Cardinals in 121 all-time meetings, and the 1st since May 22, 2015 at Kauffman
Stadium…in fact, 3 of the last 4 games between the Royals and Cardinals have been shutouts, but Kansas
City was on the wrong side of 1-0 and 10-0 losses last May…with a win tonight, the Royals would clinch their
first series win at Busch Stadium since winning 2 of 3 here from May 21-23, 2018, and it would mark their first
sweep vs. the Cardinals in St. Louis since June 29-30, 2016…the Royals are seeking their first series win over
the Cardinals in any location since Sept. 21-23, 2020, when they won 2 of 3 games at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals have lost 22 of 31 games vs. St. Louis since 2017, in which they’ve been outscored 171-107.
The Royals are 7-12 in Interleague play this season, including a 6-7 record in National League ballparks.
ON DECK: Following tonight’s game, the Royals will return to Kansas City to enjoy back-to-back off days tomorrow and Thursday, which will mark their first scheduled back-to-back off days since April 6-7, 2016…the Royals will host a 3-game stay this weekend vs. the Rockies, which marks their first trip to Kansas City since 2017.
The Royals will continue a streak of four straight series vs. National League opponents with a 3-game visit to Miami to begin next week, and will conclude that trip with a 3-game set in Baltimore next weekend.
SALVY SPLASHES: Royals Captain Salvador Perez singled in the 5th yesterday and scored from first base on an MJ Melendez triple…his 9 home runs this month are 2nd most in the American League to Aaron Judge (11) and are tied with Gary Gaetti (1995) for the most by a Royal in the month of May…Salvy has actually been swinging a hot bat for five weeks now, a 28-game stretch since April 24 in which his 10 HR rank 2nd in the American League, his .649 slugging percentage ranks 3rd, his 25 RBI rank tied for 3rd and his 1.009 OPS ranks 4th.
Royals catchers have hit 14 HR this season—including 10 by Perez—which are the most of any position on the team and the highest total at the catcher position in the Majors, 2 more than the Braves catchers (12).
Perez is the franchise’s all-time leader in Interleague play with 36 home runs and 110 RBI and his 190 hits rank 2nd only to Alex Gordon (210)…in 34 career games vs. the Cardinals, Salvy has 9 HR and 23 RBI.
DUEL THREAT: Bobby Witt Jr. showed again yesterday why he’s one of the most dynamic players in the game, recording his 16th stolen base of the season in the 7th inning before hitting his 10th home run in the 9th…it marked the second time in 4 games that he’s recorded at HR and steal in the same game, and it was the 5th such game of his career, matching Kyle Tucker, Francisco Lindor, Adolis García and Thairo Estrada for most in the Majors since the start of last season…he’s the first player to have at least 5 games with a HR and a steal before his 23rd birthday since Fernando Tatis Jr., who had 10 such games before turning 23 in 2021.
His 16 steals rank 4th in the Majors behind Esteury Ruiz (27), Ronald Acuña Jr. (22) & Wander Franco (19).
With his 10th HR of the season in yesterday’s win, Witt Jr. became the 13th player in AL/NL history, according to Dave Holtzman, to record 10 HR and 15 steals before June…he’s the second Royal to accomplish this feat, following Bo Jackson in 1989, and he’s the only player to do it before his 23rd birthday.
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP ZACK GREINKE (1-5, 4.55)
ZACK GREINKE is making his 12th start of the season and 526th of his career tonight vs. the Cardinals, and is 1 start shy of Jerry Koosman and Hall of Famer Jack Morris for 37th on the all-time starts list…it’s his 23rd career appearance (21st start) vs. St. Louis and 2nd since returning to Kansas City last year…Greinke, now in his 20th season in the Majors, is a six-time All-Star, a six-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner and was named the American League Cy Young Award winner in 2009 with the Royals.
He is one of three pitchers in Major League history with at least six Rawlings Gold Gloves and six All-Star selections, along with Greg Maddux and Bob Gibson.
Among active pitchers, Greinke ranks 1st in starts (525) and innings (3304.1), 2nd in wins (224) and 3rd in strikeouts (2,923)…he is one of three pitchers in Major League history to win a Cy Young Award, a Rawlings Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award, along with Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser.
LAST START: Greinke did not factor into the decision of Kansas City’s 6-4 loss to the Tigers last Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, in which he allowed just 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk in 5.0 innings, with 5 strikeouts…following a 29-minute rain delay to begin the game, Zack retired 10 of his first 11 batters and didn’t allow a hit until the 4th inning, when with 1 out, Riley Greene hit a solo home run to put the Tigers ahead 1-0…Spencer Torkelson followed that homer with an 11-pitch at-bat which ended in a single, but Greinke stranded him with a groundout and a foul out…he stranded back-to-back 2-out singles in the 5th and exited after the frame in a 1-1 tie.
Zack has completed at least 5.0 innings in 10 of his 11 starts this season.
GRE1NKE: Zack’s May 13 start in Milwaukee ended on a called third strike of Milwaukee’s Joey Wiemer in the 5th inning, which marked the 1,000th different batter Zack has struck out in his 20-year career…he’s the fifth pitcher in Major League history, according to Kenny Jackelen of Baseball Reference, to fan 1,000 different batters, joining Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens…he’s since added 4 more victims to run his total to 1,004 players struck out.
Among the 1,004 batters he’s struck out includes Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, Frank Thomas, Scott Rolen, Derek Jeter, Iván Rodríguez, David Ortiz and Jim Thome…he’s fanned 10 sets of brothers, one father/son duo—Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and Jr.—and six current big league Managers, including Rocco Baldelli, Aaron Boone, Craig Counsell, Mark Kotsay, Phil Nevin & Skip Schumaker.
Greinke is 77 strikeouts shy of becoming the 20th pitcher to reach 3,000.
WALKING ON WATER: Zack’s pinpoint control has been on full display this season, his 20th in the Majors…the 39-year-old has issued only 8 walks to the 236 batters he’s faced through 11 starts (57.1 IP) for a 1.3 BB/9 and 3.4 BB%, both of which rank 3rd in the Majors behind George Kirby and Anthony DeSclafani…in 5 starts this month, Greinke has issued only 2 walks to the 101 batters he’s faced over 26.1 innings.
He’s had 4 starts this year in which he did not issue a walk over at least 5.0 innings, which trails only Framber Valdez, Patrick Corbin & DeSclafani (5 each).
The Royals have had 11 starts this year in which their pitcher recorded 5.0 innings without allowing a walk, which is tied with the Phillies, Dodgers and Mariners for the most starts in the Majors…they had only 23 such starts in 2022.
BACK IN BLUE: Zack returned in 2023 for the second straight year to Kansas City, where he spent the first seven seasons of his Major League career, after being selected by the Royals 6th overall in the 2002 Draft…Greinke is the 33rd player to play for the Royals, leave the organization and later return…he missed time due to two stints on the Injured List in 2022, limiting him to only 137.0 innings, the 4th fewest in his career behind the shortened 2020 season (67.0 IP), 2006 (6.1 IP) and 2007 (122.0 IP)…he did, however, rank 2nd among Royals starters with a 3.68 ERA (56 ER in 137.0 IP).
Tonight marks Greinke’s 207th start with the Royals, which ranks 7th most in club history, trailing Paul Splittorff (392), Mark Gubicza (327), Dennis Leonard (302), Kevin Appier (275), Bret Saberhagen (226) and Larry Gura (219).
Greinke’s 1,045 strikeouts with the Royals rank 7th in franchise history, 3 shy of Danny Duffy (1,048) for 6th and 12 shy of Splittorff (1,057) for 5th.
VS. CARDINALS: In 22 career appearances (20 starts) vs. St. Louis, Zack is 13-7 with a 3.48 ERA (52 ER in 134.1 IP), and has recorded at least 5.0 innings in all 20 starts vs. the Cardinals…he hasn’t beaten the Cardinals since July 3, 2018 with Arizona and is 0-2 in 2 starts since, including a loss here at Busch Stadium on May 2, 2022, a 1-0 defeat in which he allowed just 1 run—a Paul Goldschmidt home run—on 3 hits and no walks in 6.0 innings.
Zack’s 30 career wins in Interleague play rank 2nd among active pitchers behind Justin Verlander (39), but he’s winless in his last 7 Interleague starts, since a 7-4 win vs. San Diego (with Houston) exactly two years ago today, on May 30, 2021, in which he allowed just 1 run over 8.0 innings.
ROAD WORK: Zack is seeking his 1st road win since Aug. 13, 2021 at Angel Stadium, where he pitched 7.0 scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory with Houston…in 22 road starts since, he’s 0-12 with a 6.04 ERA (74 ER in 110.1 IP), despite holding opponents to 3 earned runs or fewer in 14 of those 22 starts…despite his road winless drought, he’s exited with a lead in 2 of his 5 road starts in 2023 and has allowed 2 runs in each of his last 2 road starts.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and cross-state rival Kansas City Royals conclude their two-game I-70 interleague series/homestand tonight at Busch Stadium … The Cardinals recently went 3-4 over their seven-game tour (2-2 at Cincinnati, 1-2 at Cleveland) of the Buckeye State.
ROAD TRIPPING REDBIRDS: After consecutive off days Wednesday and Thursday, the Cardinals return to the road as the club continues a stretch of 13 of 15 games on the road (May 22-June 7) … Beginning Friday, the Cardinals begin a three-game weekend series at division-rival Pittsburgh (June 2-4) before making their inaugural visit to Globe Life Field for a three-game Interleague series with the Texas Rangers (June 5-7).
FLIGHT PATTERN: Winners of 14 of their last 22 games (May 7-present), the Cardinals entered today 5th in the NL Central, 5.5 games behind first place Milwaukee and 0.5 games behind fourth place Chicago … Tonight is the final game of a season-high stretch of 19 straight games without an off-day (11-7 record) … St. Louis began the season 10-24 before going on its current 14-8 run.
REDBIRD RESURGENCE: Since May 7, the Cardinals rank 2nd in MLB in total bases (342), home runs (38) and stolen bases (23); T-2nd in wins (14); 3rd in runs per game (5.77), slugging (.457), runs scored (127) and RBI (121); and 4th in MLB in win pct. (.636).
ZACK ATTACK: Nolan Arenado has faced Zack Greinke (80 at-bats) more than any pitcher in his career, while Greinke’s top two batters faced over his 20-year career have been Charlie Blackmon (83 AB) and Arenado … Arenado’s 22 hits off Greinke tie for his most off any pitcher (Clayton Kershaw), while those 22 hits are the most Greinke has allowed to any batter … In five career plate appearances off Greinke, Willson Contreras is 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and a walk.
LAUNDRY STOP: The Cardinals two-game series/homestand is their shortest regularly-scheduled homestand since a two-game stay in the midst of a 12 of 14 game stretch on the road in July of 2002 when they stopped by St. Louis for a two-game home set with the NL Champion San Francisco Giants (July 17-18 at Busch Stadium II) before hitting the road again.
MAY DAY: With a win tonight, the Cardinals (14-13) will have achieved a winning month of May for the 16th time since 2000 … The 2017 Cardinals went 13-13, while St. Louis sported losing Mays in 2000 (13-14), 2003 (14-15), 2007 (12-15), 2009 (13-24), 2012 (13-16) and 2019 (9-18).
WOODFORD BEGINS REHAB: RHP Jake Woodford begins an injury rehabilitation assignment with Memphis (AAA) tonight, starting for the Redbirds at the Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA-Royals) … Woodford has missed the previous 24 games due to right shoulder inflammation.
MISSOURI STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Since Interleague play began in 1997, the Cardinals .603 win pct. (73-48) against the Royals is the best across MLB among Interleague natural rivals and their 3rd-highest against any opponent behind Arizona (.615) and Miami (.607) … St. Louis has won the season series against Kansas City in 16 of 26 seasons between the Show-Me State rivals (1997-2022) and won 22 of its last 31 games over the Royals dating back to August 7, 2017. – Elias
THREE’S COMPANY: St. Louis has plated three or fewer runs in its last six games (2-4 record), its longest since seven straight games from July 3-9, 2022 (1-6 record). BUT SIX IS A SERIOUS NUMBER: The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in 18 of their last 23 wins over Kansas City.
ZEROS TO HEROES: The Cardinals are 3-2 in games following goose eggs this season (12-4 in 2022).
TOMMY BOY: Tommy Edman tonight makes his first career start and third overall appearance in center field in the regular season, previously appearing as a defensive replacement on July 12, 2019 vs. Arizona (1.0 IP) and May 21, 2022 at Pittsburgh (5.0 IP) … Edman also appeared in center in Game 4 of the NLCS at Washington (1.0 IP) … Overall this season, the former Gold Glove second baseman has appeared at shortstop (27g), second base (21g), and right field (7g).
BURGER PHONE HOTLINE: The Cardinals have used their dugout Burger Phone to place an order for 76 home runs this season, T-5th most in the MLB…they rank 3rd in homers for the month of May (44) to the Yankees (50) & Braves (49)…The Redbirds sport a 19-16 record in games when they go yard this season, but are 4-16 in homerless games … With a home run tonight, the Cardinals will have tied their single season homer mark for the month of May, matching the 45 blasts by the 2000 Redbirds (13 by Mark McGwire).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP MILES MIKOLAS (2-1, 4.23)
TONIGHT’S GAME
NL Ranks: Games Started (11, T-1st), Innings Pitched (61.2, 7th), Hits Allowed (72, 1st), ER allowed (29, T-9th), Walks/9 IP (2.04, 9th).
- The 2022 N.L. All-Star is making his team-high 12th start of 2023, 155th career appearance & 127th career start. Second career start vs. the Royals, threw a shutout in his first.
- Two wins shy of 50 for his career and and 16 strikeouts shy of 600 career.
- Has not walked a batter in his last 15.2 innings pitched.
- Held his opposition to three runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts since April 16 (2.47 ERA, 47.1 IP) after starting the season with a 10.05 ERA in his initial three starts (14.1 IP).
- Limited his opposition to one run or fewer in 4 of his last 6 starts (1.98 ERA, 36.1 IP) with the Cardinals posting a 5-1 record over that span.
- Is 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA in five starts in May.
- Ranks 2nd behind only Adam Wainwright (2,588.2 IP) in most innings pitched (693.1) among active Cardinals.
- Leads Cardinals with three wins since April 27.
- Received no more than three runs of support in 9 of his 11 starts this season.
- Has allowed eight of his 30 runs in the 1st inning (6.55 ERA, .315 BA).
- Since joining the Cardinals in 2018, Mikolas ranks 2nd in MLB (min. 600 IP) in fewest walks (125) behind only Justin Verlander (114). His 1.62 walks/9 IP in that span ranks 3rd behind Zack Greinke (1.62) and Verlander (1.60).
- Was one of 10 MLB pitchers and two Cardinals (Wainwright) with a perfect 1.000 fielding pct. (31 total chances) in 2022. Hasn’t made an error since 8/2/18 vs. COL, and he’s 9th among MLB pitchers in fielding pct. (.986) since 2018. (min. 100 TC).
- Is 3-0 with a 2.91 ERA (34.0 IP) and 25 strikeouts in six starts on the road.
- Signed a two-year contract extension through 2025 on March 24.
LAST TIME OUT
- Fired 7.0 scoreless innings of five-hit ball en route to a 2-1 win at Great American Ballpark. Was his 2nd straight 7.0-inning outing and has allowed one run or less in 3 of his last 4 starts.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
5/25 @CIN W 2-1 W-3 7.0 5 0 0 0 5 0 95-65
2023
- Threw 7.0 scoreless innings at CIN (5/25), his longest scoreless outing of the season and second scoreless outing overall.
- Posted his second straight start of allowing one run as the Cardinals rolled to a 9-1 win in a three-game sweep of Boston at Fenway Park (5/14). Did not strike out a batter of a start of 6.0 innings or more for the first time in his career and the 3rd pitcher to do that in 2023 (Kyle Gibson & Rich Hill).
- Allowed at least 5 runs and 9 hits in each of his first three starts – first pitcher in MLB to begin a season with three such starts since Alex Cobb (2018, BAL). Became the 16th pitcher in Cardinals history to start a season allowing five or more runs in his first three starts and first since Brett Tomko (2003).
- Received a no decision on 4/11 at COL, departing the game after 5.0 IP and trailing 6-2 after allowing three HR’s tying his career-high. Tied his season-high with 10 hits allowed
- Recorded his 500th career strikeout in the National League on Opening Day.
- Drew his 2nd career Opening Day start (3/30) and had a no-decision in the Cardinals 10-9 loss to Toronto that featured five lead changes.
- Was a 3-0 with 0.00 ERA in three Grapefruit League starts this season, allowing just one unearned run in his 12.0 IP. 123 of his 133 pitches thrown this spring were strikes
