KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
BULLPEN BREAKDOWN: The Royals suffered a 5-2 loss yesterday at Yankee Stadium to mark their 4th straight defeat…Brady Singer went step for step with Gerrit Cole, as the Royals starter allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk over 6.0 innings, with 9 strikeouts, his highest strikeout total since last July 28 here at Yankee Stadium, where he fanned 10 batters over 7.0 scoreless innings…but yesterday’s game was decided by the bullpens, as Yankees relievers held the Royals scoreless over the final 2.2 innings, while three Royals relievers combined to allow 3 runs, including the go-ahead HR by DJ LeMahieu in the 7th and a 2-run blast by Giancarlo Stanton in the 8th…the Royals sent the tying run to the plate in the 9th, but Drew Waters was called out on strikes to end the game…Nick Pratto reached safely three times, including a solo HR and a pair of walks.
SERIES SPEAKING: Yesterday’s loss clinched Kansas City’s fifth consecutive series loss since they won 2 of 3 games vs. the Dodgers at Kauffman Stadium from June 30-July 2…they’re 3-13 in 16 games since, and enter today a season-high 44 games under .500 (28-72)…the Royals have played 31 series prior to this one, and in 16 of those 31, they entered the series finale on the verge of being swept…they went on to lose the series finale and suffer a sweep nine times, but won the finale to avoid a sweep seven times, something they’ve done twice already this month, on July 9 in Cleveland and July 16 vs. Tampa Bay, when they won the finales to avoid being swept…in fact, the Royals have won 4 of their last 6 series finales after losing 19 of 25 to begin the season.
VS. YANKEES: Yesterday’s loss clinched Kansas City’s eighth consecutive series loss at Yankee Stadium since it last won here from Sept. 5-7, 2014, a stretch in which the Royals are 6-22 and have been outscored 170-103 (-67)…the Royals have now lost 14 consecutive series to the Yankees overall since they last won 2 of 3 rom May 15-17, 2015 at Kauffman Stadium…they’re 11-35 vs. the Yankees since and have been outscored 282-179 (-103).
The Royals have not been swept in a series of at least 2 games at Yankee Stadium since May 25-27, 2015.
The Royals have won just two of their last 27 season series vs. the Yankees in the Wild Card Era (since 1995), and their last season series win came in 2014, when they went 4-3 despite being outscored 23-18.
BLOWN LEADS: The Royals took a 3-1 lead in the top of the 4th inning Friday night on Michael Massey’s 3-run home run, but the Yankees responded with their own 3-run blast by Billy McKinney in the bottom half of the frame…the Royals fell short in their comeback attempt to mark their Major League-most 35th blown lead loss of the season, ahead of the White Sox (32), Athletics (31) and Cardinals (31), and it was their 4th blown lead loss in 9 games since the All-Star break…the Royals 35 blown lead losses for the season are only 1 shy of their total from all of last season, when they suffered 36 blown lead losses, and are 18 shy of the franchise record of 53, set during their 103-loss 2019 campaign…the Royals have held a lead in 48 of their last 71 games (67.6%) since the start of May, but they’re 21-50 (.296) during that stretch with 27 blown lead losses.
They’re 7-23 when scoring in the 1st inning and have lost 13 of their last 15 games when scoring in the 1st.
HALL OF FAME WEEKEND: While the Royals and Yankees wrap up this 3-game series in the Bronx today, Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame about 200 miles north of here, in Cooperstown, N.Y…more than 50 Hall of Fame members are expected to attend today’s induction ceremony.
Rolen hit .383 (44-for-115) in 30 career games vs. Kansas City, the 3rd-highest average vs. the Royals (min. 100 at-bats)…McGriff had 18 HR and a .938 OPS in 77 career games vs. Kansas City, but the Crime Dog was only 1-for-7 with 2 strikeouts in his career vs. Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery, although the 1 hit was a HR…McGriff and Royals Bench Coach Paul Hoover both played for the 2001 Devil Rays, but McGriff was traded to the Cubs in July of that season and Hoover made his Majors debut in September.
HIDDEN GEMS: The Royals offense has continued to struggle as a whole since returning from the All-Star
break, batting .234 (69-for-295) while scoring 2 runs or fewer in 6 of 9 games…but in their last 2 wins, they’ve
scored a combined 19 runs on 24 hits, and there are some encouraging signs from several individual players.
MJ Melendez ended the 1st half in an 8-for-56 slump (.143) with no multi-hit efforts over 15 games… he altered his batting stance over the break and has hit safely in 8 of 9 games since, during which he’s batting .273 (9-for-33) with 4 extra-base hits…since the break, MJ’s average exit velocity of 96.7 mph on 25 batted balls leads the Majors (min. 20 batted balls), ahead of Kyle Tucker (96.3 mph), Ronald Acuña Jr. (96.1 mph), Fernando Tatis Jr. (96.0 mph) and teammate Maikel Garcia (95.1 mph).
Since the start of the Dodgers series on June 30, Garcia is batting .319 (22-for-69) in 18 games…since his recall on May 2, Garcia’s .277 average (67-for-242) ranks 2nd among American League rookies, trailing only Boston’s 30-year-old rookie Masataka Yoshida (.332)…Garcia’s Hard Hit rate (batted balls with an exit velo of 95.0 mph or more) of 42.0% since his May 2 recall ranks 9th in the AL.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Today’s 12:35 p.m. CT/1:35 p.m. ET game marks the end of a stretch in which the Royals have played 3 day games in four days, which started with Thursday’s series finale vs. Detroit and continued with yesterday’s 1:05 p.m. ET start…today marks the Royals 44th day game and they’re scheduled for 65 day games, which would mark the 2nd most in franchise history behind only last year, when they played 69 matinees.
The Royals are batting .244 with 45 home runs in 43 day games this season, as opposed to their .223 average and 40 homers in 57 night games.
ARMS RACE: The Royals enter today with a Major League-most 22 outfield assists this season, which are 2 more than the Tigers (20) and 3 more than the Cardinals (19), who rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively…the Royals 22 outfield assists match their total from all of last season, as they attempt to lead the Majors in this category for the first time since 2011 and 2012, when they had 51 in both seasons, which were the most by any team since Cleveland had 51 in 1993.
Nine different Royals have recorded an outfield assist this season, led by MJ Melendez, whose 6 outfield assists are tied for 6th most in the AL.
TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (1-11, 6.05 ERA)
JORDAN LYLES is making his 19th start of the season and 340th appearance (233rd start) of his career today vs. the Yankees…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.
IT WAS GOOD TO BE HOME: Lyles made his 1st start at The K since June 13 on Tuesday night vs. Detroit and did not factor into the decision of Kansas City’s 3-2 loss, despite pitching 6.0 scoreless innings…he allowed a 1-out single in the 2nd inning but escaped the frame on a double play, stranded a leadoff walk at first base in the 3rd inning and left 2 singles in the 5th…he exited with the Royals leading 2-0, but Detroit scored 3 runs in the 8th off Taylor Clarke giving them the lead.
He recorded his 1st scoreless start since last Aug. 31 at Cleveland with Baltimore (6.2 IP) and the 4th scoreless start of at least 6.0 innings by a Royal this year, following Kris Bubic on April 9 at San Francisco (6.0 IP), Daniel Lynch on June 20 at Detroit (7.0 IP) and Brady Singer on June 27 vs. Cleveland (6.0 IP).
TURNING THE TIDE: To begin his Royals career, Lyles set a career-long, 11-game losing streak through his first 14 starts of the season, posting a 6.89 ERA (61 ER in 79.2 IP) and allowing 18 home runs…in his last 4 starts dating back to June 19, Jordan has gone 1-0 with a 3.13 ERA (8 ER in 23.0 IP) and has yielded just 2 homers…he is one of nine pitchers in the AL to have an active streak of at least 9 starts of 5.0 innings.
BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: Lyles snapped a career-long 11-game losing streak on June 24 vs. Tampa Bay, as he guided the Royals to a 9-4 victory with 6.0 innings of 4-run ball, allowing a season-high-tying 8 hits and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts…the win snapped a run of 15 straight starts by Lyles in which the team lost to begin the season.
Ê Entering play on June 24, the Rays held MLB’s highest winning percentage (.671), meaning Jordan earned his 1st win and snapped an 11-decision losing streak against the best team in baseball, becoming just the fifth pitcher since 1900 to accomplish that feat as a starter (see list to right), via Elias.
TROUBLE WITH THE LONG BALL: Lyles has allowed at least 1 home run in 12 of his 18 starts this season for a total of 20 homers in 102.2 innings, which tied for the 6th mostin the American League, 8 behind leader Lance Lynn (28)…he has allowed multiple home runs in 7 of his 18 starts, but kept opponents in the yard in 3 of his last 5 starts, and hasn’t allowed multiple HRs in any of his 6 starts since May 26 vs. Washington.
THE ROLLER COASTER: Lyles recently snapped a career-worst 11-game losing streak on June 24 at Tampa Bay…a troubling trend has emerged this season, as his struggles have come in the beginning and end of his outings, while he’s been solid in the middle innings…through his first 15 pitches, opponents have hit .344 (21-for-61) with 7 home runs, and from pitches 61 and up, opponents are batting .241 (33-for-137) with 11 doubles, 9 home runs and a triple…the good has come between pitches 16-60, when he has held opponents to a .220 average (44-for200) with only 14 extra-base hits (4 HR) and 36 strikeouts.
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 461.2 innings pitched rank 4th in the AL behind Gerrit Cole (511.1 IP), José Berríos (483.1 IP) and Dylan Cease (463.1 IP).
During 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).
YANKEE DOODLE: In 8 career appearances (7 starts) vs. the Yankees, he has gone 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA (19 ER in 44.1 IP)…he last faced them on Sept. 30, 2022 (with Baltimore) and earned the win as he pitched 7.0 innings of 1-run ball.
In his last 4 starts vs. the Yankees, Lyles is 2-1 with a 3.16 ERA (9 ER in 25.2 IP) and 27 strikeouts…his teams are 3-1 against the Yankees during that span.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Lyles has been nothing if not a consistently strong defender, averaging less than 1 defensive miscue per season during his 13-year MLB career (12 errors, 1429.0 IP)…he has not committed an error since Sept. 22, 2020 at Arizona and has made 83 errorless appearances (81 starts) since.
Jordan’s 461.2 innings without an error since the start of 2021 are the most among all big league pitchers, ahead of Lucas Giolito (456.1 IP, 31 chances) and Lyles has converted all 61 of his defensive chances during this stretch.
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their five-game, six-day homestand today with the final game of a three-game set vs. the Kansas City Royals (2-0 thus far)…will also play a two-game Subway Series vs. the New York Mets (Tues.-Wed.).
Have won back-to-back games after dropping their previous four games.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees clinched a series win over the Royals with a 5-2 win at Yankee Stadium on Saturday… RHP Gerrit Cole (6.1IP, 5H, 2R/ER, 1BB, 10K, 1HR, 1WP) started and did not record a decision despite allowing just 2R/ER in 6.1 innings…DH Giancarlo Stanton (2-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 3RBI) hit an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run HR in the eighth inning…2B Gleyber Torres (1-for-3, 1RBI, 1SF) singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to a season-high-tying 12 games (since 7/6) and drove in a run with a sac fly in the third inning…3B DJ LeMahieu (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) hit a go-ahead solo HR in the seventh inning…CF/LF Billy McKinney (1-for-2, 2R, 2BB) reached base three times and batted leadoff in the starting lineup for the first time since 6/6/21 at San Diego with the Mets…1B Anthony Rizzo (1-for-4) snapped an 0-for-20 stretch with his sixth-inning single…LHP Wandy Peralta (0.2IP) retired both batters faced to record his third win of the year…RHP Tommy Kahnle (1.0IP, 1H, 2K) tossed a scoreless eighth inning…RHP Clay Holmes (1.0IP, 1H, 1BB, 2K) tossed a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 13th save of the year.
LEMACHINE: INF DJ LeMahieu hit a go-ahead solo HR in the seventh inning on Saturday vs. Kansas City…marked his 12th career home run (and second this season) that either tied the game (4) or gave his team the lead (8) in the seventh inning-or-later (first since a game-tying solo HR in the seventh inning on 5/27/23 vs. San Diego).
Has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games (since 7/6), batting .317 (13-for-41) with 4R, 3 doubles, 1HR, 1RBI and 2BB over that span.
Has reached base in 12 of his last 13 games (since 7/4) and 19 of his last 22 games (since 6/23).
Since 2021, has hit .310/.403/.586 (18-for-58) with 13R, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 4HR, 11RBI and 9BB in 14G vs. the Royals.
STANTON ISLAND: DH/OF Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run HR in the eighth inning on Saturday vs. Kansas City…has 2HR in his last three games.
Has hit 6HR and recorded 13RBI in his last 10 games (since 7/8).
HOLMES SWEET HOLMES: RHP Clay Holmes tossed a scoreless ninth inning on Saturday to earn his 13th save of the year…has not allowed a run in 27 of his last 30 appearances (since 5/6), going 4-0 with nine saves and a 0.91 ERA (29.2IP, 3ER) in that span…his 0.91 ERA since 5/6 is the second-lowest ERA among all Major League pitchers (min. 25.0IP) in that span, trailing only Baltimore’s Felix Bautista (0.54).
BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters have hit 8HR in their last four games after hitting 7HR over their previous eight games from 7/6-17.
Their 139HR this season are the fifth-most in the Majors this season, trailing only Atlanta (185HR), Los Angeles-NL (161HR), Los Angeles-AL (151HR) and Tampa Bay (148HR).
CENTRAL PERK: Since 2022, the Yankees are 35-16 (.686) vs. the AL Central…are 46-20 in their last 66 games vs. the division (since 6/23/21) and 59-26 in their last 85 games (since 9/12/19).
Have won or split 23 of their last 28 series vs. the AL Central (going 22-5-1 since 9/10/19), 26 of their last 31 series (going 23-5-3 since 6/13/19) and 29 of their last 35 series (going 26-6-3 since 4/18/19).
PEN PALS: Yankees relievers have posted a Major League-best 3.19 ERA (370.0IP, 131ER) this year…also have posted a Major League-best 0.83 HR/9.0IP and rank second in opponents’ BA (.220).
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: INF Anthony Volpe has reached base in 25 of his last 32 games (since 6/13)…stole his 17th base of the season on Saturday…his 17SB are the most by a Yankees rookie since Eduardo Núñez’s 22SB in 2011.
GLEYBER DAY: INF Gleyber Torres owns a season-high tying 12-game hitting streak (since 7/6)…is batting .380/.389/.540 (19-for-50) with 9R, 1 triple, 2HR, 5RBI,
2BB, 2SF and 1SB over his 12-game hitting streak…also recorded a 12-game streak from 5/20-6/2.
Has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games (since 6/29) and 19 of his last 22 games (since 6/25), batting .318 (28-for-88) with 14R, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3HR, 11RBI, 6BB, 2SF and 2SB over that 22-game stretch…since 6/25, his 28H are tied for the fourth-most in the AL and tied for the seventh-most in the Majors.
Has reached base in 21 of his last 23 games (since 6/24) and 34 of his last 37 games (since 6/8-G1).
Is batting .324 (24-for-74) with 12R, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3HR, 9RBI, 5BB, 2SF and 2SB in 18 games during July.
Is batting .338 (26-for-77) with 10R, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2HR, 7RBI and 5BB in the first inning this season…has reached base in the first inning in eight of his last nine games, nine of his last 11 games and 10 of his last 14 games.
WILD BILL: OF Billy McKinney reached base three times on Saturday…has reached base in 11-of-25 PA over his last 10 games (since 7/5), posting a .440 OBP in that span (5H, 5BB, 1HP).
MATCHING UP: The Yankees are 12-2 in their last 14 games vs. the Royals (since 6/23/21) and 17-4 in their last 21 games against Kansas City (since 4/19/19).
Have clinched a series win over the Royals…have now won each of their last 15 series vs. the Royals since 5/25/15, going 35-11 in that span…according to STATS, their 15-series winning streak vs. the Royals is tied for their second-longest such streak vs. an opponent in franchise history, trailing only a 21-series streak vs. the Boston Red Sox from 1930-33…also recorded a 15-series winning streak vs. the Kansas City Athletics from 1955-57.
FUN IN THE SUN: The Yankees are an AL-best 25-12 (.676) in day games this season…marks the second-best record by any Major League team in day games this year, trailing only Atlanta (23-11, a higher .676).
FOUR SCORE: The Yankees are 43-12 this season when scoring at least 4R…are 45-17 this season when holding their opponent to 4R-or-fewer.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP LUIS SEVERINO (1-4, 6.66 ERA)
RHP Luis Severino will make his 11th start of the season in today’s series finale vs. Kansas City…the 29-year-old will make the start on extended five days’ rest due to Thursday’s team off day…last started on Monday at Los Angeles-AL and did not record a decision despite allowing just 1ER over 6.0IP (6H, 3BB/1IBB, 3K, 1HR)…marked his fourth start this season with 1ER-or-fewer allowed…surrendered his only ER on a solo HR by Matt Thaiss in the sixth inning…missed the first 48 games of the season with a right lat strain…the two-time AL All-Star (2017, ’18) ranked third in the Majors in 2018 with 19 wins (19-8), tied for second-most by a Yankee in the last 14 seasons (since 2009) behind CC Sabathia (21-7 in 2010)…has two of the top-eight single-season strikeout totals in Yankees history (230K in 2017, 220K in
2018)…is one of four pitchers in Yankees history with multiple 200-strikeout seasons (also Gerrit Cole from 2021-22, David Cone from 1997-98 and Ron Guidry from 1978-79)…finished third in 2017 AL Cy Young Award voting…was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 12/26/11…signed to a four-year contract extending through the 2022 season with a club option for the 2023 season on 2/15/19…the Yankees exercised his club option for the 2023 season on 11/7/22.
LAST START: Did not record a decision despite allowing just 1ER over 6.0IP on Monday at Los Angeles-AL (6H, 3BB/1IBB, 3K, 1HR)…marked his fourth start this season with 1ER-or-fewer allowed…surrendered his only ER on a solo HR by Matt Thaiss in the sixth inning.
2023: Will make his 11th start of the season today…is 1-4 with a 6.66 ERA (48.2IP, 36ER) in 10 starts this year…has allowed 1ER-or-fewer in four starts this season and 3ER-or-fewer in five starts…eight of his 10 starts this season have come after a Yankees’ loss, including six straight starts from 5/27-6/24.
Took his fourth loss of the season on 7/6 vs. Baltimore after allowing 7ER over 2.2IP (10H, 1BB, 3K, 1HR)…marked his shortest non-injury start since 9/5/18 at Oakland (also 2.2IP)…his 7ER matched his season high (also 7/1-G1 at St. Louis and 6/2 at Los Angeles-NL) and the second-most earned runs he’s allowed in a start in his career (trails only his 8ER on 8/12/17 vs. Boston).
Recorded his first win of the season in the Yankees’ 1-0 victory on 6/24 vs. Texas, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings (5H, 2BB, 4K)…marked his first scoreless start of the season and first such start since 10/3/22 at Texas (7.0IP)…snapped a four-start streak with 4R-or-more allowed (6/2-18).
Took his second loss of the season in Game 2 of a doubleheader on 6/18 at Boston, allowing 4R/3ER over 5.0IP (7H, 3BB, 6K)…his 6K matched a season high (also 6K on 6/8-G1 vs. Chicago-AL).
Allowed at least 3HR in back-to-back starts on 6/2 at LAD and 6/8-G1 vs. CWS…marked just the third time in his career he allowed multiple HR in consecutive starts (also three starts from 7/7-23/18 and two starts from 5/3-8/16).
Did not record a decision on 5/27 vs. San Diego despite allowing just 2R/1ER over 6.2IP (1H, 3BB, 5K, 1HR)…surrendered his only hit on a solo HR by Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fourth inning.
Did not record a decision in his first start of the season on 5/21 at Cincinnati (4.2IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 5K, 0HR)…was returned from rehab and reinstated from the 15-day injured list on 5/21 prior to his start.
Allowed 1ER-or-fewer in three straight starts from 10/3/22-5/27/23, tied for the second-longest such streak of his career (trails only a five-start streak from 7/15-8/6/17…allowed 2ER-or-fewer in five straight starts from 9/21/22-5/27/23, tied for the second-longest such streak of his career (trails only a nine-start streak from 9/12/18-4/20/22).
Missed the first 48 games of the season with a right lat strain…combined to make two rehab starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (5/10) and Double-A Somerset (5/16), posting a 4.05 ERA (6.2IP, 8H, 3ER, 2BB, 6K, 1HR).
VS. KANSAS CITY: Is 2-1 with a 4.63 ERA (23.1IP, 12ER) and 22K in four career starts vs. the Royals…last started against Kansas City on 5/1/22 at Kauffman Stadium,
allowing 4R/3ER over 5.0IP (7H, 1BB, 4K, 1HR).
Has made two career starts vs. Kansas City at Yankee Stadium, going 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA (12.1IP, 6ER) and 12K.
Is 10-6 with a 3.35 ERA (147.2IP, 55ER) in 25 career starts vs. the AL Central…15 of his 25 outings have been quality starts…has allowed 3ER-or-fewer in seven of his last eight starts (since 8/8/18).
WELCOME TO MY HOUSE: Will make his fifth home start of the season today…is 1-1 with a 5.31 ERA (20.1IP, 12ER) in four home starts this season…is 28-15 with a 3.57 ERA (337.2IP, 134ER) and 383K in 63 games (58 starts) in his career at Yankee Stadium…the Yankees are 36-11 in his home starts since the beginning of 2017…since 2018, has gone 16-4 with a 3.02 ERA (173.0IP, 58ER) and 204K in 31 home starts, with the Yankees going 25-6 in those games.
Including the postseason, is 20-6 with a 3.27 ERA (214.2IP, 78ER) and 256K in his last 40 starts at home (35 regular season and five postseason), dating back to 9/3/17…has allowed more than 2R just 14 times in that stretch…the Yankees are 32-8 in those starts.
START ME UP: The Yankees are 63-32 in his 95 starts since 2017…has allowed 1ER-or-fewer in 44-of-95 starts (46.3%) over that span.
From 7/8/17-7/12/18, the Yankees went 31-4 in his 35 starts, the first time the Yankees won at least 31 games in a pitcher’s 35-start span since going 31-4 over 35 Ron Guidry starts from 8/10/77-8/15/78.
