KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
TRACK MEET AT THE TROP: The Royals recorded 7 stolen bases in a thrilling, 6-5 win over the Rays last night in Matt Quatraro’s return to Tropicana Field…with the game tied at 2-2 in the 7th inning, Drew Waters hit a go-ahead home run, but the Rays responded with 3 runs in the bottom half off Taylor Clarke to give the home team a 5-3 advantage…Waters played the role of hero again in the 8th, when his 2-out, 2-strike single drove in a pair of runs to tie the game vs. former Royal Jason Adam…still tied 5-5 in the 9th, Maikel Garcia walked to begin the inning, then stole second and third base…after Pete Fairbanks struck out Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, MJ Melendez slid safely into first base on an infield single to drive in the game-winning run.
The Royals scored 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks vs. starter Shane McClanahan before he exited after 3.2 innings with mid-back tightness, marking their 1st win vs. a left-handed starting pitcher since June 4 vs. Colorado’s Kyle Freeland, snapping a 7-game losing streak in games started by an opposing southpaw.
The Royals won a series-opening game for the first time since May 29 in St. Louis, snapping a six-series skid.
ROSTER MOVE: The Royals today placed Matt Beaty on the 7-day Concussion IL retroactive to June 22…Nate Eaton has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take Beaty’s spot, his fourth stint with the Royals this season.
COMEBACK KIDS: The Royals overcame a 5-3 deficit in the 8th inning last night to mark their 8th comeback win of the season and their 1st on the road since April 29 at Minnesota…their 8 comeback wins are 2 fewer than any other team in the Majors, and last night’s thriller came against the Rays, whose 12 blown lead losses are the 3rd fewest in the Majors…the Royals have scored 2 comeback wins in their last 6 games—including overcoming a 6-run deficit vs. the Angels last Saturday—after not recording a comeback victory in their previous 15 games.
Last night was Kansas City’s 5th win when trailing at the end of the 7th inning, 1 behind Boston, Cleveland and Minnesota (6 each) for the American League lead…it as also the Royals 6th win when tied at the and of the 8th inning, which is tied for the 2nd-most such wins in the Majors, 1 behind Oakland (7).
THE RUNNING ROYALS: The Royals last night recorded 7 stolen bases by four different players for just the seventh time in franchise history and the first time since the 2014 Wild Card Game vs. Oakland, when the Royals matched a single-game postseason record with 7 steals…oddly enough, only Maikel Garcia’s steals of second and third in the 9th inning last night led to a run, and it proved to be the difference in the game.
Last night was the 5th game this season in which a team recorded at least 7 stolen bases—including 2 by the Rays—something that hadn’t happened in a single game in the previous five seasons from 2018-22.
The Royals 6 regular season games with 7 steals are tied for 4th most in the Divisional Era (since 1969).
Garcia and MJ Melendez pulled off a double steal in the 1st inning last night to mark Kansas City’s 3rd double steal of the season—1st on the road—following June 12 vs. the Reds and May 26 vs. the Nationals.
Garcia had a team-high 3 steals last night, becoming the second Royal with a 3-steal game this season, following Bobby Witt Jr. on April 12 at Texas…the Royals are the only team to have two different players record a 3-steal game this season, although former Royal Whit Merrifield has 2 such games with Toronto.
Garcia is the fourth Royals rookie (5th time) with a 3-steal game and the first since Chris Stynes in 1996.
Thanks to last night’s 7-steal effort, the Royals rank tied for 3rd in the American League with 60 steals, trailing the Rays (96) and A’s (77)…Witt Jr. leads the team with 22 steals, which are tied with Corbin Carroll for the 4th most in the Majors behind Esteury Ruiz (39), Ronald Acuña Jr. (32) and Wander Franco (24).
WHAT A RELIEF!: After opener Jose Cuas allowed 2 runs in 1.1 innings last night, six different relievers combined to allow just 3 runs over 7.2 innings with 12 strikeouts, matching the 2nd-highest single game total by the bullpen in franchise history, trailing only the 16 strikeouts Royals relievers recorded over 7.2 innings on Opening Day in 2021 vs. Texas…Kansas City’s bullpen has recorded a 10.2 K/9 this season, which ranks 4th in the Majors—a big improvement over last season, when Royals relievers ranked 21st in the Majors with an 8.5 K/9.
Austin Cox continued his run of dominance last night with 3.2 scoreless innings as the bulk pitcher, and has now recorded 12.1 scoreless innings over 6 appearances since making his Majors debut on May 4… the soft liner at 76.3 mph off the bat of Yandy Díaz in the 5th inning last night was the 1st hit allowed by Cox, snapping a streak of 39 batters faced without allowing a hit to begin his career, the longest such streak in the Expansion Era (since 1961), according to Elias…Cox’s 11.1 hitless innings to begin his career is also an Expansion Era-record, and no other pitcher has had even 10.0 hitless innings to begin a career.
ARMS IN THE OUTFIELD: Drew Waters and Dairon Blanco each recorded their 1st outfield assists of the season last night, throwing out runners at third base in a 1-run win…they became the seventh and eighth different Royals to record an outfield assist this season, and Kansas City’s 16 outfield assists as a team are tied with Detroit for the most in the Majors…the Royals had 22 outfield assists all of last season, which tied for 16th.
CLOSE CALLS: The Royals last night won their 3rd consecutive game decided by 1 run—all within the club’s last 6 games—after losing 4 straight decided by 1 run from May 30-June 13…the Royals are now 10-9 (.526) in 1-run games this season, which is the 5th-best record in the American League behind Toronto (12-6), Baltimore (12-8), Detroit (11-9) and Los Angeles (12-10)…this marks an improvement over last season, when the Royals went 16-20 (.444) in 1-run games, which ranked 22nd in the Majors and 11th in the American League.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Royals have split their last 6 games on the heels of a season-high 10-game losing streak, during which they went 10-for-69 (.145) with runners in scoring position…the offense has flipped the script since, batting .321 (18-for-56) in scoring situations over their last 6 games, including 4 such hits last night.
Maikel Garcia is batting .287 (43-for-150) in 42 games since his May 2 recall, and has recorded at least 1 hit and 1 run in each of his last 6 games, a stretch in which he’s batting .440 (11-for-25) with 8 runs.
ROYALS ON THE MEND: The Royals have a season-high 13 players on the Injured List—including seven who were on the Opening Day roster—which are the 2nd most in the Majors as of this morning, according to Spotrac, trailing only the Dodgers (15)…Kansas City’s 13 current 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.
Left hander Amir Garrett made his 1st rehab appearance last night with Triple-A Omaha, and issued 3 walks to the five batters he faced, but recorded 2 outs and was not charged with a run…Garrett has been on the Injured List since June 2 with left elbow valgus extension overload.
Kyle Isbel went 1-for-4 with a walk last night while playing all 9.0 innings in center field, and is batting .300 (6-for-20) with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts in 6 rehab games with Triple-A Omaha…Kansas City’s Opening Day center fielder suffered a strained left hamstring seven weeks ago.
Outfielder Diego Hernandez went 3-for-4 with a 3-run home run while playing 7.0 innings in center field in his 2nd rehab game last night in the Arizona Complex League…he has been on the 60-day Injured List since March 30 after he suffered a dislocated right shoulder in Spring Training.
Ryan Yarbrough began a rehab assignment on Monday with the Arizona Complex League, and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits in 3.0 innings in his first action since being hit in the head by a comebacker on May 7…Yarbs appeared in 10 of the Royals 35 games (including 3 starts) before the injury.
Vinnie Pasquantino had successful surgery Wednesday to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and is expected to miss the rest of the year
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP ZACK GREINKE (1-7, 4.81 ERA)
ZACK GREINKE is making his 16th start of the season and 530th of his career tonight vs. the Rays, matching Hall of Famer Eddie Plank (1901-17) for 35th place on the
all-time starts list…it’s his 16th career start (19th appearance) vs. Tampa Bay and his 13th start since the Rays dropped “Devil” from their name before the 2008 season.
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.
LAST START: Greinke suffered his 7th loss of the season in Kansas City’s 5-2 defeat to the Angels last Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, in which he was charged with 4 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk in 5.0 innings, with 4 strikeouts…he retired nine of his first 11 batters, but eight of his last 13 batters reached base, including 7 hits… Zack allowed 3 straight hits to open the 4th inning—including an RBI single by Brandon Drury—but escaped the frame in a 1-1 tie…he surrendered a leadoff double in the 5th, followed by back-to-back home runs to Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on consecutive pitches, after which he retired his final three Angels in order.
The Royals are 3-12 in Zack’s 15 starts, including 7 consecutive losses.
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 10 walks to the 316 batters he’s faced through 15 starts (76.2 IP) for a 1.2 BB/9 and 3.2 BB%, both of which rank 2nd in the Majors behind Seattle’s George Kirby…after issuing a season-high 2 walks in 3.2 innings on April 27 at Minnesota, he’s issued only 4 walks to 181 batters over his last 9 starts (45.2 IP), and the free pass he issued to Mike Trout last Sunday was his 1st since a walk to Nolan Arenado on May 30, snapping a run of 54 batters.
He has had 13 starts this season in which he has issued 1 walk or fewer, which are 2 more than Kirby and Joe Ryan for the most in the Majors…the Royals have 32 such starts this season, tied with Houston for 4th most in the Majors.
Zack’s 9 straight starts with 1 walk or fewer matches the longest such streak of his career, previously done from Sept. 19, 2021-May 18, 2022…it’s the 2ndlongest streak in the Majors this season, trailing Kirby’s active streak of 14 starts.
Greinke’s 6.81 K/9 rate is the 9th lowest among 65 qualified pitchers this season, but thanks to his 1.2 BB/9, his K/BB ratio of 5.8 ranks 4th in the Majors behind Kirby (12.5), Ryan (6.7) and Braxton Garrett (6.4).
JUNE SWOON: After recording a 2.30 ERA (8 ER in 31.1 IP) with 3 HR allowed in 6 May starts, Greinke has yielded a 7.53 ERA (12 ER in 14.1 IP) and 4 HR in 3 starts this month…June has historically been his worst month in terms of ERA, as his 3.79 mark is his highest in any month (excluding March), but his 42 wins in June are his most, ahead of his 41 wins in both August and September…one year ago tomorrow— on June 24, 2022—Zack returned from a month-long stint on the Injured List and from that point on, he posted a 2.85 ERA (27 ER in 85.1 IP) over his final 16 starts.
SEEKING SUPPORT: The Royals offense has scored just 24 runs in Greinke’s 76.2 innings this season for a 2.82 run support average, which is the lowest mark among all qualified pitchers…the Royals have supported Zack with 1 or 0 runs in 9 of his 15 starts, and have supported him with a total of 6 runs over his last 6 starts (30.0 IP)…run support has been an issue for Zack since he returned to Kansas City last season…he’s won just 5 of his 41 starts since the start of last year, despite pitching to a 4.09 ERA (97 ER in 213.2 IP).
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
MOVING ON — Despite leading 2-0 after the first inning and 5-3 after the seventh frame, Tampa Bay was unable to close out yesterday’s series opener vs. Kansas City, dropping the contest, 6-5…LHP Shane McClanahan (3.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 3SO) was removed from the contest in the fourth inning due to mid-back tightness…1B Yandy Díaz (3-for-5, 2R) tallied his team-leading eighth three-hit game while LF Randy Arozarena (3-for-5, 3RBI) recorded his club-best seventh game with 3+ RBI.
Prior to last night’s loss, Tampa Bay was 43-1 when leading after seven innings.
After starting the season 12-0 in home series openers, the Rays have dropped each of their last two.
Tampa Bay allowed a franchise-high-tying seven stolen bases, matching the seven steals allowed on 8/6/11 vs. Oakland.
RANDY LAND — Randy Arozarena has a 31-game on-base streak at Tropicana Field dating back to 4/12, the longest active home on-base streak in the majors ahead of COL Jurickson Profar (30G)…during the streak, he is slashing .301/.455/.591 (28-for-93) with four doubles, one triple, seven homers, 22 RBI, eight hit-by-pitches and 20 walks.
It ties the third-longest overall home on-base streak in Rays history and marks the third-longest single-season streak in club history behind Ben Zobrist (37G, 5/2- 7/28, 2009) and Evan Longoria (34G, 4/6-6/22, 2010).
Bally Sports Sun play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats and color analyst Brian Anderson will call tonight’s game in the sections behind the left field wall, joining fans for the night in Randy Land.
WALK IT OUT — Isaac Paredes has drawn at least one walk in a career-best six straight games…it is tied with Randy Arozarena (5/16-21) for the longest such streak by Tampa Bay batter this season…Paredes’ current streak is the second-longest active run in the majors, trailing only CIN Will Benson (7G).
Paredes has drawn 15 walks in 18 games this month, tied for the second-most free passes by an AL batter in June behind LAA Mike Trout (16BB).
Tampa Bay leads all AL clubs this season with 263 walks…last season, the Rays drew 222 free passes through their first 78 games, which ranked ninth among AL clubs.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE — Tampa Bay is 12-2 (.857) against the AL Central, recording a +48 (93-45) run differential…it marks the best winning pct. against the division by any team in the majors, ahead of Atlanta and Philadelphia (both 5-1, .833)…the Rays opened the year with a nine-game winning streak against the division, tying their longest streak against the AL Central in club history (also: 6/29-7/11, 2013)…prior to last night’s defeat, Tampa Bay had won 11 straight home games over AL Central foes dating back to 8/20/22, the longest such streak in Rays history.
The Rays lead the AL in homers (29), slugging pct. (.521), OPS (.860) and run differential (+48) against the AL Central.
Yandy Díaz is slashing .447/.523/.684 (17-for-38) with three doubles, two homers, 6 RBI and six walks in 11 games vs. AL Central opponents this year…min. 35 PA, he ranks among all MLB hitters against the AL Central in AVG (1st) and OBP (2nd).
Luke Raley is 11-for-36 (.306) with one double, two triples, 5 HR and 12 RBI in 12 games against the AL Central this season.
THE BOYS OF SUMMER — Rays pitching ranks among league leaders in several categories during the month of June, including opp. average (1st, .201), opp. SLG (1st, .344), hits per 9.0 IP (1st, 6.53), pct. of inherited runners scored (1st, 10.7%), fewest total bases against (1st, 211), ERA (2nd, 3.17) and opp. OPS (2nd, .624).
Luke Raley is batting .362 (17-for-47) with five doubles, two triples, two homers and 6 RBI in 13 June games…he ranks among AL leaders (min. 40PA) in OPS (5th, 1.069), AVG (5th) SLG (6th, .681) and extra-base hits (T9th, 9) during June.
Harold Ramírez is slashing .326/.390/.478 (15-for-46) with four doubles, one homer and 8 RBI in 14 games this month.
Francisco Mejía has turned in a .355/.375/.677 (11-for-31) line with four doubles, two homers and 6 RBI in nine June games.
Isaac Paredes ranks third in the AL with a .438 OBP during June, trailing LAA Shohei Ohtani (.466) and TEX Corey Seager (.466) while his 1.004 OPS is fourth.
COUNT ON KEVIN — RHP Kevin Kelly has strung together a 13.1 scoreless inning streak over his last 16 appearances dating back to 5/14…it is the second-longest active streak among AL relievers — TEX Josh Sborz (14.0) has the longest streak…Kelly has held opponents to a .136 AVG (6-for-44) during the run.
CROWNS CAPSULE — The Rays and Royals continue their seven-game season series tonight at Tropicana Field…since a 10-game winning streak from 8/30/17 – 4/23/19, Tampa Bay is 10-9 over its last 19 meetings with Kansas City…the Rays have won each of the last four season series since 2018 (did not meet in 2020), the longest streak in club history.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP ZACH EFLIN (8-3, 3.26)
TONIGHT’S START — The righty makes his 14th start of the season, including his eighth at home…has taken the loss in each of his last two outings, recording a 5.06 ERA (10.2IP, 6ER) while allowing opponents to bat .400 (4-for-10) with RISP…the Rays are 10-3 overall in his starts, including 7-0 at Tropicana Field…ranks among the AL’s home leaders (min. 40.0IP) in wins (1st, 7), ERA (1st, 1.85) and WHIP (3rd, .080).
LAST TIME OUT — Fell to 8-3 on the season despite registering his seventh quality start in Tampa Bay’s 2-0 defeat at San Diego’s Petco Park on 6/17 (6.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 5SO)…Eflin held the Padres scoreless until the fifth inning, when back-to-back bunt hits preceded a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single…he matched a season high with two walks in the outing (5x, last: 5/25 vs. TOR) and has issued a walk in a season-high five straight starts, his longest single-season streak since 5/16-7/15, 2019 (10GS).
ROYAL AFFAIRS — Eflin has one start against Kansas City under his belt, tossing a shutout in a 7-0 Philadelphia win on 5/11/19 at Kauffman Stadium (9.0IP, 4H, 0R, 7SO)…it marked the fourth of his five career complete games, including his first against an AL opponent, and the second of his three career complete-game shutouts (also: 7/22/16 at PIT; 9/18/20 vs. TOR).
Has gone 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA (39.2IP/5ER) and a 0.73 WHIP in seven career games (6GS) against AL Central opponents, allowing one or zero runs in six of those outings…this includes a 3-0 mark and a 1.66 ERA (21.2IP, 4ER) in four starts this season, all Rays wins…in his career, Eflin has held AL Central hitters to a .177/.216/.277 (25-for141) slash line with 37 strikeouts against four walks (9.25 SO/BB).
Eflin’s lifetime 1.13 ERA against the AL Central is the lowest against the division among active starters (min. 5GS), ahead of teammate Jeffrey Springs (1.48) and STL Miles Mikolas (1.56).
NO PLACE LIKE HOME — Eflin has earned the win in each of his first seven home starts to open the season, producing a 1.85 ERA (43.2IP, 9ER) in those games…it marks the most consecutive home starts with a win at any point of a season in his career, surpassing a six-start run from 6/5-7/3, 2018…it also marks the longest streak in Rays history, ahead of six pitchers tied at five straight starts (last: Shane McClanahan – 5/17-6/9, 2022).
The last pitcher to earn a win in each of their first seven home starts was TEX Yu Darvish (7GS) in 2012…the last hurler with a longer streak to open a season was STL Adam Wainwright (10GS) in 2010.
Eflin’s 1.85 ERA at Tropicana Field is the lowest through a pitcher’s first seven home starts with the Rays in club history, ahead of Chris Archer (2.30, 9/8/12-7/14/13).
He ranks among major league leaders (min. 40.0IP) in several categories at home, including ERA (1st, 1.85), wins (T1st, 7), SO/BB ratio (2nd, 10.75), opp. OBP (2nd, .216), WHIP (3rd, 0.80), opp. OPS (6th, .514) and opp. SLG (7th, .297).
AHEAD OF THE CURVE — Eflin’s curveball has induced a 36.6 pct. whiff rate, third-best on any AL pitcher’s curve (min. 250 curveballs thrown) behind DET Alex Lange (48.8%) and HOU Framber Valdez (38.2%)…his 28.0 pct. putaway percentage (pct. of two-strike pitches resulting in a strikeout) ranks third under the same parameters, trailing Lange (30.2%) and NYY Domingo Germán (29.5%).
QUALITY CONTROL — Eflin’s 5.92 SO/BB ratio is fourth best in the majors (min. 75.0IP), trailing SEA George Kirby (12.50), MIN Joe Ryan (6.67) and MIA Braxton Garrett (6.43)…he joins Kirby (75SO, 6BB) as the only pitchers in MLB with 75+ strikeouts and 13 or fewer walks.
Eflin has walked two or fewer batters in each of his last 16 starts since 6/14/22, the second-longest streak of his career (longest: 33GS, 8/29/20-6/3/22)…overall, the righty has issued two or fewer walks in 49 of his last 50 starts dating back to 8/29/2020.
Since the beginning of 2021, his 4.2 pct. walk rate is the lowest in the majors (min. 1,000BF), outpacing tonight’s Royals starter, Zack Greinke (4.6%)…however, he has a 6.7 pct. walk rate in his last five starts since 5/25 (2.7% in first 8GS of 2023).
NO-FLY ZONE — Since allowing multiple homers in consecutive starts from 5/13-20 for the first time since 8/13-18, 2017, Eflin has not allowed a home run over his last five starts, pitching to a 2.97 ERA (30.1IP, 10ER) in that span…overall, he has not permitted a long ball in his last 33.1 innings, the fifth-longest active streak among MLB starters.
