KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
THE PERFECT STAND: The Royals beat the Mets, 9-2, yesterday at Kauffman Stadium to complete a perfect 6-0 homestand that included 3-game sweeps over the Twins and Mets…it marked the Royals fifth perfect stay in franchise history (min. 6 games) and first since May 27-June 1, 2016 vs. the White Sox and Rays (6-0).
Yesterday was keyed by 8.0 scoreless frames from Brady Singer, who earned his team-best 7th victory and has allowed 2 runs or fewer in 9 of his last 15 starts, in which he owns a 3.68 ERA (36 ER in 88.0 IP).
The Royals hit .319 (67-for-210) on the homestand with 20 extra-base hits for an .871 OPS, while averaging 6.7 runs per game…they pitched to a 3.05 ERA (19 ER in 56.0 IP) and outscored opponents 40-21 (+19).
WE’RE GOING STREAKING!: The Royals have won 6 consecutive games during which they’ve outscored opponents 40-21 (+19), including a pair of walk-off wins in extra innings and a shutout victory…it’s the longest active win streak in the Majors and is their longest win streak in two years, since July 20-26, 2021, when they won 6 straight games at Milwaukee (2), vs. Detroit (3) and vs. the White Sox (1)…with a win tonight, the Royals would have their longest win streak in six years, since July 19-28, 2017, when they won 9 consecutive games.
FOR STARTERS: During Kansas City’s 6-game win streak, its starting pitchers are 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA (7 ER in 36.0 IP), 5 walks (1.3 BB/9) and 34 strikeouts (8.5 K/9)…the Royals starter’s ERA during this stretch (since a week ago tonight) ranks 2nd in the Majors behind San Diego’s starters, who own a 0.87 ERA (3 ER in 31.0 IP).
Royals starters have not allowed a run in their last 17.0 innings, since Pete Alonso’s solo HR off Zack Greinke in the 2nd inning on Tuesday night…Zack held the Mets scoreless over his final 3.0 innings, before Cole Ragans pitched 6.0 scoreless innings Wednesday night and Brady Singer went 8.0 scoreless innings yesterday to complete the Royals second consecutive 3-game sweep…during the starters’ 17.0-inning scoreless streak, Greinke, Ragans and Singer have allowed 11 hits and 1 walk with 14 strikeouts.
Tonight the Royals turn to starter Jordan Lyles, who owns a 3.86 ERA (9 ER in 21.0 IP) in his last 4 starts.
ROSTER MOVE: The Royals announced this afternoon that right-handed pitcher Taylor Clarke has been placed on the 15-day Injured List (retroactive to yesterday) with right elbow inflammation…in a corresponding move, James McArthur has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha…this marks McArthur’s third stint with the Royals this season, following June 24-30 and his most recent recall on Tuesday, before he was optioned on Wednesday.
The Royals today also announced they claimed right-handed pitcher Joe Barlow off outright waivers from the Texas Rangers, and he’s been optioned to Triple-A Omaha…in 13 appearances with the Rangers this season, Barlow went 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA (5 ER in 9.2 IP), but 10 of his 13 outings were scoreless.
BOBBY BASEBALL: Bobby Witt Jr. hit safely in all 6 games on the homestand, during which he batted .556 (15-for-27) with 6 extra-base hits (3 HR), 13 RBI and 3 steals…since a week ago tonight, he leads the Majors with 15 hits and 13 RBI, ranks 2nd in slugging percentage (.1.037), 3rd in OPS (1.608) and 4th in batting average.
Yesterday marked his 9th career game with a home run and a stolen base, matching Ronald Acuña Jr. for the most such games in the Majors since the start of last season…his steal yesterday marked his 31st of the year—setting a new career high—which ranks 4th in the Majors in 2023 behind Acuña Jr. (51), Esteury Ruiz (43) and Corbin Carroll (34)…with his next home run, Witt Jr. will become the first player in Major League history to record at least 20 HR and 30 steals in each of his first two big league seasons.
Witt Jr. is the third player this century with at least 30 stolen bases in each of his first two big league seasons, joining Ichiro Suzuki (2001-02) and Elvis Andrus (2009-10), and his 61 career steals are the most by any player through his first two big league seasons since Billy Hamilton had 69 steals from 2013-14.
Bobby leads the team in hits (118), HR (19) and RBI (64) as he tries to become the first player to lead the Royals in all three categories since Billy Butler led the team with 192 hits, 29 HR and 107 RBI in 2012.
INTERLEAGUE INTRIGUE: The Royals are playing in Philadelphia this weekend for just the fourth time in franchise history and the first time since 2016…the Royals are 7-8 in the regular season all-time vs. the Phillies, and their 15 games are their fewest vs. any opponent…these teams also met in the 1980 World Series, Kansas City’s first of four appearances in the Fall Classic…after losing Games 1 and 2 in Philadelphia, the Royals evened the series with back-to-back wins in Kansas City…but the Phillies rallied to a Game 5 win before clinching the championship in their Game 6 return to Veterans Stadium…Willie Aikens blasted 4 home runs and batted .400 (8-for-20) in the series, including multi-homer efforts in Game 2 and Game 4.
The Royals are 13-22 in Interleague play, but have won each of their last 5 games, including 3 games this week vs. the Mets and the last 2 games vs. the Dodgers from July 1-2…it’s their longest win streak in games vs. National League opponents since April 28-June 1, 2021, when they went 5-0 at Pittsburgh (1-0), vs. Milwaukee (2-0) and vs. Pittsburgh (2-0)…they have not won 6 consecutive Interleague games since a 7-game winning streak from Aug. 5-19, 2014…the Royals will play 14 of their 28 games in August vs. National League teams, including 6 straight to begin the month vs. the Mets and these Phillies.
The Royals have won two road series this year—both in National League parks—from April 7-9 at San Francisco and May 15-17 at San Diego…they’re 4-5 all-time at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004.
THE RUNNING ROYALS: The Royals went 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts on the homestand, and have been successful on their last 15 steal attempts since Bobby Witt Jr. was caught by Kyle Higashioka in the 6th inning on July 23 at Yankee Stadium…they went 8-for-8 this week vs. the Mets, which fell 2 shy of the franchise record for steals without being caught in a 3-game series, done from Sept. 17-18, 1980 vs. California (10).
The Royals lead the American League with 23 steals in 19 games since the All-Star break…for the season, they rank 5th in the Majors and 3rd in the AL with 99 steals behind the Rays (121) and Athletics (103).
FIRST THING’S FIRST: Under first-year Pitching Coach Brian Sweeney and first-year Assistant Pitching Coach Zach Bove, Royals pitchers have been sold on the “Raid the Zone” mantra this season (as first reported by Anne Rogers in Spring Training), which simply preaches strike-throwing, particularly on the 1st pitch…this is an area the Royals struggled with last season, when they ranked dead last among all 30 teams with 1st-pitch strike rate of 58.0%…Royals pitchers showed improvement during the 1st half of this season with a 1st-strike rate of 60.1%, which ranked 23rd in the Majors…but they have turned a corner since the All-Star break, a stretch of 19 games during which Royals pitchers rank 5th in the Majors with a 65.3% 1st-pitch strike rate, which trails only the Tigers (66.7%), this weekend’s opponent, the Phillies (65.9%), Rays (65.5%) and Giants (65.5%).
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (2-12, 6.15)
JORDAN LYLES is making his 21st start of the season and 342nd appearance (235th start) of his career tonight vs. the Phillies…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.
LAST TIME OUT: Lyles covered 5.0 innings and surrendered 3 runs on 4 hits to earn his 2nd win of the season in Saturday night’s 10-7 victory vs. Minnesota…he yielded a leadoff double in the 2nd inning followed by a 1-out hit batter, but escaped the inning on a 7-2 double play in which Max Kepler was thrown out at home plate…he allowed 3 runs in the 4th on an RBI groundout by Jorge Polanco and a 2-run double by Byron Buxton…he stranded leadoff walk in the 5th and exited with a 6-3 lead.
TURNING THE TIDE: Jordan began his Royals career with 15 winless starts through June 19, in which he went 0-11 with a 6.72 ERA (64 ER in 85.2 IP) and 18 home runs allowed (1.9 HR/9) to mark the longest losing streak of his career…the skid was snapped with a win on June 24 at Tropicana Field over the Rays, and in his last 4 starts since July 6, he has gone 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA (9 ER in 21.0 IP).
I GOT 5 ON IT: Lyles has completed at least 5.0 innings in 18 of his 20 starts, including each of his last 11 starts, which is the longest such streak by a Royals pitcher since Brad Keller pitched 5.0 innings in 15 consecutive starts from May 7-July 21, 2021…he is one of four AL pitchers with an active streak of at least 11 starts with 5.0 innings.
TROUBLE WITH THE LONG BALL: Lyles has allowed at least 1 home run in 13 of his 20 starts this season for a total of 22 HR in 112.2 innings, which is tied for the 8th most in the American League, 6 behind leader Lance Lynn (28)…he’s allowed multiple home runs in 8 of his 20 starts, which is tied for the 2nd most such games in the Majors.
THE ONE BAD INNING: Lyles allowed 3 runs in the 4th inning in his last start and has allowed at least 3 runs in a single frame in 11 of his 20 starts (12 instances)… he’s been charged with 44 runs (42 ER) in those 12 frames for a 31.50 ERA, which accounts for more than half of the 77 earned runs he’s allowed this season…if you set aside those 12 frames, he owns a 3.19 ERA in his remaining 101.2 innings.
THE ROLLER COASTER: A troubling trend has emerged for Lyles 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 .373 (25-for-67) with 8 home runs, and from pitches 61 and up, opponents are batting .237 (36-for-152) with 12 doubles, 9 home runs and a triple…the good has come between pitches 16-60, when he has held opponents to a .227 average (50-for-220) with 17 extra-base hits.
IRON MAN: 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 471.2 innings rank 3rd in the AL behind Gerrit Cole (525.1 IP) and José Berríos (494.1 IP) and his 82 starts since the start of 2021 rank 5th among AL League pitchers.
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).
PHILLIE PHANATIC: Lyles has gone 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA (14 ER in 42.0 IP) in 11 appearances (7 starts) against Philadelphia in his career…he has faced all 30 teams in the Majors and his 3.00 ERA against the Phillies is his lowest against any opponent…Lyles made his last start vs. Philadelphia on July 19, 2019 with Pittsburgh and pitched 5.2 innings of 1-run ball with 7 strikeouts in a no-decision.
As a starter, he’s gone 1-1 with a 3.25 ERA (13 ER in 36.0) vs. the Phillies and has posted a 1.50 ERA (1 ER in 6.0 IP) with 1 save as a reliever.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #109 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Miami Marlins, 4-2, and took three of four games on South Beach … Starter Michael Lorenzen became the first Phillies pitcher since Cliff Lee in 2009 to go 8.0 innings in his debut with the club – Lorenzen allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts … J.T. Realmuto homered in the 2nd to put the Phils up 2-0 and Brandon Marsh had a 2-run single in the 7th … Seranthony Dominguez picked up his 2nd save of the season with a scoreless 9th.
GO NOLES: Tonight, Aaron Nola will make his 226th career start for the Phillies and tie Curt Schilling for 7th place on the club’s all-time list … Through their first 225 career starts with the Phillies, Nola and Schilling had the same number of strikeouts (1,519) and the same WHIP (1.12) … Nola has a better strikeout rate (27.2%) than Schilling’s (23.0%), a lower opponent’s average (.229 to Schilling’s .235) and a better SO/BB ratio (4.23 to Schilling’s 3.79) … Nola enters tonight’s start with 31.1 bWAR in his career which ranks 8th in franchise history among pitchers (Schilling ranks 5th at 36.8)
OH MYLANTA: Over the last 17 games (since 7/16) the Phillies are 9-8 with a +2 run differential (70-68) … Of those 17 games, 15 have been decided by two runs or fewer and nine of those 17 have been one run games … All nine of the Phillies wins during this stretch have either needed a save or have been a walk-off – their last win that didn’t require a walk-off or a save was a 9-4 win over the Padres on July 15 … Overall this season, the Phillies are 22-14 in one-run games and their .611 winning percentage ranks 4th in MLB behind MIA (24-9, .686 win%), MIL (20-10, .667 win%) and BAL (20-10, .667 win%).
AIRBNCBP: The Phillies return home to the comforts of South Philly following a seven-game road trip that took them through PIT (1-2) and MIA (3-1) … Of Philadelphia’s 53 remaining games, 33 will take place here at CBP (62%) … The Phillies have a 28-20 record at CBP this season and their .583 winning percentage at home ranks 7th in MLB, but they have played the fewest home games of any club in MLB thus far.
BEDLAM AT THE BANK: Through 48 games at CBP, the Phillies are averaging 39,400 in attendance per game which ranks 6th among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (48,153), Cardinals (41,890), Yankees (41,426), Padres (40,672) and Braves (39,510) … Of Philadelphia’s first 48 games at home, 23 have been sellouts (48%) and 37 have been over 35,000 (77%) … Among all clubs in MLB, the Phillies have the largest year-to-year increase in attendance per game this season at +10,918 (up from 28,482 per game through 48 home games in 2022) – CLE ranks 2nd at +7,001 per game … Per Baseball Reference, the last time a team saw a +10,000 spike in attendance from one year to the next was in 2010 when the Twins moved to Target Field from the Metrodome and saw a +10,332 spike from 2009 … For reference, the Phillies saw a +12,224 spike in attendance in 2004 when CBP was opened (40,125 per game) after averaging 27,901 per game during the final year at Veterans Stadium in 2003.
ARMS RACE: Over the last 52 games (since 6/3), the Phillies’ starting rotation has gone 20-11 with a 3.09 ERA (107 ER, 311.1 IP) with 303 strikeouts to 77 walks (3.94 SO/BB ratio) … During this current run, they have the lowest OPS among all starting staffs in MLB at .659 (next: SD, .670), the lowest opponents AVG at .227 (next: MIL, .230), the lowest opponents OBP at .280 (next: MIA, .290), the lowest WHIP at 1.10 (next: MIA, 1.13) and the most innings pitched at 311.1 (next: HOU, 299.0) – their 3.09 ERA ranks 2nd in MLB (best: SD, 2.88) and their .379 opponents SLG ranks 2nd (best: SD, .373) … The staff has gone at least 6.0 innings in 35 of those 52 games (67%), at least 7.0 innings in 15 of those 52 games (29%) and of their 52 starts, 29 have been quality starts (56%) … Since June 3, the Phillies bullpen has tossed the fewest innings of any relief corps in MLB at 163.2 (29th is MIN at 167.0 and most is SF at 257.2) but have the 5th-lowest ERA in MLB at 3.35 … Philadelphia’s starters and relievers have combined for 16.0 fWAR this season which leads MLB (next: SEA, 14.7) and is more than three full wins clear of the next closest NL club (MIA, 12.9 fWAR).
HOLLYWOOD ENDING: LHP Cole Hamels, drafted by the Phillies in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 2002 MLB Draft, spent parts of 10 seasons with the club (2006-15) … The 2008 World Series MVP, Hamels went 114-90 with a 3.30 ERA over 295 games (294 starts) with the Phillies … In his final game with the Phillies before being traded to the Texas Rangers, Hamels threw a no-hitter at Wrigley Field on July 25, 2015 … Hamels ranks 3rd in franchise history in strikeouts (1,844), 4th in starts and 6th in ERA – he ranks 4th in club history in bWAR among pitchers at 42.0, behind only three Hall-of-Famers: Robin Roberts (69.8), Steve Carlton (64.6) and Grover Cleveland Alexander (60.3).
REMEMBER THE FIGHTINS: The Phillies have won 34 of their last 52 games (since 6/3) and their .654 winning percentage since June 3rd ranks 2nd in MLB behind only ATL (36-13, .735) … The Phils opened the 2023 season on the road and went 1-5 in six games through TEX (0-3) and NYY (1-2) … Since then (4/7- current), they are 58-45 with a .563 winning percentage that ranks 3rd in the National League behind only ATL (.636) and LAD (.570) and 7th in MLB.
RISP AND REWARD: Since June 3, the Phillies rank 4th in the National League and 6th in MLB with a .280 AVG with runners in scoring position (127-for-453) and trail only BAL (.304 AVG), ATL (.286 AVG), CHI (.284 AVG), DET (.283 AVG) and LAD (.281) … Philadelphia’s .363 OBP with RISP since June 3rd ranks 4th in MLB behind only LAD (.389 OBP), ATL (.371 OBP) and BAL (.367) … Philadelphia’s 127 hits with RISP since June 3rd ranks 3rd in MLB and trails only CHI (144) and LAD (128) … League average since 6/3 with RISP is a .257 AVG/.337 OBP.
HATS OFF TO YOU THOMS: Since Rob Thomson was named manager of the Phillies on June 3, 2022, the Phils are 28 games over .500 at 124-96 with a .564 winning percentage that ranks 6th in MLB, trailing only ATL (.671), LAD (.638), HOU (.611), BAL (.587) and SEA (.568).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – AARON NOLA • RHP #27
2023: 9-7, 4.43 ERA Career: 87-69, 3.69 ERA
LAST START: 7/29 at PIT: L, 4.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, HR … Nola vs Priester … The Phillies lost to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, 7-6 … Brandon Marsh’s bases-clearing double in the 4th inning erased the Pirates’ 1-0 lead, but Pittsburgh battled back with 2 runs in the 4th and 4 more in the 5th to go ahead for good … The Phils inched closer with a run in each the 6th and 8th innings, but were unable to complete the comeback
TONIGHT’S START:
- 7th Heaven: Nola is making his 226th career start tonight … Nola now ties Curt Schilling for the 7th most starts in Phillies history … Nola trails Steve Carlton (499), Robin Roberts (472), Chris Short (301), Cole Hamels (294), Grover Alexander (280) and Curt Simmons (263)
- American Dream: This season, Nola has made 7 starts against American League teams … He has posted a 3.00 ERA (15 ER, 45.0 IP) and his last 6 interleague outings have all been quality starts … Since his first outing against TEX on Opening Day, Nola has posted a 2.18 ERA (10 ER, 41.1 IP) with 48 strikeouts and 7 walks … Since 2019, Nola has made 5 starts against the AL Central and has produced a 1.60 ERA (6 ER, 33.2 IP) in that span
- In Play? No Problem: Nola’s opponents have a .266 batting average on balls in play this season, which ranks 10th in MLB (best: Tyler Wells, .206) … It is the 2nd
-lowest mark in his career (best: 2018, .251) - Pitch Usage: Curveball (32%), 4-Seam Fastball (27.7%), Sinker (19.5%), Changeup (12%), Cutter (8.9%)
- vs AL Central: 3-2, 3.78 ERA (20 ER, 47.2 IP) in 8 starts
HOME:
- 2023: 4-2, 3.27 ERA (19 ER, 52.1 IP) in 8 starts
- Career: 48-26, 3.19 ERA (241 ER, 680.0 IP) in 109 starts
2023 SEASON:
- 2023 NL Ranks: BABIP (2nd; .266), IP (5th; 138.0), WHIP (6th, 1.12), and SO (8th; 139)
- Innings Eater: Since the start of the 2018 season, Nola’s 1009.2 IP are the 2nd -most in the majors … This season, Nola has gone at least 6.0 IP in 18 of his 22 starts in 2023 (81.8%) … His 18 instances of 6.0 or more innings are tied for tied for the 2nd most in the majors behind SF’s Logan Webb
- Philly Value: Since 2018, Nola is one of two pitchers in baseball to accrue more than 20.0 fWAR (23.8) and pitch for only one team … In that span, he ranks 5th overall in fWAR behind only Jacob deGrom (27.1), Max Scherzer (26.7), Gerrit Cole (26.5) and Zack Wheeler (26.4) … His 32.2 fWAR as a Phillie is 7th most in franchise history trailing Curt Simmons (33.5) for 6th place
- What Is It Good For: Additionally, since the start of the 2022 season, Nola’s 8.6 fWAR is the best among all NL starters
- Road Scholar: Since the start of the 2022 season, among all ML pitchers in road games, Nola has recorded the most SO (208), the most IP (193.2) and has the third best SO/BB ratio (6.50) … Nola’s 30 starts on the road in that span are tied for the most in MLB
- Phils’ Ranks: Recorded the 30th double-digit SO game of his career and 3rd of 2023 on 7/4 at TB … Is now in sole possession of 3rd place in club history (Curt Schilling is 2nd with 48)
