KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:

GETAWAY DAY GETS AWAY: The Royals suffered a 5-2 loss to the Angels yesterday at Kauffman Stadium to complete a 1-5 homestand that started with a 3-game sweep to the Reds…the Royals scored first for the 35th time in 71 games, on an RBI single by Freddy Fermin in the 2nd…the back-and-forth began in the 4th, when the Angels tied the game on an RBI single by Brandon Drury…but the Royals re-gained the lead in the bottom half on an RBI single by Samad Taylor, his 2nd career hit, both of which have driven in a run…Zack Greinke took that 2-1 lead into the 5th, when he saw the top of the Angels order for the third time…Taylor Ward started the frame with a double, followed by homers by Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on back-to-back pitches, turning that 2-1 lead into a 4-2 deficit…the Royals had exactly one baserunner in each of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th innings, but the Angels induced 3 double plays, including 2 in the late innings to drop to Royals to 19-52.

The Royals are 3-19-1 in series play and are winless in each of their last nine sets (0-8-1) since mid-May.

CLOSE CALLS: Including yesterday’s 5-2 loss, the Royals are now 12-34 (.261) this season in games decided by 3 runs or fewer…their 34 losses are by far the most in the Majors, 6 more than the Nationals (18-28)…in fact, all 6 games on last week’s homestand were decided by 3 runs or fewer, but the Royals went 1-5 in those games.

Although the losses are adding to the frustration of what’s becoming a disappointing 2023 season for the Royals, the tight games may be a precursor to future success…as first pointed out by Dave Holtzman last week, of the five teams with the most losses last season in games decided by 3 runs or fewer, four of them find themselves in contention as we near the halfway point of the 2023 season.

Those four teams include the Rangers, who have the 3rd-best record in the Majors (44-27); the Pirates, who are 2.5 games out of 1st place in the NL Central after losing 100 games in 2022; the Marlins, who have the 3rd-best record in the NL (41-31); and the D-backs, whose 43-29 record leads the NL West.

LEADS LOST: The Royals led 1-0 and 2-1 yesterday before Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout homered on backto-back pitches, turning a 2-1 lead into a 4-2 deficit and an eventual 5-2 loss…this marked Kansas City’s 25th blown lead loss of the season, which are the most in the Majors ahead of the Cardinals (24), White Sox (23) and Athletics (23)…the Royals have held a lead in 29 of their last 42 games (69.0%) since the start of May, but they’re 12-30 during that stretch with 17 blown lead losses, including 7 blown lead losses in 15 games this month.

The 25 blown lead losses are more than two-thirds of the way to matching their 36 from last season.

The Royals are 5-20 when scoring in the 1st inning with 10 consecutive losses—including such defeats in 3 of their last 7 games—and have not won when scoring in the 1st frame since May 10 vs. the White Sox.

On the flip side, Kansas City’s 7 comeback wins are the fewest in the Majors, 2 fewer than the next-closest team, the Cardinals (9), and 18 fewer than the Angels and Orioles, who lead the Majors with 25 comebacks.

ROYALS ON THE MEND: Following yesterday’s flurry of roster moves, the Royals now have a season-high 12 players on the Injured List—including seven who were on the Opening Day roster—which are tied for the 2nd most in the Majors as of this morning, according to Spotrac, trailing only the Dodgers (14)…Kansas City’s 12 injuries include eight pitchers—five of which have made at least 1 start—and three position players who were in the starting lineup on Opening Day…in total, 15 different Royals have spent time on the Injured List this season, which has led to them using 43 different players through 71 games, tied for the 8th most in the Majors.

Following Samad Taylor’s Major League debut on Saturday, in which he recorded the walk-off single in the 9th inning to complete a 6-run comeback win—two more players made their Royals debuts yesterday…Matt Beaty beat out an infield single as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning and right hander Brooks Kriske pitched the 9th…both players were added to the 40-man roster prior to yesterday’s game.

Left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough began a rehab assignment today with the Arizona Complex League…Yarbs has been out for six weeks, since he suffered skull fractures from a comebacker on May 7.

Kyle Isbel went 2-for-4 with an RBI double yesterday with Triple-A Omaha, while playing the entire game in center field…he’s 4-for-13 in 4 games as he rehabs from a strained left hamstring suffered on May 4.

TRIP TRACKER: The Royals begin a 7-game trip tonight with their first visit to Comerica Park this season…the Royals lost 2 of 3 to the Tigers last month at Kauffman Stadium, which marked their third consecutive series loss to Detroit dating back to last season, a stretch in which they’re 2-7…that includes being swept in 3 games when they last visited Detroit last Sept. 27-29, and the Royals are seeking their first series win over the Tigers since last Sept. 2-4, when they won 2 of 3 here in Detroit…the Royals went 9-10 vs. the Tigers last season, which marked just the second season series loss in the last eight seasons (since 2015), along with 2019 (9-10).

Last Friday night began a stretch in which the Royals will play a game on 23 of 24 days, a run which will end with the All-Star break…their only break in the schedule over these 24 days will come a week from today…Friday night also began a stretch in which the Royals are playing an American League opponent in 20 of 23 games until the All-Star break, after playing National League foes in 20 of their previous 29 games, a run that ended last Wednesday night…their only Interleague action between now and the break will come from June 30-July 2, when the Royals host the Dodgers for a 3-game series in Kansas City.

The Royals are 9-24 on the road this season including 7 consecutive losses—in which they’ve been outscored 43-15 (-28)—their longest such drought since a 12-game road skid from June 23-July 10, 2021.

WHAT A RELIEF!: Kansas City’s bullpen recorded a 2.49 ERA (6 ER In 21.2 IP) on last week’s 6-game homestand vs. the Reds and Angels, but the Royals went 1-5 in those games with 3 blown leads, though none of those leads were blown by the ‘pen…Royals relievers held opponents to a .145 average (10-for-69) last week with a 10.8 K/9.

Royals rookie Austin Cox pitched a scoreless 7th inning yesterday vs. the top of the Angels lineup, and has now faced 28 batters without allowing a hit over 5 scoreless appearances (8.2 IP) to begin his Major League career…that includes 4 plate appearances vs. Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout over the weekend, who combined to go 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts against Cox…he’s retired 25 of his 28 batters, allowing just 3 walks, and the 28 batters faced without allowing a hit is the 5th-longest streak to begin a career in the Expansion Era (since 1961), according to Elias…it’s four batters shy of matching the longest such streak, shared by Mark Rogers and Joel McKeon, who each faced 32 batters before allowing a hit in 2010 and 1986, respectively.

TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (0-11, 6.89 ERA)
JORDAN LYLES is making his 15th start of the season and 336th appearance (229th start) of his career tonight vs. the Tigers…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.

SKID EXTENDED: Lyles suffered his Majors-leading 11th loss of the season in Kansas City’s 5-4 defeat to the Reds last Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium, in which he allowed 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts across 6.0 innings…after a double play wiped away a leadoff single in his 8-pitch 1st inning, Jordan allowed seven of 10 batters to reach in Cincinnati’s 5-run 2nd inning, including five straight with 1 out, as he needed 37 of his 94 pitches on the night to end the frame…all told, he allowed 4 hits, 3 walks, 2 stolen bases and 1 wild pitch (with 1 error behind him defensively) in the 2nd…he retired 14 consecutive batters through the 6th, after which he exited trailing 5-4…Jackson Kowar (1.0 IP) and Austin Cox (2.0) combined to throw 3.0 scoreless frames following Lyles, as Royals pitchers held the Reds hitless after the 2nd inning.

Lyles has allowed at least 1 home run in 10 of his 14 starts this season and his 18 HR in 79.2 innings (2.0 HR/9) are tied for 2nd in the Majors, behind Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (19)…he’s allowed multiple homers in 7 of his 14 starts.

Jordan has a Majors-most 11 losses, and his 14 winless starts are tied for the most to begin a season in Royals history, with the late Vida Blue in 1983 (14).

The Royals are 0-14 in games started by Lyles, and he’s seeking his 1st win since his final start of 2022, last Sept. 30 at Yankee Stadium with Baltimore.

THE ONE BAD INNING: Lyles allowed 5 runs in the 2nd inning in his start last Tuesday vs. the Reds, which continued the “One Bad Inning” trend that has arisen in his first 14 starts…he’s allowed at least 3 runs in a single frame in 9 of his 14 starts (10 instances)…he’s been charged with 37 runs (35 ER) in those 10 frames for a 31.50 ERA, which accounts for more than half of the 61 earned runs he’s allowed this season… if you set aside those 10 frames, he owns a 3.36 ERA in his remaining 69.2 innings.

THE ROLLER COASTER: Lyles has begun his Royals career with an 0-11 record through 14 starts, setting a career-worst losing streak…in his starts, a troubling trend has emerged, as his struggles have come in the beginning and end of his outings, while he’s been largely dominant in the middle innings…through his first 15 pitches, he has allowed opponents to hit .367 (18-for-49) with 6 home runs, and from pitches 61 and up, opponents are batting .252 (27-for-107) with 9 doubles, 9 home runs and a triple…the good has come between pitches 16-60, when he has held opponents to a .196 average (30-for-153) with only 11 extra-base hits and 28 strikeouts.

His opponents’ OPS of 1.255 from pitches 1-15 is tied for the highest in Major League Baseball (min. 10 starts) with Chicago’s Lucas Giolito, and his 11 extra-base hits allowed lead the Majors, ahead of Colorado’s Austin Gomber (10).

PLEADING THE 5TH: Lyles has pitched at least 5.0 innings in 12 of his 14 starts as a Royal, and in those 12 starts, he’s allowed 32 earned runs through the 5th for a 4.11 ERA…but from the 6th on, he’s allowed 15 earned runs in 13.1 innings (10.13 ERA).

READY FROM THE JUMP: Despite ranking tied for 24th in the American League in 1stpitch strikes (60.5%), opponents have swung at 32.7% of Lyles’ 1st pitches, which is the 16th-highest rate in the American League…in 0-0 counts, opponents are slashing .360/.346/.720 (18-for-50) with 9 extra-base hits for a 1.066 OPS, which is his 3rd highest in any count, trailing 3-0 counts (2.833 OPS) and 3-1 counts (1.422 OPS).

WORKHORSE: The Royals are the eighth club Lyles has pitched for during his 13-year career that has included stops 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 start of 2021, his 438.2 innings rank 3rd in the American League behind Gerrit Cole (473.2 IP) and José Berríos (449.0 IP).

Lyles was one of only four American League pitchers to record at least 175.0 innings in 2021 and 2022, along with Cole, Cole Irvin and Robbie Ray.

Across his 13 seasons, he has only been placed on the IL five times: 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).

BIG CAT HUNTING: In 5 career outings (4 starts) vs. Detroit, Jordan is 1-2 with a 3.45 ERA (11 ER in 28.2 IP) and his teams are 2-3 in his 5 starts…he made 2 starts against them in 2022 with Baltimore, most recently last Sept. 21, when he threw his 2nd career complete game as he guided the O’s to an 8-1 win.

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS CLINCH SERIES WITH SUNDAY WIN: The Tigers defeated the Twins, 6-4, on Sunday afternoon to clinch the weekend series. Kerry Carpenter had three hits, including a solo home run, while Andy Ibáñez added three hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in a run. Spencer Torkelson added a two-run homer and Javier Báez went 2×4 with a triple and a RBI. Brendan White earned his first big league win, pitching 2.0 perfect innings with three strikeouts. Jason Foley recorded the final six outs, working of a bases loaded, no out jam in the eighth and pitching a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season.

FOLEY SLAMS THE DOOR: Jason Foley provided some clutch pitching at the end of yesterday’s game, getting out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the eighth inning and working a perfect ninth inning to preserve Detroit’s 6-4 win and earn his third save. It marked the first six-out save by a Tigers pitcher since Michael Fulmer on September 15, 2021 vs. Milwaukee. Foley has not allowed an earned run in 14 of his last 16 outings, over which he has a 2.70 ERA (16.2IP/5ER) and 17 strikeouts.

A CARPENTER AND HIS TOOLS: Kerry Carpenter had three hits in Sunday’s series finale at Minnesota, going 3×4 with a solo home run. Since returning from the injured list on June 9, Carpenter is hitting .400/.405/.543 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI in 10 games.

GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Tigers scored six runs in yesterday’s game, continuing a string of solid offensive performances. After hitting .157/.229/.264 with 14 runs scored in the first eight games of the month, Detroit has slashed .288/.338/.519 with 44 runs scored in its last
eight contests.

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Brendan White picked up his first Major League win yesterday, pitching 2.0 perfect innings out of the bullpen with three strikeouts. Through his first three big league outings, White has given up only one run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts
in 5.1 innings.

TIGERS AND ROYALS: The Tigers and Royals continue their season series tonight. The two teams met earlier this season in Kansas City with Detroit winning two-of-three games. The Tigers went 10-9 against the Royals last season, including a 5-4 record at Comerica Park.

AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: The Tigers continue divisional play tonight against the Royals. Detroit is 12-8 against American League Central teams so far this season, going 3-4 vs. Chicago (AL), 4-2 vs. Cleveland, 2-1 vs. Kansas City and 3-1 vs. Minnesota.

AT COMERICA PARK: The Tigers tonight begin a six-game homestand, which includes three games vs. Kansas City (June 19-21) and three games vs. Minnesota (June 23-25). Detroit is 15- 18 at Comerica Park this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .246/.320/.396 at home, while the pitching staff has a 4.84 ERA (303.0IP/163ER).

TIGERS ON THE IL:

• OF Akil Baddoo (right quad strain, 10-day IL on June 10)
• RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 60-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
• RHP Alex Faedo (right middle finger discomfort, 15-day IL on June 3, retroactive to May 31)
• OF Riley Greene (left fibula stress reaction, 10-day IL on May 31)
• RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 60-day IL on April 12)
• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
• LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (left index finger pulley rupture, 15-day IL on May 30, retroactive to May 29)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)
• RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 60-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)
• RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 60-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

45 Reese Olson • 0-2, 6.08 ERA (13.1IP/9ER)

• Olson will make the fourth appearance and third start of his Major League career tonight in the series opener vs. Kansas City.
• Took the loss in his last start on Wednesday in the first game of the doubleheader vs. Atlanta, allowing seven runs, six earned, on hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
• Will be making his first career appearance against the Royals tonight.
• Made his Major League debut on June 2 at Chicago (AL), allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 5.0 innings… carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning until allowing a single to Romy Gonzalez…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first Tigers pitcher to throw at least 5.0 no-hit innings in his debut since Bill Slayback pitched 7.0 hitless innings on June 26, 1972 vs. New York
  (AL).
• Has started 10 games for the Mud Hens this season, posting a 2-3 record with a 6.38 ERA (36.2IP/26ER) and 47 strikeouts.