KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
MISFORTUNE IN MINNESOTA: The Royals suffered a 9-3 loss to the Twins yesterday, falling to 0-2 on this 7-game road trip that will end the 1st half…Zack Greinke was tagged for 6 runs on 7 hits—including 3 home runs—in 5.1 innings, and exited in the 6th with right shoulder discomfort…on offense, the Royals were held to 5 hits, including Bobby Witt Jr.’s 2-run blast in the 4th, but they did not register an at-bat with a runner in scoring position for the second time this season, following May 19 at the White Sox, when they were shut out on 1 hit.
ROSTER MOVES: The Royals announced today that right hander Zack Greinke has been placed on the 15- day Injured List with right shoulder tendinitis after exiting yesterday’s game in the 6th inning with shoulder discomfort…in a corresponding move, the Royals recalled right hander Dylan Coleman from Triple-A Omaha.
Coleman made the Opening Day roster but was optioned on April 13 after allowing 10 runs on 7 hits and 7 walks in 5.0 innings…in 20 appearances with Omaha, he’s pitched to a 4.26 ERA (9 ER in 19.0 IP) with 22 walks (10.4 BB/9) and 34 strikeouts (16.1 K/9)…he last pitched on Monday, throwing 5 pitches.
LEADS LOST: The Royals held an early lead Monday night on Maikel Garcia’s leadoff home run, but gave it right back on Byron Buxton’s sacrifice fly in the bottom half…the Royals tied the game twice after that but never led again, as the 8-4 defeat marked their Major League-most 30th blown lead loss of the season, ahead of the White Sox (28), Athletics (27) and Cardinals (26)…the Royals have held a lead in 40 of their last 57 games (70.2%) since the start of May, but they’re 18-39 (.316) during that stretch with 22 blown lead losses.
The Royals 30 blown lead losses are 6 shy of their total from all of last season, when they suffered 36 blown lead losses, and are 23 shy of the franchise record of 53, set during their 103-loss 2019 season.
They are 6-22 when scoring in the 1st inning and have lost 12 of their last 13 games when scoring in the 1st.
MY KIND OF PLAYER: Maikel Garcia went 1-for-4 last night and scored 2 of Kansas City’s 3 runs, extending his hit streak to 5 games, the last 4 of which have come from the leadoff spot…he’s batting .632 (12-for-19) over the last 5 games and has reached safely in 14 of 22 plate appearances for a .667 on-base percentage.
After starting the season 14-for-61 (.230) through 17 games, Garcia is batting .328 (43-for-131) in his last 36 games since May 23, which marks the 3rd-best batting average in the American League during that time, behind only Josh Naylor (.370) and Corey Seager (.342)…despite not making his season debut until May 2, his 16 multi-hit games rank 3rd on the team behind Bobby Witt Jr. (25) and Salvador Perez (21).
SERIES SPEAKING: Last night’s loss dropped Kansas City to 4-22-2 in series play this season, including 2-10-2 on the road…they had a run of 12 consecutive winless series from May 19-June 29—in which they lost 10 sets and split two—to match the 2nd-longest run of winless series within the same season in franchise history, according to Elias, trailing only a streak of 16 winless series from April 15-June 9, 2019…their recent run of 12 straight winless sets was snapped last weekend when the Royals took 2 of 3 from the Dodgers to mark their first winning set since May 15-17, when they won 2 of 3 in San Diego…last night’s loss also clinched Kansas City’s fifth straight losing series at Target Field, a stretch in which they’ve lost four sets and split one.
REHABBING ROYALS: The Royals have had 17 players spend time on the Injured List, including 10 players who are currently on it, five of whom were on the Opening Day roster…their 10 current injuries include eight pitchers—six of which have made at least 1 start—and one position player who was in the lineup on Opening Day.
Ryan Yarbrough continued his rehab assignment last night with Triple-A Omaha and allowed just 3 hits and 1 walk over 6.0 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts…through 4 rehab starts (including 3 with Omaha), Yarbrough has pitched to a 2.55 ERA (5 ER in 17.2 IP) with 2 walks allowed and 20 strikeouts…it’s now been more than eight weeks since he was struck in the head by a comebacker on May 7 vs. the A’s.
Angel Zerpa continued his rehab assignment Monday night with Triple-A Omaha and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4.1 innings, with 7 strikeouts…Zerpa, who was placed on the 60-day Injured List on March 15 with left shoulder tendinopathy, has a 3.78 ERA (7 ER in 16.2 IP) in 5 rehab starts (2 with Omaha).
Brad Keller made his 2nd rehab appearance (1st start) with Omaha on Sunday and allowed 1 hit and 3 walks over 2.0 scoreless innings…he was placed on the 15-day IL on May 19 with a right shoulder impingement.
PACE OF PLAY: Kansas City’s average game time of 2 hours, 37 minutes is just 1 minute shy of matching the Marlins and Rays (2:36) for the fastest average in the Majors this season…the Royals current average would be their fastest in a single season since 1984, when they averaged 2 hours, 36 minutes…the leaguewide average for 9.0 inning games this season is 2 hours, 38 minutes, 26 minutes faster than last season’s average of 3 hours, 4 minutes.
DUAL THREAT: Bobby Witt Jr. ranks 4th in the Majors this season with 25 stolen bases, which trail only Esteury Ruiz (42), Ronald Acuña Jr. (41) and Wander Franco (27)…he’s the first Royals player to reach 25 steals before the All-Star break since Adalberto Mondesi had 28 at the break in 2019…but Bobby also has 13 home runs, and that combination of homers and steals is matched by only one other player this season: Acuña Jr. (21 HR)…in fact, Witt Jr. is only the second player in Royals history with that combination (13 HR, 25 SB) before the break, joining Royals Hall of Famer Amos Otis, who had 14 homers and 27 steals at the break in 1971, a season in which he was an All-Star and finished 8th in the MVP voting.
Witt Jr. is only the fourth player since 1901 to record at least 13 HR and 25 steals before the break in his age-23 season (or younger), following Hanley Ramírez, who did it in 2007, César Cedeño, who did it in three straight seasons from 1972-74 and Bobby Bonds, who did it in 1969.
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP ALEC MARSH (0-1, 11.25)
ALEC MARSH is making his 2nd career start tonight vs. the Twins…he was selected by the Royals in the 2nd round of the 2019 Draft out of Arizona State University.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Marsh last Friday became the fourth Royal to make his Major League debut this year—and the second to do so on the last homestand— following right-handed pitcher James McArthur, who debuted a week ago tonight vs. Cleveland, infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor, who made his debut on June 17 vs. the Angels and left hander Austin Cox, who debuted on May 4 vs. the Orioles.
He became the 15th different starting pitcher the Royals have employed this season, which broke a tie with the Rays for the most starters used by any team this season…their 15 different starters are the most by any Royals team since the 2006 club used a franchise-record 17 different starting pitchers.
Alec also became the first Royals pitcher to start in his Major League debut since Angel Zerpa started his debut on Sept. 30, 2021 against the Guardians.
BETT-ER DAYS AHEAD: Alec opposed the Dodgers in his Majors debut last Friday night at Kauffman Stadium and he suffered the loss after allowing 5 runs on 6 hits—including 2 home runs from Mookie Betts—in 4.0 innings (plus 2 batters)… he surrendered 10 baserunners in those 4.0 frames, and half of the 6 hits he allowed were to Betts, while the rest of the Dodgers lineup went just 3-for-15 against him…Betts hit a leadoff home run in the 1st inning, a 1-out homer in the 3rd and he capped the scoring in Los Angeles’ 2-run, 37-pitch 4th with a 2-out RBI single…Marsh yielded a triple and a walk to begin the 5th inning and exited in favor of Amir Garrett, who allowed 1 inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly.
He recorded 5 strikeouts, which were the most by a Royal in his Major League debut since Brady Singer had 7 strikeouts in his debut on July 25, 2020.
MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: After completing their nine-game, 10-day road-trip with a record of 4-5 (2-1 in Detroit, 0-3 in Atlanta and 2-1 in Baltimore), the Twins began their six-game, seven-day homestand with consecutive wins over the Royals…tonight, the Twins and Royals will play the three-game series finale…Minnesota will enjoy an off-day tomorrow then wrap the pre-ASG portion of their schedule with a three-game series vs. Baltimore over the weekend…the Twins have gone 25-19 at home and 19-24 on the road.
KING KENTA, ROYALTY: The Twins beat the Royals yesterday afternoon at Target Field by a score of 9-3, securing the series win, their 13th of the season (13-12-3)…Kenta Maeda (2-5) was the starter and winner, allowing two runs (1 earned) on three hits in a season-high 7.0 innings pitched, his most since July 22, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL (also 7.0)…he also walked just one and tied a season-high with nine strikeouts…the offense recorded 10 hits, three from both Donovan Solano and Byron Buxton…Buxton tied Joey Gallo for team-lead in home runs with his 15th, while Kepler hit his 12th and drove in four runs on the day.
SANDS TIME: The Twins have returned right-handed pitcher Cole Sands from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 15-day Injured List…Sands, who missed the last 31 games with right shoulder impingement, appeared in two games on rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul, pitching 3.0 scoreless innings with one hit allowed, one walk and six strikeouts… prior to being placed on the Injured List on June 4, Sands appeared in seven games for the Twins, posting a 0.73 ERA (12.1 IP, 1 ER) with seven walks and 13 strikeouts…to make room for Sands on the 26-man roster, the Twins have optioned right-handed pitcher Josh Winder to St. Paul…Winder made one appearance during his most recent stint with Minnesota, pitching 1.0 scoreless inning with one walk and one strikeout on June 26 at Atlanta.
TWINS-ROYALS: The Twins and Royals are playing the 10th of 13 scheduled meetings in 2023… through nine games, the Twins have gone 8-1 and outscored the Royals 53-25…the next meeting between these two will be a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium from July 28-30.
Twins have scored 5.9 runs-per-game this season vs. the Royals and 7.0 in their last seven.
The Twins are 20-6 in their last 26 against KC since April 21, 2022, including a record of 13-3 at Target Field in that span…in fact, the Twins’ 20 wins vs. KC since the start of 2022 is their most wins vs. any opponent in that span.
Since the start of last season, Twins starters have gone 14-4, 2.47 ERA (149.2 IP, 41 ER) with 35 walks, 144 strikeouts and a .199 opponent batting average vs. KC.
Twins have a +54 run differential vs. KC since the start of 2022, outscoring them 138-84.
Carlos Correa is hitting .338 (49-for-145) with seven doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBI, 21 walks, a .422 on-base percentage and a .953 OPS in 38 games against the Royals since ‘19.
Byron Buxton is hitting .340 (35-for-103) with 10 doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBI, 27 runs scored and a 1.043 OPS in his last 25 games against the Royals…in nine games this season, he is 14-for-35 and slashing .400/.425/.886.
FIVE STARS: The Twins have won four of their last five games…below are the hitting and pitching numbers over the last five since the Baltimore series started on
June 30: AVG R H 2B 3B HR BB K OBP SLG OPS
BATTING .291 27 50 8 0 8 13 42 .351 .477 .828
W L S IP H ER HR BB K ERA BAA
PITCHING 4 1 1 44.0 26 9 4 11 49 1.84 .168
ADDITIONALLY: The Twins are hitting .378 (14-for-37) with runners in scoring position in their last five after finishing the series in Atlanta 0-for-23 from June 26-28.
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM: The Twins are seeking their third sweep of the season today… their previous two sweeps were March 30-April 2 at Kansas City (3 games) and June 13-14 vs. Milwaukee (2 games)…last season, they swept opponents eight times, all in three games.
Minnesota attempted the sweep of Baltimore last weekend, but lost game three…they are 2-4 in series finales when there’s an opportunity to sweep.
Since 2017, the Twins have swept the Royals nine times in 25 chances, their most sweeps of one opponent in that span.
MAX EFFORT: Max Kepler is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with five home runs, 12 RBI, seven runs scored, four walks, a .400 on-base percentage, a .707 slugging percentage and a 1.107 OPS in his last 14 games…yesterday’s home run was the 141st of his career, tying Michael Cuddyer for 13th on the Twins all-time list (since 1961):
TWIN HR TWIN HR TWIN HR
1) Harmon Killebrew……….475 8) Gary Gaetti ………………..201 15) Jacque Jones………… 132
2) Kent Hrbek………………..293 9) Brian Dozier……………….167 16) Eddie Rosario………. 119
3) Justin Morneau…………..221 10) Tom Brunansky…………163 17) Byron Buxton………. 113
4) Tony Oliva………………….220 11) Miguel Sanó……………..162 18) Roy Smalley…………. 110
5) Torii Hunter ……………….214 12) Joe Mauer ………………..143 19) Jason Kubel …………. 105
6) Bob Allison………………..211 13) Max Kepler………………141 20) Jorge Polanco……… 103
7) Kirby Puckett……………..207 Michael Cuddyer……….141 21) Corey Koskie………… 101
I AM NUMBER ONE: Carlos Correa went 1-for-5 yesterday, singling in the third inning for his 1,000th career hit, becoming the 57th active player to reach that mark…Correa is leading off tonight for the sixth-consecutive game…he has led off each of the last five games, hitting safely in all five, going 9-for-22 (.409) with two doubles, a .435 on-base percentage and a .935 OPS.
DONNIE BARRELS: Since June 1, Donovan Solano has posted a .404 on-base percentage in 29 games, reaching 40 times in 99 plate appearances (23 hits, 15 walks, 2 HBP)…in 37 home games this season, he is hitting .324 (33-for-102) with 15 walks, a .420 on-base percentage and an .871 OPS…his home OBP ranks third in the AL (minimum 100 plate appearances) and his batting average ranks ninth.
IT’S JORGE DAY!: Jorge Polanco is celebrating his 30th birthday today…Polanco is currently on the 10-day Injured List, missing the last 24 games with a left hamstring strain…he shares a birthday with former Twin Jesse Crain (42) and LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (29).
STARTING PITCHER – PABLO LóPEZ 49
2023: 4-5, 4.24 ERA CAREER: 32-36, 3.99 ERA
Making his 18th start and appearance and ninth home start of 2023…also his 112th career appearance (all starts) in his sixth major league season (Miami – 2018-22).
Facing Kansas City for the third time this season and fourth time in his career; is 2-1, 4.08 ERA (17.2 IP, 8 ER) with four walks and 21 strikeouts in three career starts vs. the Royals.
Acquired by the Twins from Miami on January 20, 2023, along with infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio, in exchange for infielder/outfielder Luis Arraez.
LAST TIME OUT: Earned his first win in his last six starts in the Twins’ 8-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on June 30 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards…recorded his 10th quality start of the season, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing one run on three hits (1 HR), with three walks and six strikeouts… escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the second inning by retiring centerfielder Cedric Mullins on a flyout…retired 10-consecutive batters from the second through the fifth innings… allowed a solo home run to designated hitter Adley Rutschman to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, then struck out the side to complete his outing…was relieved by Jovani Moran to start the bottom of the eighth with Minnesota leading 8-1; Twins’ offense scored eight runs on 13 hits to win the series opener.
Posted a scoreless first inning; has held his opponent scoreless in the first inning in six-straight starts and nine of his last 11 starts after doing so only twice in his first six starts of 2023.
Received eight runs of support, his most in a road start this year and tied with his start on April 28 vs. Kansas City for the most run support he has received in any start in 2023.
Through 17 starts this season, López is among the American League leaders in several statistical categories, including strikeouts (126 – 3rd), FIP (3.38 – 9th), innings pitched (102.0 – 10th) and opponent OPS (.662 – 15th).
TWO STARTS AGO: Recorded his ninth quality start of the season but took the loss on June 24 against
the Detroit Tigers in a 3-2 Twins’ defeat at Comerica Park…went 6.0 innings and allowed three runs
on seven hits (all singles), with one walk and a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts…allowed all three
runs in the bottom of the second inning on four singles and one walk, with catcher Eric Haase and
right-fielder Zach McKinstry each recording RBI hits…after McKinstry’s two-run single, he retired 15
of the final 17 batters he faced, allowing just two singles and striking out eight during the span…
was relieved by Emilio Pagán to start the bottom of the seventh with the Twins trailing 3-2…Min- nesota’s offense left eight men on base and struck out 13 times in the one-run loss, which evened
the three-game series 1-1.
Recorded a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts, also doing so on April 11 vs. Chicago-AL…was one short of his career high of 11, done twice previously (May 13, 2022 vs. Milwaukee, July 26, 2022 at Cincinnati).
ROLLING VS. THE ROYALS: López has won each of his two starts against Kansas City this season, going 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA (11.1 IP, 6 ER), four walks and 15 strikeouts in those outings…beat the Royals on Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium, pitching 5.1 shutout innings with two hits allowed, three walks and eight strikeouts in the Twins’ 2-0 win on March 30…defeated Kansas City again on April 28 at Target Field in Minnesota’s 8-6 win, going 6.0 innings and allowing six runs on eight hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts…tonight is his fourth career start against the Royals, going 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA (17.2 IP, 8 ER), four walks and 21 strikeouts in his three previous starts.
In eight career starts against American League Central division opponents (KC – 3, CLE – 2, CWS – 2, DET – 1), he is 3-2, 3.75 ERA (50.1 IP, 21 ER) with 10 walks and 60 strikeouts.
GETTING HELP AT HOME: Making his ninth home start of 2023 tonight…is 2-2, 5.94 ERA (47.0 IP, 31
ER) with 16 walks and 60 strikeouts in eight starts at Target Field this season…despite owning the
highest home ERA among qualified American League pitchers in 2023, the Twins have gone 6-2 in
his eight home starts, with López receiving an average of 5.55 runs of support at Target Field this
year…looking for his first personal home victory since May 27 vs. Toronto (5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R/ER, 2 HR, 3
BB, 6 K)…has recorded seven quality starts in nine road outings this year, going 2-3, 2.78 ERA (55.0
IP, 17 ER) with 14 walks and 66 strikeouts; Twins have gone 3-6 in his nine road starts, with López
receiving an average of only 2.95 runs of support away from home.
AIs 16-17, 3.81 ERA (331.0 IP, 140 ER) with 95 walks and 328 strikeouts in 58 career home starts…in 53 career road starts, he is 16-19, 4.20 ERA (281.0 IP, 131 ER) with 77 walks and
287 strikeouts.
RIGHT ON: López has limited right-handed hitters to a .208 (43-for-207) batting average this sea- son…his 77 strikeouts against righties are tied with TOR’s Yusei Kikuchi for the sixth most in the American League this year, trailing only HOU’s Framber Valdez (92), LAA’s Reid Detmers (88), TB’s Shane McClanahan (87), TOR’s Kevin Gausman (87) and OAK’s JP Sears (78)…his .208 opponent batting average vs. righties this season ranks eighth in the AL (min. 10 GS)…left-handed hitters Are batting at a .250 (44-for-176) clip against him in 2023, going just 1-for-17 (.059) with five strikeouts against him in his last start on June 30 at Baltimore; the one hit was a solo home run by designated hitter Adley Rutschman in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Over his career, he has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.656 OPS) than left-handed hitters (.740 OPS)
