KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
TWO-OUT TORTURE: The Royals blew an early 4-0 lead en route to a 9-6 loss to the Marlins last night…the offense scored 4 runs on 6 hits through the 3rd inning, and opener Carlos Hernández retired all six batters he faced with 3 strikeouts, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings on 23 pitches (19 strikes)…Mike Mayers took over in the bottom of the 3rd with a 4-0 lead and allowed four of the first five to reach, cutting the lead in half…with 2 outs in the 4th, the Marlins strung together 5 consecutive hits off Mayers, including a 2-run triple by Jon Berti and the go-ahead RBI double by Jonathan Davis…the Marlins struck again in the 5th with 2 outs, as Yuli Gurriel reached on a two-base error, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Nick Fortes…in the 6th inning vs. Josh Staumont, the Marlins had 2 outs and none on for the 3rd straight inning, but went single, 2-run home run by Bryan De La Cruz, capping their streak of 9 unanswered runs vs. Royals pitching…Kansas City had the tying run on deck in the 9th before Bobby Witt Jr. grounded into a double play to end the game.
All told, Miami scored 7 of its 9 runs last night with 2 outs and went 5-for-7 (.714) in scoring situations.
TIME CHANGE: The Marlins announced yesterday that tomorrow night’s game with the Royals will begin at 5:10 p.m. CT/6:10 p.m. ET…the earlier start time is due to the Miami Heat hosting Game 3 of the NBA Finals tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET…after tomorrow night’s game, the Royals will fly to Baltimore for an off day on Thursday, before beginning a 3-game weekend series with the Orioles on Friday night.
LEADS LOST: Last night marked Kansas City’s 20th blown lead loss of the season, which matches St. Louis for the 2nd most in the Majors, 1 behind Oakland (21)…they blew a 4-0 lead in last night’s 9-6 win, marking their largest blown lead loss of the season, leaving the Astros, Tigers, Twins and Nationals as the only remaining teams who have yet to lose a game in which they led by 4 runs…last night marked Kansas City’s largest blown lead loss in their last 143 games, since last July 4 at Houston, where they had a 5-0 lead in the 4th, but lost 7-6.
The Royals have held a lead in 23 of their last 31 games since the start of May, but they’re just 11-20 during that stretch with 12 blown lead losses…they’ve had blown lead losses in 3 of their last 5 road games.
STARTING SOMETHING: Carlos Hernández retired all six batters he faced with 3 strikeouts in the opener role last night vs. the Marlins, throwing 19 of his 23 pitches for strikes (82.6%)…Royals starting pitchers have now recorded 11.2 consecutive scoreless innings, including 5.2 scoreless frames by Brady Singer on Sunday, and the last 4.0 innings of Daniel Lynch’s start last Saturday vs. the Rockies…during this 11.2-inning scoreless streak, Royals starting pitchers have combined to allow just 8 hits and 1 walk with 16 strikeouts (12.3 K/9).
The Royals are 2-4 when using an opener, but those pitchers have combined for 10.0 innings with 1 unearned run allowed on 3 hits and 15 strikeouts, including 6.0 scoreless innings by Hernández in 3 starts.
Royals starting pitchers rank 26th in the Majors this season with a 5.15 ERA and their 9 wins rank 29th… but since the starter’s ERA topped out at 6.08 following their game on May 6, they have pitched to a 3.79 ERA (49 ER in 116.1 IP) in their last 26 games, which ranks tied for 7th in the Majors during that time…even better, Royals starters have held opponents to a .227 average (99-for-436) in their last 26 games since May 7, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind the starters of Miami and Texas (.226).
Royals starters have held opponents to 1 run or fewer in 6 of the last 11 games, a stretch in which their 2.77 ERA (15 ER in 48.2 IP) ranks 2nd in the Majors behind Texas (2.35)…Royals starters have 60 strikeouts in 48.2 innings over the last 11 games for an 11.1 K/9 and 29.9 K%, both of which lead the Majors since May 23.
GONE FISHING: The Royals are fishing with their dads this week, as last night’s game vs. the Marlins began their first Father’s Trip since 2019…fathers of the players and staff members are joining the team on this road trip that will continue with an off day in Baltimore on Thursday and a weekend series vs. the Orioles.
This marks Kansas City’s fourth trip to Miami and third since loanDepot Park opened in 2012…the Royals last visited the Fish four years ago, from Sept. 6-8, 2019, when they won 2 of 3 games…the Royals have won all three of their previous series in Miami, including one in 2016 and one at Dolphin Stadium in 2008, but that streak could end with a loss tonight or tomorrow night after the Marlins won the series opener.
The Royals are 10-9 all-time vs. the Fish, including a 5-5 record since they became the Miami Marlins in 2012.
Former Royal Jorge Soler has not faced his former team since being traded to Atlanta in 2021…Soler, who ranks tied for 4th in the Majors this year with 17 HR but is homerless in 7 games since his 5-game HR streak, set the Royals single-season HR record with 48 in 2019, which was matched by Salvador Perez in 2021.
INTERLEAGUE INTRIGUE: Tonight is the Royals 25th Interleague game, which represents more than 40% of their 61 games this season and matches Milwaukee for the 2nd-most Interleague games in the Majors, trailing only Pittsburgh (28)…the Royals will play 46 Interleague games this season after playing 20 every year from 2013-22.
The Royals are 8-16 in Interleague play this season, but are 5-6 in their last 11 games after starting 3-10.
This trip to Miami marks the Royals fourth straight series vs. a National League opponent, a streak that will run to 10 straight games through the series finale tomorrow night…when this trip continues to Baltimore this weekend, it will end a stretch in which the Royals will have played six of eight series vs. NL teams.
Salvador Perez is Kansas City’s all-time leader in Interleague play in HR (36) and RBI (112), and his 197 hits rank 2nd to Alex Gordon (210)…Salvy, who makes his offseason home in nearby Weston, Fla., has homered vs. 25 of 29 opponents, the only exceptions being the Marlins, Braves, Mets and Phillies.
SOUTHPAW STORY: Tonight’s opponent Jesús Luzardo will mark the eighth time in the Royals last 12 games that they’re facing a left-handed starting pitcher and the 4th consecutive game vs. a southpaw…this recent run vs. southpaw starters comes on the heels of a 15-game stretch from May 7-22 in which they faced all righthanded starters…the Royals are 5-11 vs. left-handed starters this season but have won 2 of their last 4 such games.
Maikel Garcia is 12-for-32 (.375) with 4 doubles vs. left-handed pitchers since his May 2 recall, including is 1st career HR on Sunday off left hander Kyle Freeland…Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 17 hits and 5 HR vs. left handers, and is batting .298 against them with .579 slugging percentage and .912 OPS.
Left-handed batters Michael Massey and Nick Pratto have fared especially well vs. left-handed pitching, batting .324 (11-for-34) and .314 (11-for-35), respectively…their averages vs. southpaws rank 5th and 8th, respectively among left-handed batters in the American League (min. 25 at-bats).
THE RUNNING ROYALS: The Royals recorded 3 stolen bases last night, 1 shy of their season high of 4, done on April 29 at Minnesota…they now rank 5th in the Majors with a success rate of 83.0%, which would be the best mark in franchise history, ahead of their 82.7% success rate (155/185) in 2013.
Bobby Witt Jr. ranks 4th in MLB with 19 steals this year and his combination of 10 HR and 19 steals is matched only by Ronald Acuña Jr. (12/26).
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP ZACK GREINKE (1-5, 4.19)
ZACK GREINKE is making his 13th start of the season and 527th of his career tonight vs. the Marlins, matching Jerry Koosman and Hall of Famer Jack Morris for 37th on the all-time starts list…it’s his 14th career appearance (13th start) vs. Miami and 1st since 2019 as a member of the Diamondbacks…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 (526) and innings (3309.1), 2nd in wins (224) and 3rd in strikeouts (2,929)…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 2-1 loss in St. Louis a week ago tonight, in which he allowed just 2 hits and 1 walk over 5.0 scoreless innings, with a season-high-tying 6 strikeouts…he yielded a leadoff single and a 2-out walk in the 1st but retired 13 of the next 14…but his counterpart, Miles Mikolas, held the Royals scoreless over 8.0 innings with 10 strikeouts, and the Cardinals scored 2 runs against Kansas City’s bullpen after Zack exited in a scoreless tie.
Greinke has completed at least 5.0 innings in 11 of his 12 starts this season.
MAY FLOWERS: Zack earned Royals Pitcher of the Month honors for May, in which he recorded a 2.30 ERA (8 ER in 31.1 IP) in 6 starts, the 7th-best mark in the American League and the best ERA by a Royal in the month of May (min. 30.0 IP) since Chris Young posted a 1.45 ERA (5 ER in 31.0 IP) in May 2015…this marked Greinke’s first monthly honor since re-joining the Royals last season, but it was his ninth career Royals Pitcher of the Month Award, breaking a tie with Joakim Soria for the most by a Royals pitcher since the award was established in 1995.
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 7 more victims to run his total to 1,007 players struck out.
Among the 1,007 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 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 and Skip Schumaker.
Greinke has struck out 10 different sets of brothers, a total he’s hoping to add to tonight in Miami…with a strikeout of Yuli Gurriel, he and his brother Lourdes Gurriel Jr. would become the 11th set of brothers Greinke has struck out.
Zack is 71 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 9 walks to the 254 batters he’s faced through 12 starts (62.1 IP) for a 1.3 BB/9 and 3.5 BB%, both of which rank 2nd in the Majors behind George Kirby…after issuing a season-high 2 walks in 3.2 innings on April 27 at Minnesota, he’s issued only 3 walks to 119 batters over his last 6 starts.
Greinke has had 4 starts this season in which he did not issue a walk over at least 5.0 innings, which trails only Framber Valdez, Patrick Corbin, Anthony DeSclafani and Kirby (5 each) for the most such starts in the Majors in 2023.
Led by Greinke and Brady Singer (4 each), the Royals have had 12 starts this year in which their pitcher recorded 5.0 innings without issuing a walk, which is tied with the Dodgers and Mariners for the most in the Majors.
SEEKING SUPPORT: The Royals offense has scored just 19 runs in Greinke’s 62.1 innings this season for a 2.74 run support average, which is the lowest mark among all qualified pitchers…the Royals have supported Zack with 1 or 0 runs in 8 of his 12 starts, and have supported him with a total of 1 run over his last 3 starts (15.2 IP)…run support has been an issue for Zack since he returned to Kansas City last season…he’s won just 5 of his 38 starts since the start of last year, despite pitching to a 3.84 ERA (85 ER in 199.1 IP), and his 3.30 run support average during that time is the 2nd lowest in the Majors.
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 is his 208th start with the Royals, 7th most in club history behind Paul Splittorff (392), Mark Gubicza (327), Dennis Leonard (302), Kevin Appier (275), Bret Saberhagen (226) and Larry Gura (219)…Zack’s 1,051 strikeouts with the Royals rank 6th in club history, 6 shy of Splittorff (1,057).
VS. MARLINS: Greinke is 7-0 with a 3.06 ERA (27 ER in 79.1 IP) in 13 career appearances (12 starts) vs. the Marlins, and tonight marks his 1st start vs. the Fish since July 26, 2019 when he was with the Diamondbacks…he’s is one of two pitchers with at least 7 wins and no losses vs. the Marlins, along with former Royal and former Marlins pitcher Edinson Vólquez, who went 7-0 with a 1.47 ERA (8 ER in 49.0 IP) in 8 career starts vs. Miami.
Zack’s 30 career wins in Interleague play rank 2nd among active pitchers behind Justin Verlander (39), but he’s winless (0-2) in his last 8 Interleague starts, since a 7-4 win vs. San Diego (with Houston) two years ago on May 30, 2021, in which he allowed just 1 run over 8.0 innings.
Zack is one of 16 active pitchers who have started a game vs. the Florida Marlins (1993-2011).
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 23 road starts since, he’s 0-12 with a 5.77 ERA (74 ER in 115.1 IP), despite holding opponents to 3 earned runs or fewer in 15 of 23 starts… he’s allowed 2 runs or fewer in each of his last 3 road starts, in which he owns a 2.30 ERA (4 ER in 15.2 IP) and .182 opponents’ average (10-for-55).
MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
No team release available.
