Kansas City Royals OFFICIAL GAME NOTES Kansas City Royals (41-58) @ Seattle Mariners (45-57) Safeco Field - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - 3:10 P.M
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Kansas City Royals OFFICIAL GAME NOTES Kansas City Royals (41-58) @ Seattle Mariners (45-57) Safeco Field - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - 3:10 p.m. (CDT) Game #100- Road Game #53 KCSP Radio (610 Sports) UPCOMING PITCHING PROBABLES Sunday, July 29 @ Seattle Mariners: LHP Will Smith (2-3, 6.26) vs. RHP Felix Hernandez (9-5, 2.80), 3:10 p.m. (CDT), FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Monday, July 30: Off day at home Tuesday, July 31 vs. Cleveland Indians: RHP Derek Lowe (8-9, 5.09) vs. RHP Luke Hochevar (6-9, 5.26), 7:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Wednesday, August 1 vs. Cleveland Indians: RHP Zach McAllister (4-2, 3.18) vs. RHP Luis Mendoza (4-7, 4.47), 7:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Thursday, August 2 vs. Cleveland Indians: RHP Josh Tomlin (5-8, 5,87) vs. RHP Jeremy Guthrie (0-2, 9.58), 7:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Today’s game is being broadcast in Kansas City on KCSP Radio (610 Sports) and the Royals Radio Network with Ryan Lefebvre, Bob Davis and Steve Stewart, while Don Free controls the dials as the producer/engineer...the next telecast in High Definition on FOX Sports Kansas City will be tomorrow’s finale with Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler...the pre and post-game show, Royals Live, is hosted by Joel Goldberg. Royals vs. Mariners HITS REMAIN A SCARCITY IN SEATTLE--The Royals doubled their hit total on Friday from what Kansas City’s 2012 struggles with Seattle continued last night they accrued in Thursday’s series opener, but that only meant it went from 2 hits to 4, as KC dropped a 6-1 as the Royals have dropped 5 of the 6 games played between these decision to the homestanding Mariners...the loss was Kansas City’s third in a row and fourth in 5 games clubs...the Royals still hold a 211-193 lead in the all-time work, on this road trip and had a similar recipe to the previous two in this immediate streak -- early runs by the but trail by a 95-102 count in Seattle, specifically 21-33 in Safeco. home team...the Mariners plated 3 in the first on a John Jaso home run and then 2 more in the second and Date Site Score WP LP Att. instantly had a 5-0 lead...on Thursday they scored a pair in the first and in Anaheim on Wednesday, the 7/16 KC L, 4-9 Vargas Sanchez 16,697 7/17 KC L, 6-9 Beavan Verdugo 15,769 Halos had 6 runs by the end of the second inning...Jeremy Guthrie, making his second start as a Royal, 7/18 KC W, 8-7 Holland Kinney 17,312 allowed all 6 runs after surrendering 5 in his debut start last Sunday at home...the bullpen last night tossed 7/19 KC L, 1-6 Hernandez Smith 16,706 a strong 2.2 innings, recording 8 outs over 7 batters faced...as for the offense, Billly Butler, who had both 7/26 @ Sea L, 1-4 Vargas Mendoza 15,014 Kansas City hits on Thursday, had half of the club’s output last night, going 2-for-4, while Salvy Perez 7/27 @ Sea L, 1-6 Beavan Guthrie 14,953 7/28 @ Sea had a hit and sac fly for the lone RBI...the Royals are now 17 games under .500 for the first time this year 7/29 @ Sea after cutting that deficit to 4 below after play on June 29. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???--The statistical packet says that the Seattle Mariners are hitting a league low .231, but in the half dozen games against the Royals, hits and runs have not been a problem...Seattle has hit at a .327 clip (72-for-220) with 41 runs scored, a per game average of 6.8 in those 6 games vs. KC, with the Royals dropping 5 of the 6 affairs...on the year, the Mariners are averaging 3.9 runs per contest...conversely, in the last 3 games between these clubs, the Royals have managed just a .156 mark (14-for-90), scoring only one run in each contest, despite hitting .266 on the year as a team. CONGRATS TO NEW INDUCTEES--The newest honorees into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame had solid efforts during their distinctive careers against the Royals...Randy Johnson, during his time as a Mariner, went 11-6 with a 3.11 ERA in 22 career appearances (21 starts), while fanning 187 in 144.2 innings vs. Kansas City...fellow honoree, Dan Wilson, was a .302 hitter in 86 games against the Royals. EARLY RUNS PROVING LETHAL--Over the last 21 games, the Royals have only managed to win four and in that span early runs by the opposition have been the biggest culprit...in the first two innings of each of those 21 contests, Kansas City pitchers have allowed 43 runs out of the 100 overall runs scored in the 21 games... in the last 3 games alone, KC has allowed 13 runs in the first two innings and not surprisingly has lost each contest. HOMESTAND STARTS TUESDAY--The Royals will head back to the midwest following tomorrow’s series finale, take Monday off and then open a 6-game stand against Cleveland (3) and Texas (3)...the entire Cleveland series will feature 7:10 first pitches, as will the Friday contest against with Texas, followed by a 5:10 affair on Saturday and 1:10 homestand finale with the A.L. West leading Rangers...true to the season stats to date, the Royals have struggled at home against the Tribe, going 0-3, but hold a 4-2 advantage on games contested in Progressive Field...KC is just 12-23 in intra-divisional play, while going 21-23 vs. the East and West combined. TODAY’S STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Bruce Chen (7-8, 5.54) vs. RHP Kevin Millwood (3-8, 4.13) 2012 2011 Career 2012 2011 Career Bruce Chen vs. Mariners 0-0 1-0 4-0 Major League Record 7-8 (5.54 ERA) 12-8 67-66 Kevin Millwood vs. Royals 0-0 - 6-5 Major League Record 3-8 (4.13 ERA) 4-3 166-148 BRUCE CHEN makes his team-leading 22nd start tonight, his 339th career big league appearance (191st start) and 12th career outing (ninth start) vs. the Mariners...over the winter Bruce inked a 2-year deal thru 2013. Bruce’s 2012 starts WINLESS IN LAST FIVE--Bruce takes the hill for the final time in July looking WHEN for his first win this month, going 0-2 with 3 consecutive no decisions...the most recent DATE OPPONENT SCORE IP H R ER HR BB SO TP-K LEFT 4/6 at LAA ND, 0-5 6.0 3 0 0 0 0 4 75-54 0-0 opened this trip on Monday night in Anaheim, a contest the Royals ultimately dropped, 4/11 at Oakland ND, 4-5 (12) 5.0 4 3 2 1 2 3 102-70 2-3 6-3...Chen worked 5.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and leaving with the game 4/17 Detroit L, 1-3 7.0 6 2 2 0 0 7 108-78 1-1 4/23 Toronto L, 1-4 7.0 6 3 3 2 2 3 106-68 1-3 deadlocked at 3-3...the Halos plated 3 run in the eighth for the decision...it’s been 4/29 at Minnesota L, 4-7 2.2 6 6 6 0 2 1 62-37 1-6 a tough July for Chen, who has allowed 25 runs in 24.1 innings over 5 starts for a 5/4 New York L, 2-6 6.2 9 6 6 2 1 4 93-61 2-6 5/9 Boston W, 4-3 6.2 7 3 3 0 0 5 103-68 4-3 9.24 ERA...all told, July has raised his season ERA over a run to 5.54 after entering 5/14 at Texas W, 3-1 6.2 5 1 1 1 2 7 106-67 3-1 with a 4.53 mark...the home run ball has been his biggest nemesis, as opponents have 5/19 Arizona W, 7-3 6.1 8 2 2 0 2 4 100-67 7-1 5/25 at Baltimore L, 2-8 4.0 7 6 6 0 2 2 84-56 0-5 connected for 9 over that span, including a pair of 3-homer games...the homers have 5/30 at Cleveland W, 6-3 5.0 7 3 3 0 2 3 100-58 5-3 accounted for 15 of the 25 runs he has allowed over this stretch...his last win was in 6/5 Minnesota W, 1-0 7.0 4 0 0 0 0 5 88-62 1-0 6/10 at Pittsburg L, 2-3 5.0 4 3 3 1 1 5 79-56 0-3 Kansas City on June 26, an 8-2 triumph over Tampa Bay. 6/16 at St. Louis ND, 7-10 1.2 7 6 6 2 0 0 40-27 1-6 STILL AMONG LEADERS SINCE MAY 9--Despite no wins in his last four starts, 6/20 at Houston W, 2-1 5.2 5 1 1 0 2 6 94-59 2-1 6/26 Tampa Bay W, 8-2 7.0 5 2 1 1 1 5 99-72 4-2 his seven wins since May 9 are tied for the 10th-most in the American League...he began 7/1 at Minnesota L, 8-10 5.2 6 6 6 3 1 5 95-66 5-6 that victory run with a 4-3 win at home over Boston, his first triumph over the Red Sox 7/7 at Detroit L, 7-8 3.1 9 6 6 1 2 3 72-50 2-5 7/13 Chicago ND, 8-9 (14) 4.2 9 6 6 3 3 5 110-72 5-6 since the 2005 campaign..