Kansas City Royals OFFICIAL GAME NOTES Kansas City Royals (7-10) @ Texas Rangers (8-10) Globe Life Park - Sunday, April 23, 2017 Game #18 - Road Game #10 FOX Sports Kansas City (HD) and KCSP Radio (610 Sports) UPCOMING PITCHING PROBABLES Monday, April 24 @ Chicago White Sox: LHP Jason Vargas (3-0, 0.44) vs. RHP Miguel Gonzalez (2-0, 2.84), 7:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Tuesday, April 25 @ Chicago White Sox: LHP Danny Duffy (2-0, 1.32) vs. RHP Dylan Covey (0-1, 7.84), 7:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Wednesday, April 26 @ Chicago White Sox: RHP Nate Karns (0-1, 6.35) vs. LHP Jose Quintana (0-4, 6.17), 1:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Thursday, April 27: Off Day at Home Today’s game is being broadcast in Kansas City on KCSP Radio (610 Sports) and the Royals Radio Network with Royals’ Hall of Famer Denny Matthews, Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart, while Don Free controls the dials as the producer/engineer...today is also being televised in High Definition on FSKC with Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler on the call...Joel Goldberg and Royals’ Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery anchor the pre and post-game shows, Royals Live. Royals vs. Rangers MORE HEARTBREAK IN TEXAS--The Lone Star State has not been a kind destination for the Royals Kansas City’s struggles in North Texas continued last night as this season as in six games here, KC has been walked off three times, including last night’s 2-1 setback the Royals dropped their seventh-straight here and ninth overall to in front of 41,446...The Rangers’ Elvis Andrus broke a one-all tie with an RBI single off Peter Moylan in the Rangers, dating back to last season...KC still leads the all-time series by a 277-270-1 count, but has played to a 125-146 deficit in the last of the ninth, plating Rougned Odor with the winning run after the Royals had previously suffered the Lone Star state, including 38-64 at this park. sudden death defeats here on Thursday night (1-0 in 13 innings), as well as April 9 in Houston, (5-4 in Date Site Score WP LP Att. 12)...Ian Kennedy was once again brilliant on the mound, surrendering just a solo shot to Mike Napoli in 4/20 @ Tex L, 0-1 (13) Alvarez Wood 26,898 4/21 @ Tex L, 2-6 Hamels Karns 31,320 his 7.0 innings of work...the veteran righty scattered four hits, but did not factor into the decision...after 4/22 @ Tex L, 1-2 Bush Wood 41,446 Napoli’s second-inning homer, the Royals tied the score in the sixth as Drew Butera singled and came 4/23 @ Tex around on Mike Moustakas’ two-out RBI hit...however, that was KC’s only offense as the team was held 7/14 KC 7/15 KC to just six singles in the game with Butera collecting two of them...the loss was the Royals’ fourth-straight 7/16 KC on the road and ninth in a row to Texas, which also won the final six meetings between the clubs in 2016. STARTING STAFF BACK ON TOP--Last night it was Ian Kennedy’s turn to continue the Royals’ dominance as a starting staff, tossing 7.0 innings of one-run ball in another no-decision...his performance, combined with the efforts of Danny Duffy, Jason Hammel, Jason Vargas and Nate Karns this season have given the Royals a Major League-best 2.29 ERA through 17 games, well ahead of second-place Texas (3.11)...the Royals have also recorded quality starts in eight of their last nine outings and top the American League with 12 this season, three behind Washington (15) for the Major League lead...individually, Kennedy has allowed a total of three runs in his last three starts, spanning 21.0 innings (1.29 ERA), however he remains winless on the year. MOOSE IS LOOSE--One bright spot on offense has been the production of third baseman Mike Moustakas, who extended his hitting streak to eight games with his RBI single in the sixth inning last night....Moose has hit in 15 of 16 the games he’s registered an official at-bat in this season, while his current streak ties Salvador Perez (April 6-14) for the longest by a Royal in 2017...the 2015 All-Star missed a majority of last year after tearing his ACL on May 22 in Chicago, but enters play today tied for fourth in the American League with five homers, while he’s also 14th in slugging percentage (.559). GONE TO THE WINDY CITY--The seven-game road trip will conclude with Kansas City’s first jaunt to Chicago this season for a three-game set at newly named Guaranteed Rate Field, beginning tomorrow...the Royals have enjoyed their trips to Chi-Town over the last few years, going 27-10 (.730) there since opening the 2013 campaign with consecutive losses...KC was 6-3 in the Windy City last season, when the ballpark was named U.S. Cellular Field...KC trails the all-time series by a 363-375 margin, including a 167-208 deficit in Chicago and 97-116 at Guaranteed Rate Field. BUSY SCHEDULE AHEAD--Following this current road trip, the Royals will enjoy their fourth off day of the season, Thursday, before embarking on their busiest stretch of games in 2017...beginning with Friday’s series opener against Minnesota at home, the Royals will play 33 games in a 34-day period, which includes a 10-game homestand (April 28-May 7) and a 10-game journey with stops in Minneapolis, New York and Cleveland (May 19-28)...the lone reprieve during that span comes on May 15, which dissects a six-game stand against AL East foes Baltimore (May 12-14) and the Yankees (May 16-18). ACE 30 REMEMBERING YO--The morning of January 22, 2017 will always be remembered as one of the most tragic days in franchise history when word was received that pitcher Yordano Ventura had his life cut short due to a car accident in his native Dominican Republic...signed as a 17-year old in 2008, the fireballing right- hander compiled a 38-31 during his abbreviated Major League career...among many highlights, “Ace” will be most remembered for blanking the San Francisco Giants over 7.0 innings in Game #6 of the 2014 World Series to force a seventh and deciding game, while pitching with a heavy heart himself due to the untimely passing of his friend Oscar Tavares...to honor the late Ventura, all uniforms in 2017 will be adorned with the ACE 30 patch. TODAY’S STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Jason Hammel (0-1, 4.60) vs. RHP Yu Darvish (1-2, 3.28) 2016 2015 Career 2017 2016 Career Jason Hammel vs. Rangers 1-0 - 1-2 Major League Record 0-1 (4.60 ERA) 15-10 84-88 Yu Darvish vs. Royals 0-1 - 1-1 Major League Record 1-2 (3.28 ERA) 7-5 47-32 JASON HAMMEL takes the hill for his fourth start of the season, the 252nd of his career and fifth start (seventh appearance) vs. Texas…he signed a two-year deal with the Royals on February 8, joining his sixth team in 12 Major League seasons…was originally drafted by Tampa Bay in 2002, and has pitched for the Rays (2006- 08), Rockies (2009-11), Orioles (2012-13), Athletics (2014) and Cubs (2014, 2015-16). Jason’s 2017 Starts STRONG IN SIX--Jason didn’t figure into the decision in Kansas City’s 2-1 loss DATE OPPONENT SCORE IP H R ER HR BB SO TP-K LEFT to San Francisco on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium, despite holding the Giants to one 4/6 at Minnesota ND, 3-5 5.0 6 3 3 0 4 2 95-59 3-3 4/12 Oakland L, 3-8 4.2 7 4 4 0 2 4 94-55 0-4 run on six hits and one walk in 6.0+ innings, with three strikeouts…he retired 15 of his 4/18 San Francisco ND, 1-2 6.0 6 1 1 0 1 3 87-58 1-1 first 16 batters—including the first 12—before allowing six of the next eight to reach… 2017 Totals 0-1 6.52 9.2 13 7 7 0 6 6 276-172 62.3% Career Totals 84-88 4.42 1518.2 1561 795 746 188 487 1200 - - he exited with the score tied at one, after allowing his first two batters to reach in the seventh inning...he remains winless in three starts as a Royal after earning victories in four of his first five starts a season ago. ACCOMPLISHED APRIL--Hammel is 19-6 with a 2.77 ERA (61 ER in 198.0 IP) in 32 April starts since the start of 2011…his 19 wins in the season’s first month are most in the Majors during that stretch, one more than Felix Hernandez…his loss on April 12 vs. Oakland was his first since April 22, 2015 at Pittsburgh, snapping a streak of six straight unbeaten starts in the month of April...last season with the Cubs, Jason went 3-0 with an 0.75 ERA in four April starts. AFTERNOON FRIGHT--Jason is just 2-5 with a 5.36 ERA (28 ER in 47.0 IP) in his last 10 daytime starts, and has failed to complete 4.0 innings in three of his last four, going 0-3 during that span…his last daytime win came last July 16 vs.