KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
BULLPEN BREAKDOWN: The Royals suffered a 6-4 loss to the Mariners yesterday to finish the homestand with a 2-4 record, despite being outscored by only 1 run over 6 games, while hitting .347 (75-for-216) with a .528 slugging percentage and .895 OPS…the Royals red-hot offense tagged George Kirby for 4 runs on 8 hits in 6.0 innings, including a 3-run 6th in which they took a 4-2 lead…but with two on and 1 out in the 8th, Carlos Hernández entered the game and served up a 3-run home run to Julio Rodríguez, turning a 2-run lead into a 1-run deficit…Cal Raleigh added a pinch-hit home run in the 9th off John McMillon—who was making his Major League debut—and the Royals went quietly in the 9th to lose for the 9th time in their last 12 games.
The Royals allowed 28 runs in 4 games vs. the Mariners, and half (14) came in the 8th inning or later.
Royals pitchers plunked 13 batters in 6 games on the stay after hitting 45 in their previous 117 games.
BLOWN LEADS: The Royals blew a 2-run lead yesterday to mark their Majors-most 39th blown lead loss of the season, ahead of the White Sox (38) and Athletics (37)…their 39 blown lead losses are 3 more than their total from all of last season, and are 14 shy of the franchise record of 53, set during their 103-loss 2019 season.
Yesterday was their 5th loss this year when leading after the 7th inning and 1st since July 17 vs. Detroit.
ROSTER MOVE: The Royals announced this morning that right hander Taylor Clarke has been reinstated from the 15-day Injured List, after missing the minimum of 15 days since Aug. 3 with right elbow inflammation.
Following yesterday’s game, the Royals optioned right hander Max Castillo to Triple-A Omaha.
ON THE MEND: First baseman Nick Pratto went 0-for-3 last night and played 5.0 innings on defense in his 1st rehab game with Triple-A Omaha…Pratto has missed the team’s last 19 games on the IL with a left groin strain.
Brad Keller continued his rehab assignment last night with the ACL Royals and pitched 1.1 scorelesss innings in relief, stranding a walk and recording a strikeout to earn the win in the team’s shutout victory.
SCORING CHANGE: The league last night announced a scoring change to the Royals game last Saturday night vs. the Cardinals…in the top of the 5th inning, Nolan Arenado reached on what was originally ruled an infield single…this has been changed to an error on shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and as a result, the run scored in the inning is now unearned…this lowers the ERA of today’s starter Cole Ragans from 4.21 to 4.02 (21 ER in 47.0 IP).
ROAD WORK: The Royals begin a 9-game, 10-day road trip to mark their last of a trio of three-city trips this season…they will play 3 day games at Wrigley Field this weekend—all 1:20 p.m. CT starts—then travel west for a 3-game set in Oakland beginning Monday night…after an off day next Thursday, the Royals will close out the road trip with a 3-game series next weekend in Seattle…the Royals are 16-44 (.267) on the road and are winless in their last 12 road sets—including 10 losses and two splits—since they won 2 of 3 in San Diego from May 15-17.
The Royals have won 6 of their last 7 series-opening games, after starting 5-27 in series openers.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT: After playing 9 consecutive night games before yesterday’s series finale vs. Seattle, today’s 1:20 p.m. CT start in Chicago marks the Royals 2nd day game in a run of 4 straight through this weekend…today is the Royals 50th day game of the season and they’re scheduled for 65 matinees this year, which would mark the 2nd most in club history behind only last season, when they played 69 matinees.
The Royals are 17-32 (.347) in day games but are 14-19 (.423) in their last 33 after starting 3-13 (.188).
The Royals are batting .249 with 55 homers in 49 day games and .241 with 65 homers in 74 night games.
INTERLEAGUE INTRIGUE: The Royals and Cubs are meeting this weekend for the fifth time in nine seasons since 2015, after meeting only six times over previous 18 seasons, from when Interleague play was instituted in 1997 through 2014…the Royals last played the Cubs in 2021, when they swept them in 3 games at Wrigley Field from Aug. 20-22, marking their first sweep of the Cubs in franchise history…the Royals have won 4 straight games over the Cubs dating back to 2020, and are 14-17 all-time vs. the Cubs, including 7-10 here in Chicago.
The Royals are 15-25 in Interleague play this season, but have won 7 of their last 10 games since July 1.
Kansas City is playing 14 of its 28 games in the month of August vs. National League opponents. WOAH, NELLY!: Nelson Velázquez has made quite the first impression since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Aug. 10…in 7 games (5 starts) with the Royals, he’s batting .348 (8-for-23) with 4 homers…he’s homered in 4 of his 5 starts with Kansas City, becoming the first player in Royals history, according to Elias, with at least 4 HR in his 1st 5 starts with the team…including his time with the Cubs before being traded to the Royals on July 31 for right-handed reliever Jose Cuas, Velázquez is batting .288 with a 1.058 OPS in 20 games in the Majors…nine of his 15 hits (60%) have gone for extra bases and 7 of his 15 hits (46.7%) have been homers.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Royals have scored at least 7 runs nine times in their last 19 games since July 28 (47.4%), after doing so just 15 times through 104 games (14.4%)…they had “only” 9 hits yesterday to snap a season-high streak of at least 10 hits in 5 straight games…over their last 19 games since July 28, the Royals lead the American League in several offensive categories, including hits (203), total bases (334), batting average (.303), slugging percentage (.499) and OPS (.843)…they are tied with the Rangers for the AL lead in extra-base hits (68), rank 2nd with 5.8 runs per game and are tied for 2nd with 28 home runs, 2 behind Houston (30)… they also lead the Majors since July 28 with 31 steals in 19 games, 9 more than the D-backs and Nationals (22).
Maikel Garcia went 0-for-4 yesterday to snap his 18-game hit streak—in which he hit .338 (25-for-74)— which was the longest active run in the Majors, the longest ever by a Royals rookie and was the longest by any Royal since Whit Merrifield’s franchise-record 31-game streak from Sept. 10, 2018-April 10, 2019.
Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Majors since July 28 with 32 hits and 15 extra-base hits in 18 games, ranks tied for 1st with Matt Olson with 62 total bases, ranks 2nd to Olson with 25 RBI, a .416 batting average and .805 slugging percentage, and ranks 3rd with a 1.263 OPS…during this 18-game stretch, Bobby has recorded 3 games with 4 hits, has 2 grand slams, a 6-RBI game and an inside-the-park home run.
MJ Melendez had a single in the 2nd yesterday and a go-ahead RBI double in the 6th to mark his 3rd straight multi-hit game…since the start of the last trip, he’s hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games with an at-bat, a stretch in which he’s batting .413 (19-for-46) with 8 extra-base hits and a 1.232 OPS…his season took a turn for the better at the All-Star break, and in 31 games since, he’s batting .310 (36-for-116) with 6 HR and an .898 OPS, after hitting .206 (63-for-306) with 6 HR and a .622 OPS in 84 games before the break.
THE RUNNING ROYALS: In 32 games since the All-Star break, the Royals lead the Majors with 41 steals, 3 more than Washington (38) and 14 more than Cleveland (27) for the American League lead…after stealing only 40 bags in 56 games through May, the Royals rank 2nd in the Majors and lead the AL with 77 steals in 67 games since June 1…for the season, they rank 4th in the Majors with 117 steals, trailing Cincinnati (139), Tampa Bay (130) and Arizona (124).
Nine different Royals players have at least 5 steals this year, which trails only the Reds, who have 10 players with at least 5 steals…their leading base stealer is Bobby Witt Jr., who ranks 4th in the Majors with 34 steals behind Ronald Acuña Jr. (55), Esteury Ruiz (48) and Corbin Carroll (37)
TODAY’S STARTERS: LHP COLE RAGANS (3-4, 4.02)
COLE RAGANS is making his 5th start of the season (22nd appearance) and 14th start of his career today vs. the Cubs…Ragans, 25, was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 1st round (30th) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the North Florida Christian High School, and was acquired by Kansas City with 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Roni Cabrera on June 30 for Aroldis Chapman.
RAGANS HITS 1ST BUMP IN THE ROAD vs. STL: Cole made his 4th start as a Royal last Saturday vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium and labored through 5.0 innings while allowing 4 runs (3 ER) on 6 hits and a career high-tying 4 walks with 5 strikeouts in an eventual 5-4 Royals loss…after inducing an inning-ending double play in the 1st, he surrendered a 2-run home run to Tommy Edman with 2 outs in the 2nd inning, and allowed another run in the 3rd on a 1-out double by Nolan Arenado…he was able to work a scoreless 4th inning after Nelson Velázquez blasted a 2-run homer to bring the Royals within 1 run, but a leadoff walk to Lars Nootbaar later scored on a 1-out single from Willson Contreras…he ended his night with 93 pitches and just 57 strikes (61.3%), and his 4 walks matched the total from his first 3 games as a Royal combined…the Royals fought back with runs in the 8th and 9th innings, but Edman’s 2nd home run of the game—a solo shot in the 8th off Taylor Hearn—proved to be the difference in the series finale.
His 27 strikeouts through 4 appearances as a Royal are tied for the 2nd-most in club history, with Steve Busby (1972) and Homer Bailey (2019), trailing only James Shields’ 28 from April 1-20, 2013…the club record through 5 games also belongs to Shields, who punched out 31 batters through April 25.
Last night, Major League Baseball changed a ruling from this start in which Nolan Arenado was originally granted an infield single in the 5th inning…this has been changed to an error on Bobby Witt Jr., meaning the run in the 5th inning is unearned, changing his final line to 5.0 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs (3 ER) allowed.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB: Ragans joins the Royals for the second time after being acquired on June 30 from the Texas Rangers, with whom he posted a 5.92 ERA (16 ER in 24.1 IP) with 24 strikeouts in 17 relief appearances this season…Ragans broke camp with the big league club and began the year with 5 consecutive scoreless outings, covering 5.0 innings while allowing just 2 hits…overall, he allowed 16 runs across 24.1 innings in 17 games, with 13 of those runs (12 ER) coming in 3 outings.
Made 9 starts with Texas last year, going 0-3 with a 4.95 ERA (22 ER in 40.0 IP).
Ragans endured two stints on the 15-day Injured List last season due to a left calf strain, from Aug. 26-Sept. 7 and Oct. 3-end of season.
AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY: A 1st-round Draft selection in 2016, Cole overcame two Tommy John surgeries and missed the 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to become one of the top minor league pitchers in 2022…Ragans had his first Tommy John surgery on March 28, 2018 and felt discomfort while on a throwing program in early 2019, which led to another procedure on May 15, 2019.
He made his return in 2021 with 19 appearances (17) starts—his first game action since 2017—and was selected for the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
In 2022, he earned Texas’ Nolan Ryan Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award after going 8-5 with a 3.04 ERA (32 ER in 94.2 IP) and 113 strikeouts (10.7 K/9) in 18 starts between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock.
NORTH SIDE, STRONG SIDE: Ragans is making his 1st career start vs. the Cubs, but he has made a pair of relief appearances against them, both here in April as a member of the Texas Rangers bullpen…on April 7, he pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts in an eventual 2-0 Rangers loss, and two days later, on April 9, he worked a scoreless 8th inning as Texas cruised to an 8-2 win.
Four current Cubs players were on the roster in April and faced Ragans, in Tucker Barnhart, Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom… combined, the quartet went 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts against him.
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Royals
The Cubs and Royals meet for a three-game set at Wrigley Field … this is the third time in the last four seasons Kansas City has visited the Friendly Confines … in 2020, the Cubs went 2-2 against the Royals in Chicago and were 1-1 in Kansas City … in 2021, the Cubs were swept in a three-game at home.
WHEN WE LAST SAW YOU: The Chicago Cubs today play the first of three games against the Kansas City Royals after yesterday’s off day spent in the afterglow of Wednesday’s 4-3 walk-off victory over the Chicago White Sox in which Christopher Morel smacked a three-run blast to put the Cubs in the win column … Javier Assad recorded a quality start, allowing three runs (two earned) in 6.0 innings while Michael Fulmer struck out three-straight batters to strand the bases loaded in the eighth and Drew Smyly picked up the win with a scoreless ninth.
Wednesday’s victory was Chicago’s second this season when entering the ninth inning trailing … the first instance came on July 5 in Milwaukee – the Cubs were down 3-1 in the ninth before Mike Tauchman tied the game with a two-out tworun double and then came around to score to help Chicago to the 4-3 win.
This is the third of a five-game homestand against the White Sox (1-1) and Royals (3 games) … following this series, the team heads out on a seven-game trip to Detroit (3 games starting Monday) and Pittsburgh (4 games beginning Thursday).
Yesterday wrapped a stretch of three off days in an eight-day span … today’s tilt begins a stretch of 13-straight gamedays through Aug. 30.
AS OF LATE: The Cubs are 6-4 in their last 10 games, 9-5 in their last 14 and 20-8 in their last 28 contests since July 18 … following play on July 20, the Cubs sat 7.0-games out of a wild-card spot and 8.5-games back of the division lead … the club enters today in the third wild card spot (mere percentage points ahead of Cincinnai and Miami) and 2.0-games back of division-leading Milwaukee.
This is the ninth game (4-4) in a stretch that sees Chicago play 13 of 18 games on the road through Aug. 27.
The Cubs +63 run differential ranks third in the N.L. behind the Braves (+208) and the Dodgers (+147).
WHILE THE ‘PEN IS NORMALLY MIGHTIER: Cubs hitters have a .334 OBP against relief pitchers, the fifth-best mark in the majors, while their .737 OPS against relief arms is tied for eighth … Christopher Morel, who on Wednesday delivered a three-run walk-off homer off White Sox closer Gregory Santos, is hitting .302 (39-for-129) with a .963 OPS against relievers.
Nico Hoerner has a .326 average (59-for-181) and a .920 OPS against relievers this season … the .326 average ranks fourth among qualified hitters.
BURNING UP BASEPATHS: Nico Hoerner on Tuesday recorded his 30th stolen base of the season, the first Cubs second baseman to reach 30 steals since Eric Young Sr. stole 31 bags back in 2001 … the previous Cub to reach 30 swipes in a campaign was Tony Campana, who had 30 in 2012.
Chicago’s 111 stolen bases are its most since swiping 121 bags in 2006.
COMFORTS OF HOME: Chicago has won 11 of 15 games at Wrigley Field starting with July 18’s victory over the Nationals … prior to this 11-4 run at home, the Cubs went 2-9 at the Friendly Confines from June 18-July 17.
Chicago in its last 14 home games since July 18 has batted .299 (152-for-509) with 113 runs scored, 27 home runs, a .376 on-base percentage and a .540 slugging mark … Cubs pitching in this span has posted a 4.53 ERA (68 ER/135.0 IP) with 53 walks and 142 strikeouts.
YOU BETTER BELLI-EVE IT: Cody Bellinger, July’s N.L. Player of the Month, this season is batting .327 (110-for-336) with 20 doubles, one triple, 18 homers, 59 RBI and 17 stolen bases … Bellinger and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. are the only major leaguers to have at least a .325 average, 18 home runs and 17 stolen bases this season.
INTERLEAGUE INTERLUDE: Today is the sixth of 11-straight games against the American League, a stretch that started with series in Toronto (2-1) and at home vs. the White Sox (1-1) … following this three-game set vs. the Royals the Cubs head to Detroit for three games against the Tigers.
Chicago is 6-3 in its last nine interleague contests since July 15 and is 21-19 against the A.L. this season … the last season in which Chicago had a winning record against the A.L. was in 2020 (12-8).
NICE WORK BY NICO: Nico Hoerner has reached base in 27 of 30 games since the AllStar break, including a current 14-game on-base streak … Hoerner’s 187 total bases
paces the club this season.
Hoerner leads the team in hits (130) and runs scored (71) … his 30 stolen bases are fourth in the N.L. and his 130 hits are tied for ninth.
SAVING THE DAY: Adbert Alzolay on Saturday earned the save in his 12th-straight opportunity, while his 16 saves this season lead the team … the 12-straight converted save opportunities are the most by a Cub since Craig Kimbrel converted 16 consecutive save chances May 18-July 25, 2021.
SINCE THE BREAK…: In 31 games since the All-Star break, Chicago has scored 194 runs, second-most in the majors behind only Atlanta (203) … the Cubs’ .277 team average (293-for-1,058) since the break is the third-highest in the majors behind the Braves (.283) and today’s opponent, the Royals (.279).
Chicago’s 20-10 record (.645 winning percentage) since the break is tied for fourth in the majors and second in the N.L. behind the Dodgers (.742/23-8).
Starting Pitcher – #50 RHP Jameson Taillon (7-7, 5.71)
Last Time Out
Jameson on Aug. 13 suffered his first loss since June 27, allowing a season-high tying eight runs in 3.0+ IP (also May 20 at Philadelphia) … allowed more than three runs in an outing for the first time since July 2 (six starts) … the 3.0 IP marked his second-shortest start of the season (2.1 IP, May 20 at Philadelphia).
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
8/13 @TOR L, 4-11 3.0 8 8 8 2 2 89-53 2-6, 2 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 3-4 6.17 11 11 54.0 73 40 37 14 53
Road 4-3 5.22 10 10 50.0 40 31 29 18 38
AVG vs. LHB: .276 (58-for-210) / AVG vs. RHB: .272 (55-for-202)
Jameson will make his 22nd start of the season, his 12th at Wrigley Field … is 2-0 with a 3.31 ERA (6 ER/16.1 IP) in his last three starts at Wrigley Field dating
to July 18 … has walked two or fewer in 18 of his 21 outings this season … has pitched to a 6.17 ERA (37 ER/54.0 IP) in 11 starts at Wrigley Field, compared to a 5.22 ERA (29 ER/50.0 IP) in 10 starts on the road … his 32 walks are tied for the sixth-fewest in the N.L. among pitchers with at least 20 starts.
From July 7-Aug. 8, went 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA (9 ER/37.1 IP) in six starts, tied for the fifth-lowest ERA in the majors during the run … allowed three or fewer runs in all six starts.
Threw a season-high 109 pitches July 23 vs. the Cardinals … were his most since throwing 110 April 8, 2018, vs. the Reds while with the Pirates.
Tossed 8.0, one-hit, scoreless innings in a 3-0 win July 7 at Yankee Stadium … was the first pitcher with at least 8.0 innings and one or fewer hits allowed on
the road at Yankee Stadium since Baltimore’s Daniel Cabrera did so in 2006 … was also the first former Yankee to go a least 8.0 frames and allow no more than one hit in a game at Yankee Stadium (old or new).
Made his first quality start as a Cub June 13 vs. Pittsburgh (3 ER/6.0 IP).
Earned his first win as a Cub June 2 in San Diego (1 ER/5.2 IP) … had previously gone eight-straight starts without a win, the third time in his career that he had failed to win in at least eight-straight starts in the same season (last 9 G, April 14-May 27, 2018).
Walked two or fewer batters in 16-straight starts from Aug. 14, 2022-May 9, 2023 … at the time, marked the fifth-longest active streak among major league starting pitchers.
Began his stint on the 15-day injured list April 20 (retroactive to April 17) with a left groin strain … was activated on May 4.
Went 2-0 with a 3.93 ERA (8 ER/18.1 IP) with 23 strikeouts, compared to no walks, during Spring Training … was the only pitcher in the Cactus League with at least 10.0 IP to not walk a batter.
