KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
TOUGH TERRITORY: The Royals suffered a 7-1 loss last night in Twins territory to mark their Majors-most 9th game this season in which they’ve scored 1 run or fewer…that run came on a 419-ft. homer off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino in the 4th, but it was not nearly enough to support starter Zack Greinke, who was tagged for a season-high 7 runs on 8 hits in a season-low 3.2 innings…the Royals were held to just 3 hits on offense and struck out 13 times for the 2nd straight game, and now have the 2nd-most strikeouts in the AL, trailing only the Twins.
Carlos Hernández saved the ‘pen with 2.1 scoreless innings on just 27 pitches and Josh Staumont and Jose Cuas followed with scoreless frames, as the trio of relievers combined for 4.1 scoreless innings on 2 hits.
ROSTER MOVE: The Royals announced prior to today’s game that infielder Nick Pratto has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha…it’s the second big league stint of the season for Pratto, who went 1-for-7 in 2 games from April 5-6…Pratto is batting only .159 (11-for-69) at Omaha, but 6 of his 11 hits have gone for extra bases.
In a corresponding move, Freddy Fermin has been optioned to Omaha after going 1-for-7 in 3 games.
WHAT A RELIEF: One of the few bright spots last night was the Royals bullpen, which allowed just 2 hits over 4.1 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts…in fact, the bullpen has been strong for most of this 2-5 road trip, during which Royals relievers have combined for a 3.29 ERA (10 ER in 27.1 IP) with 34 strikeouts (11.2 K/9)… the ‘pen has been even better over the last 5 games, a stretch in which Royals relievers own a 2.08 ERA (4 ER in 17.1 IP), .234 opponents’ average (15-for-64) with 24 strikeouts (12.5 K/9) and no home runs allowed.
After ranking 21st in the Majors last year with an 8.5 K/9, Royals relievers this season own a 10.6 K/9, which ranks 4th in the Majors behind the Cardinals (11.5), Cubs (10.9) and White Sox (10.8), and would set a franchise single-season record for the bullpen, whose current best K/9 came in 2020 (10.3).
PASQUATCH SIGHTING: Vinnie Pasquantino homered in the 4th inning last night to extend his on-base streak to 21 games, which is the 2nd-longest active streak in the American League, trailing only Yordan Alvarez (24)…this matches his career-best on-base streak previously done over 21 games from Sept. 15, 2022-April 1, 2023…he’s one of eight players in the Majors with a pair of 20-game on-base streaks since the start of last season, but he’s the only player in the Majors to have done both since last September…dating back to last Sept. 15, Vinnie has reached safely in 43 of his last 45 games, a stretch in which he ranks 2nd in the Majors (min. 150 PA) in on-base percentage (.426), 4th in batting average (.337) and 5th in OPS (.953).
Pasquantino has reached safely in 84 of his 98 career games (85.7%), 4th most in Royals history through 98 games, trailing only Kevin Seitzer and Carlos Beltrán (86 games) and Salvador Perez (85 games).
All 5 of Vinnie’s homers this season have come with 2 strikes, most in the American League and tied with the Dodgers James Outman for the 2nd most in the Majors, trailing only the Cubs Patrick Wisdom (6).
He hit .219 (23-for-105) through 29 career games following his late-June debut last season…but in 69 games since the start of last August, he’s been one of the best hitters in the league, ranking 4th in the Majors (min. 250 PA) in batting average (.322) and OPS (.935) and 5th in on-base percentage (.404).
VS. TWINS: Including last night’s loss, the Royals are 0-4 vs. the Twins this season and have not won at Target Field since May 28, 2022…they’ve lost 8 consecutive games here since, in which they’ve been outscored 44-11 (-33) while being held to 3 runs or fewer in all 8 games…it’s the Royals longest losing streak at Target Field since this ballpark opened in 2010, and it’s 1 game shy of their longest skid in Minnesota…they previously lost 9 consecutive games at the Metrodome three different times, from 2003-04, 1985-86 and 1982-83.
Since the start of last season, the Royals are 7-16 vs. the Twins and have been outscored 103-64 (-39).
The Royals and Twins will play 13 games in 2023 as part of the new balanced schedule…excluding 2020, the 13 games this year will be the fewest between these two teams in a single season since 2000 (12).
The Royals 413 wins and 448 losses vs. the Twins are both their most vs. any opponent…last season, the Royals went 7-12 vs. Minnesota to lose the season series vs. the Twins for the first time since 2019.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT: The Royals and Twins will play at 3:10 p.m. CT today to mark the 1st of 3 straight day games this weekend, including 1:10 p.m. CT starts tomorrow and Sunday…the Royals have played 12 day games out of 26 (46.2%) so far this season and are scheduled for 63 day games, which would mark the 3rd most in a single season in team history, trailing last season, when they played 69, and 2021, when they played 4.
ROAD WORK: The Royals are 5-8 on the road, including a 2-5 record on this trip, in which they’ve lost 2 of 3 against the Angels and D-backs and the series opener last night to the Twins…this trip began a stretch in which the Royals will play 26 games in 27 days through May 17…the only off day during this run will come on Monday, which sits between the end of this season-long three-city, 10-game trip and a season-long 10-game homestand.
APRIL SHOWERS: The month of April has not been kind to the Royals in recent years, and that trend has continued this season…including their Opening Day loss on March 30, the Royals are 6-20 through 26 games, matching the worst 26-game start in franchise history, previously done in 2018, 2006 and 1992…the schedule makers haven’t done the Royals any favors either, as their seven opponents to this point have a combined record of 101-78 (.564), and four of those seven teams have at least a share of 1st place in their division, including this weekend’s opponent, the 15-11 Twins, who own a 2.5-game lead in the American League Central.
Kansas City’s 20 losses are tied for its 2nd most in March/April, fewer only than its 21 losses in 2018.
ON DECK: Following this 4-game set in Minneapolis, the Royals will fly home Sunday night to enjoy an off day on Monday…that will be their only off day during a stretch of 27 days, which began on April 21 and will run through May 17…starting next Tuesday night, the Royals will begin a season-long, 10-game homestand, in which they’ll host the Orioles and Athletics for 3 games each, followed by a 4-game series with the White Sox.
PACE OF PLAY: There have been 356 9-inning games in the Majors this season, and the average game time has been 2 hours, 36 minutes…the Royals 26 games this season—including 1 that required extra innings—have averaged 2 hours, 29 minutes, which is 7 minutes below the league average and is the fastest average time in the Majors this season, ahead of this weekend’s opponent, the Twins, whose average is 2:30…the Royals league-best average of 2 hours, 29 minutes would mark their 2nd-fastest single-season average in franchise history, slower only than the inaugural 1969 Royals, whose average game time of 2 hours, 28 minutes tied for the 4th-fastest mark among the 24 Major League teams in 1969.
TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (0-4, 4.88 ERA)
JORDAN LYLES is making his 6th start of the season and 327th appearance (220th start) of his career today vs. the Twins…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.
3-STRAIGHT HOMERS LEAD TO LOSS NO. 4: Jordan took his 4th loss of the year on Sunday vs. the Los Angeles Angels after throwing 6.0 innings and allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, including back-to-back-to-back home runs in the 6th, in a 3-4 defeat at Angel Stadium…the Royals offense spotted Jordan with a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but the Angels immediately answered with a walk, a single and a sac. fly by Shohei Ohtani to knot it back at 1-1 through 1.0 inning…he hit his stride from there, retiring 15 Angels in a row (including 1 batter who reached on an error) through 5.0 innings, and after a Vinnie Pasquantino solo shot in the 6th, Lyles was staring down the barrel of his 1st win as a Royal…the wheels fell off immediately in the bottom of the 6th, however, as Taylor Ward cranked the 1st pitch he saw (a slider on the inside black) over the wall to tie the game once more, then Mike Trout smacked an 0-2 cutter that was several inches below the zone out to right field, making it 3-2 Angels…Ohtani finished the triad with a homer on a 2-2 curveball that was mostly center-cut, and from there Lyles retired the final 3 batters he faced to end his day.
Through 5 starts, Lyles has allowed 7 home runs, including 5 in his last 2 starts, putting him tied for 3rd in the American League…on the flip side, his 31.1 innings pitched rank 8th in the AL, and 4 players above him have made their 6th start.
WHAT WORKED? WHAT DIDN’T?: Lyles featured a solid mixture of his repertoire in his last start vs. the Angels, throwing his fastball 38.2% of the time while mixing in his cutter (10.1%), curveball (21.4%) and slider (27.0%), with a couple of changeups and sinkers…his fastball continued to be his safety net, noted by his 38.2% usage rate, and the Angels went 1-for-9 with a double off it and 2 strikeouts… he also kept them off balance with his slider that he threw 27.0% of the time while limiting the Halos to just 1 hit, but that was Taylor Ward’s homer in the 6th inning… he has gradually begun using a cutter more often as well, up to a 10.1% usage rate in his last start after not featuring it at all over his first 2 starts this season.
So far this season, Lyles has been able to control left-handed hitters with a steady dose of fastballs (48.0%) and curveballs (25.0%), which has limited them to a .167/.227/.333 slashline (10-for-60) with a 22.7 K% and 7.6 BB%.
Righties have seen a mixture of his repertoire, including his slider (40.0%), fastball (30.0%) and sinker (17.0%), which has led to opponents owning a .311/.338/.639 slashline (19-for-61) off him with a 12.3 K%, but also a 4.6 BB%.
A LOOK BACK AT APRIL FOOL’S DAY: Lyles was a tough-luck loser in his Royals debut on April 1 vs. these Twins when he worked 5.1 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts, with 1 of those 2 runs scoring after he exited the game…the lone earned run allowed came in the 1st inning as Byron Buxton hit a 2-out double, setting up Jose Miranda for an RBI single, but from there he retired 14 of his final 18 hitters and exited with 1 out and 2 runners on, setting up Kyle Farmer for a sac. fly off Ryan Yarbrough, who made his own Royals debut.
Overall, he has pitched to a 3.13 ERA (8 ER in 23.0 IP) with 20 strikeouts and a .227 opponents’ average (20-for-88) in 4 starts against the Twins.
ON STRIKE: Jordan enters today’s start with a career 17.6 K% rate (1045 strikeouts/5950 batters faced), including a 19.0 K% in 2021 and an 18.6 K% in 2022…among pitchers with at least 65 starts since 2021, his walks-per-batters faced rate of 0.69 ranks 4th in the American League, trailing only Cole Irvin (0.55), José Berríos (0.58) and Gerrit Cole (0.61).
WORKHORSE: The Royals are the eighth club Lyles has played for at the Major League level and he has played in parts of 13 seasons 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 beginning of 2021, his 390.1 innings rank 3rd among American League pitchers, including a career-high 180.0 innings with Texas in 2021.
He was one of only four pitchers in the AL to record at least 175.0 innings from 2021-2022, along with Gerrit Cole, Cole Irvin and Robbie Ray.
Across his 13 seasons and 326 Major League appearances, he has only been placed on the Injured List on five occasions: 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).
MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Have gone 4-3 through seven games on their current 10-game homestand, going 1-2 against the Nationals last weekend, 2-1 against the Yankees this week, and 1-0 against the Royals…this afternoon, Minnesota will continue the homestand with the second of four against the Royals, then wrap the series on Sunday afternoon…the Twins have gone 8-5 at Target Field and 7-6 on the road.
Twins have gone 4-1 in their last five games since April 23 after going 1-6 in a seven-game stretch from April 15-22.
TWINS TAKE OPENER OVER ROYALS: The Twins beat the Royals last night at Target Field by a score of 7-1…Tyler Mahle was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing one run in 4.0 innings, exiting with right posterior elbow soreness…Brock Stewart (1-0) earned the win in relief in his Twins debut, pitching 2.0 scoreless innings with no walks and three strikeouts…the offense recorded 10 hits as Christian Vázquez reached three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk…Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning, for Buxton his fifth of the season and for Correa his third.
WATCH THE THRONE: The Twins and Royals are playing the fifth of 13 scheduled meetings in 2023…through four games, the Twins have gone 4-0 and outscored the Royals 18-5.
The Twins are 16-5 in their last 21 against KC since April 21, 2022, including a record of 9-2 at Target Field in that span.
Twins have won eight-straight home games vs. KC, with their last home defeat coming on May 28, 2022…a win today would tie the Twins longest home winning streak over the Royals, done three times previously: 1982-83, 1985-86 and 2003-04.
Carlos Correa is hitting .339 (42-for-124) with six doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBI, 19 walks, a .427 on-base percentage and a .983 OPS in 33 games against the Royals since ’19.
Byron Buxton is hitting .329 (28-for-85) with eight doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, 20 runs scored and a .965 OPS in his last 20 games against the Royals, reaching safely in all 20…in four games this season, he is 7-for-17 and slashing .412/.444/.765.
Trevor Larnach is hitting .344 (22-for-64) with one double, four home runs and 15 RBI in 21 career games vs. the Royals, his most RBI against any opponent in his career.
Last time the Twins faced Jordan Lyles was in game two of the Opening series at Kauffman Stadium, winning by a score of 2-0, behind Sonny Gray…the two consecutive shutout wins to start the season marked a Twins/Senators franchise record (since 1901).
PITCHING ROYALTY: Since the start of last season, Twins starters have gone 11-4, 2.27 ERA (119.0 IP, 30 ER) with 29 walks, 106 strikeouts and a .192 (83-for-432) BAA vs. KC…this season in the four games, Pablo López (3/30), Sonny Gray (4/1), Joe Ryan (4/2) and Tyler Mahle (last night) have gone 3-0, 0.89 ERA (20.1 IP, 2 ER) with 10 hits allowed, nine walks and 21 strikeouts…the two runs allowed by Twins starters have been home runs, one by Edward Olivares off Joe Ryan on April 2 and Vinnie Pasquantino off Tyler Mahle last night.
BIG THREE: Pablo López, Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan are all making their case for American League Pitcher of the Month for March/April…below are their numbers and AL ranks among starters: IP ERA K BAA OPS FIP WHIP WAR LÓPEZ 30.0 (15) 3.00 (T-13) 39 (6) .213 (14) .604 (11) 2.90 (10) 1.03 (10) 0.9 (10) GRAY 29.0 (17) 0.62 (1) 34 (T-9) .192 (7) .539 (6) 2.22 (4) 1.07 (14) 1.2 (4) RYAN 32.0 (T-5) 2.81 (10) 36 (8) .186 (5) .533 (5) 3.27 (12) 0.81 (3) 0.8 (13)
ADDITIONALLY: Joe Ryan is 5-0, tied with Shane McClanahan and Gerrit Cole for the most wins in baseball.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE: The Twins are playing a series against an AL Central opponent for the third time this season after sweeping the Royals in three games at Kauffman Stadium from March 30-April 2, followed by a 2-1 series victory over Chicago-AL from April 10-12…they will play their division for just 52 games this season, compared to the 76 times in previous seasons.
Each of the Twins’ next nine games are against AL Central opponents…after that stretch, they will not play another team within the division until hosting the Guardians for four games from June 1-4.
Below are the Twins pitching numbers compared to other AL divisions/NL: W-L ERA BAA K/BB K/9.0 WHIP OPS
CENTRAL 6-1 1.83 .149 2.95 8.9 0.84 .500
EAST 5-5 4.41 .250 3.84 9.9 1.27 .708
WEST 2-1 3.54 .221 6.67 12.9 1.04 .619
NATIONAL 2-4 3.63 .240 4.75 9.9 1.12 .654
POWER SURGE: The Twins have homered in a season-long 10-straight games, since April 18… since that date, they have hit 17 home runs, the most in baseball in that span.
Their current stretch is the club’s longest since September 26, 2021-April 10, 2022 (also 10), spanning two seasons…the last time they homered in at least 10 straight in a single season came from May 20-June 5, 2021, homering in 16 straight.
After Buxton’s three-run homer last night, the Twins have now hit seven three-run jimmy jacks this season, tied with Oakland for the second most in baseball, trailing Texas (10)… they had 17 last season…for context, the Twins have 16 solo shots and 10 two-run homers.
JORGE HEATING: Jorge Polanco has hit safely in all six games since his return from the IL (left knee inflammation) and is hitting .385 (10-for-26) with four doubles, one home run, six RBI and a 1.038 OPS…his career-high hitting streak is 14, done from May 27-June 13, 2019.
He enters today with 99 career home runs, looking to be the 21st player in club history to reach the 100-home run mark (since 1961)…one more home run and Polo will become the second switch hitter with 100-plus HR in a Twins uniform, joining Roy Smalley (110).
KEEP JOEY GALLO’S NAME OUT YOUR MOUTH: Joey Gallo hit his seventh home run of the season on Wednesday afternoon and now has an at-bat-per-home run ratio of 6.57, the second highest in baseball (minimum 45 plate appearances), trailing Max Muncy (6.45)…despite missing 10 games (right intercostal strain — April 11-19), he still leads the club in homers and ranks tied for second in the American League and tied for sixth in baseball.
Additionally, he leads all of baseball in slugging percentage (min. 40 PA) at .783 and ranks third in OPS (1.141).
STARTING PITCHER – PABLO LóPEZ #49
2023: 1-2, 3.00 ERA CAREER: 29-33, 3.88 ERA
Making his sixth start and appearance of 2023 in his sixth major league season (Miami – 2018-22)…also his 100th career appearance (all starts).
Facing Kansas City for the second time this season and the third time in his career…is 1-1, 1.54 ERA (11.2 IP, 2 ER) with three walks and 14 strikeouts in two 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: López took the loss in the Twins 10-4 defeat vs. the Washington Nationals on April 22 at Target Field…pitched 4.0 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with two walks and six strike- outs…opposed right-hander Chad Kuhl, who did not factor into the decision…López allowed the first four Nationals to reach in the first inning, with Washington scoring two runs on two hits…allowed back-to-back RBI singles to infielders Joey Meneses and Luis García in the top of the second inning… marked his shortest start and the most earned runs he had allowed since September 10, 2022, when he went 3.2 innings and allowed eight runs vs. the New York Mets with Miami.
The first pitch temperature in his last start vs. Washington was 35 degrees, marking the coldest start of Lopez’s career…was 21 degrees colder than the previous low of 56 degrees in his start on April 23, 2019 at Cleveland.
Took the loss in back-to-back starts for the first time since September 4-10, 2022…looking to avoid a three-game losing streak today, which would tie his career high (done three times previously).
Despite the loss, López still ranks sixth in strikeouts (39), 15th in innings pitched (30.0) and fourth in strikeouts-per-9.0 innings (11.70) in the American League this season (min. 10.0 IP).
TWO STARTS AGO: Took the loss at New York-AL on April 16 in a 2-0 Twins defeat…went 6.0 innings, allowed two runs and seven hits, walked one and struck out seven batters…pitched opposite of Gerrit Cole, who tossed a complete-game shutout…infielder DJ LeMahieu had both RBI against López, pro- ducing a run-scoring single in the third inning and hitting a solo home run in the sixth…the 340-foot home run was the second shortest over-the-fence home run against López in his career, according to Statcast (Harold Ramírez – 337 feet on May 24, 2022)…became the first Twins pitcher to throw over 100 pitches in an April game since Kyle Gibson on April 28, 2019 vs. Baltimore (105 pitches).
ROYAL REDUX: Facing Kansas City for the second time this season after earning the win vs. the Royals at Kauffman Stadium on March 30, in his first career Opening Day start…went 5.1 shutout innings with two hits allowed, three walks and eight strikeouts…in two career starts vs. Kansas City, López is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA (11.2 IP, 2 ER), three walks, and 14 strikeouts…today is his first home start vs. the Royals since he took the loss on September 6, 2019 with Miami at loanDepot Park (6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 6 K).
HOME COOKING: Today is López’s third home start of the year and third career start at Target Field… the Twins have gone 1-1 in his first two home starts of 2023, with López going 0-1, 5.40 ERA (11.2 IP, 7 ER) with three walks and 16 strikeouts…in three road starts this season, López is 1-1, 1.47 ERA (18.1 IP, 3 ER) with five walks and 23 strikeouts…is seeking his first career win at Target Field today and his first home victory since September 15, 2022 vs. Philadelphia with Miami…over his career, López is 14-16, 3.53 ERA (295.2 IP, 116 ER) with 82 walks and 284 strikeouts in 52 home starts…in 47 road starts, he is 15-17, 4.31 ERA (244.1 IP, 117 ER) with 68 walks and 244 strikeouts.
LEFT/RIGHT: López has limited right-handed hitters to a .203 (14-for-69) batting average this season…left-handed hitters are batting at a .231 (9-for-39) clip…his 27 strikeouts against righties are tied for third most in the American League…over his career, López has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.656 OPS) than left-handed hitters (.743 OPS).
PITCH BREAKDOWN: López has used a six-pitch mix in his first five starts this season, according to Baseball Savant…opposing batters are hitting .145 (8-for-55) against López’s offspeed offerings this year with 25 strikeouts…threw his first cutter of the year in his last start on April 22 vs. Washington, a pitch he used 9.7 percent of the time in 2022…here is a look at his 2023 arsenal:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (95.0)……………..35.9% (164 pitches, 93/71)……….. .235 (8-for-34), 2 2B, 2 HR, 13 K
Changeup (88.4)………………………..21.4% (98 pitches, 37/61) ……………………. .080 (2-for-25), 12 K Sweeper (83.6)……………………………20.8% (95 pitches, 95/0) ……. .238 (3-for-21), 1 2B, 1 3B, 9 K Sinker (94.6) ………………………………13.8% (63 pitches, 61/2) …………………….. .263 (5-for-19), 1 K
Curveball (81.5)…………………………..7.9% (36 pitches, 6/30) ……………………….. .333 (3-for-9), 4 K
Cutter (92.4) …………………………………..0.2% (1 pitch, 1/0)………………………………………………….- –
Lopez’s fastest pitch in his last start on April 22 vs. Washington was 94.8 mph, the lowest maximum velocity in any of his five starts this season.
