Kansas City Royals
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Kansas City Royals OFFICIAL GAME NOTES Kansas City Royals (78-62) @ New York Yankees (73-67) Yankee Stadium - Sunday, September 7, 2014 Game #142 - Road Game #71 Fox Sports Kansas City, TBS & KCSP Radio (610 Sports) UPCOMING PITCHING PROBABLES Monday, September 8 @ Detroit Tigers: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (10-10, 4.31) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (12-12, 4.80), 3:08 p.m. (CDT), FSKC & 610 Sports Tuesday, September 9 @ Detroit Tigers: LHP Jason Vargas (11-7, 3.14) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (15-5, 3.25), 6:08 p.m. (CDT), FSKC & 610 Sports Wednesday, September 10 @ Detroit Tigers: RHP James Shields (13-7, 3.23) vs. RHP Rick Porcello (15-10, 3.30), 6:08 p.m. (CDT), FSKC, ESPN & 610 Sports Today’s game is being broadcast in Kansas City on KCSP Radio (610 Sports) and the Royals Radio Network with Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart, while Don Free controls the dials as the producer/engineer...today’s game is being televised in High Definition on Fox Sports Kansas City with Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler mikeside, while Joel Goldberg and Royals’ Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery anchor Royals’ Hy-Vee Live...today’s tilt is also being televised nationally on TBS with Ernie Johnson Jr. and Ron Darling on the call. Royals vs. Yankees STRANGE DAY EVENS SERIES--It isn’t often that a starting pitcher throws just one pitch and the bullpen Yesterday’s loss evened the season series and 3-3 with today is in charge the rest of the way, but for the first time in Kansas City history that very scenario occurred as not just the rubber game for this weekend visit, but the rubber Danny Duffy couldn’t get past pitch one due to a sore left shoulder...the host Yankees then plated six runs game for 2014...Kansas City trails the all-time series by a 186- against a pair of KC relievers to take a 6-2 decision and even this series...Duffy, who entered the day third 271 margin, including an 80-152 deficit in the Big Apple, 8-11 in the A.L. in ERA, threw ball one to Jacoby Ellsbury and then left the affair...Liam Hendriks, a starter by in the “new” Yankee Stadium. Date Site Score WP LP Att. trade, entered and was solved for a first inning run and then three more over his 4.0 innings to absorb the 6/6 KC L, 2-4 Whitley Guthrie 23,418 loss...Casey Coleman then gave up a pair in his inning of work, before handing it over to Brandon Finnegan, 6/7 KC W, 8-4 Crow Phelps 26,991 who made his big league debut and retired all six Yankees he faced, highlighted by strikeouts of Ellsbury and 6/8 KC W, 2-1 Shields Kuroda 24,614 Derek Jeter...Finnegan was KC’s first round pick this past June...there is never a good time to lose, but the 8/25 KC L, 1-8 Pineda Shields 31,578 9/5 @ NY W, 1-0 Shields Pineda 36,284 Tigers also incurred a loss yesterday to keep the Royals two games up in the Central. 9/6 @ NY L, 2-6 McCarthy Hendriks 45,262 RUBBER GAMES FEW AND FAR BETWEEN--Today’s series finale in Yankee Stadium is the first rubber game for the Royals in over a month and the 14th of the year...the last series deciding contest prior to today was on August 3 in Oakland, when James Shields prevailed over Scott Kazmir to give the Royals a 10-3 advantage in rubber games...Kansas City has been stellar on the road in rubber games, going 6-2 with wins in Baltimore, San Diego, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Chicago and Oakland and losses in Anaheim on May 25 and Cleveland on July 6...last season, the Royals went 11-8 in rubber games, but were just 4-6 on the road. THE BRIEFEST OF OUTINGS--Yesterday was the 7,294th game in franchise history, but the first time that a starting pitcher didn’t get credit for facing at least one hitter before departing...Danny Duffy made it through only one pitch before leaving the field with a sore left shoulder, leaving the contest up to the long men in the pen... yesterday was the 12th time in franchise history that a starting pitcher did not record an out in the first inning, the first time since July 22, 1992, when Rick Reed allowed a run on two hits and a walk...the previous shortest outing by a starter was July 8, 1987, when Danny Jackson walked the leadoff man and then came out of the game. FINNY CAPS QUICK RISE--By appearing in yesterday’s game, Brandon Finnegan became the third player in franchise history to make his Major League debut in the same season he was drafted...the #1 pick this past June out of TCU, Finnegan joined Jeff Granger in 1993 as the only two first round picks to appear in the same season they were drafted, while Bo Jackson was a fourth round pick in 1986 and made it to “The Show” later that year...it was an impressive debut for the 21-year old southpaw, who recorded 2.0 perfect innings, including strikeouts of Jacoby Ellsbury and Derek Jeter in his first big league inning of work. STILL SOLID ROAD CLUB--Saturday’s loss to the Yankees dropped KC’s road ledger to 40-30, still good for the second most road wins and winning percentage in the American League...the Royals started the year 0-5 away from ‘The K’, but has gone 40-25 since, including a 14-5 mark since July 22...KC is unbeaten in its last six road series, winning stops in Chicago, Oakland, Arizona, Minnesota and Texas and splitting a 2-game set in Denver vs. the Rockies...last year’s club won 42 road games. SHIELDS JOINS RAREFIED AIR--James Shields once again proved his durability on Friday night with 8.1 innings of shutout ball and when he made it through the eighth, he hit the 200.0-inning mark for the eighth consecutive time in his career...since 1980, ‘Juego G’ is one of only eight hurlers to attain 200.0 innings in at least eight straight seasons joining Mark Buehrle (13 times and 25.0 innings shy of 14), Greg Maddux (14), Frank Viola (10), Mike Mussina (9), Livan Hernandez (8), Mark Langston (8) and Tom Candiotti...the Tigers’ Justin Verlander is 22.0 inning short of his eighth straight such year. TODAY’S STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Yordano Ventura (11-9, 3.38) vs. RHP Shane Greene (4-2, 3.88) 2014 2013 Career 2014 2013 Career Yordano Ventura vs. Yankees First career appearance Major League Record 11-9 (3.38 ERA) 0-1 11-10 Shane Greene vs. Royals First career appearance Major League Record 4-2 (3.88 ERA) - 4-2 YORDANO VENTURA takes the hill for his 26th start of the year and his 27th appearance...this is his 28th career big league start and 29th outing since debuting on September 17, 2013, and first against the Yankees...he signed as a non-drafted free agent on October 8, 2008 out of Samana in the Dominican Republic. TEXAS TWO-STRAIGHT--Yordano earned his second-straight victory over the Yordano’s 2014 Appearances WHEN Texas Rangers, emerging as a 4-3 victor on Labor Day evening at ‘The K’...Ventura, who DATE OPPONENT SCORE IP H R ER HR BB SO TP-K LEFT missed a turn in the rotation due to back soreness, limited the Rangers to 3 runs (2 earned) 4/8 Tampa Bay ND, 0-1 6.0 2 0 0 0 0 6 95-62 0-0 4/15 at Houston W, 4-2 7.0 4 2 1 1 3 7 101-66 4-2 on 5 hits with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts over 6.1 innings...he had a blank scorecard through 4/20 Minnesota L, 3-8 4.0 6 4 4 0 4 6 94-56 0-4 his first 5.0 innings, before Texas tallied an unearned run in the sixth and chased him with 4/25 at Baltimore W, 5-0 8.0 7 0 0 0 2 8 113-75 5-0 4/30 Toronto ND, 4-2 5.0 2 0 0 0 2 4 92-57 2-0 2 in the seventh...however, reliever Kelvin Herrera enduced an inning-ending double play 5/5 at San Diego ND, 5-6 (12) 6.0 5 3 3 1 0 10 101-72 4-3 5/10 at Seattle L, 1-3 6.1 6 3 3 2 4 3 96-54 1-3 from Leonys Martin to preserve the one-run lead and Yordano’s 11th victory...Ventura’s 11 5/15 Baltimore L, 1-2 6.1 7 2 2 1 1 9 104-70 1-2 wins are tied for seventh-most by a Royals rookie and the top total since Brian Bannister’s 5/20 Chicago L, 6-7 6.0 7 4 4 1 0 3 100-69 2-4 5/26 Houston L, 2-9 2.2 7 5 5 0 3 3 74-46 0-5 12 victories during his 2007 freshman campaign. 6/5 St. Louis W, 3-2 6.0 7 2 2 0 2 1 91-55 3-2 QUALITY MATTERS--Ventura is tops among Major League rookies with 18 quality 6/11 Cleveland W, 4-1 7.0 6 1 1 0 0 3 85-61 4-1 6/17 at Detroit W, 11-4 7.0 8 3 3 0 2 4 102-65 11-3 starts this season, 2 ahead of Yankees rookie Masahiro Tanaka (16)...his total is also tied 6/22 Seattle L, 1-2 7.0 6 2 2 1 2 6 101-69 1-2 for second all-time among KC freshmen, (Dennis Leonard, 18 in 1975) with Bob Johnson 6/28 Los Angeles (AL) L, 2-6 4.0 7 2 2 0 0 3 56-41 0-2 7/4 at Cleveland W, 7-1 8.1 6 1 1 1 2 4 113-66 7-1 (20) setting the standard in 1970...Yordano is the first KC rookie to record 7-straight 7/9 at Tampa Bay ND, 5-4 5.0 5 4 4 1 4 5 104-60 2-4 7/13 Detroit* W, 5-2 1.2 1 0 0 0 0 3 26-16 5-2 quality starts since Appier set a record for Royals freshmen with 8 in a row from July 31 7/20 at Boston L, 0-6 4.1 9 6 6 1 4 0 94-55 0-6 to September 8, 1990.