2017 KANSAS CITY ROYALS Spring Training Game Notes Kansas City Royals (15-13-1) @ Oakland A’S (16-12) Monday, March 27, 2017 ACE 30
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2017 KANSAS CITY ROYALS Spring Training Game Notes Kansas City Royals (15-13-1) @ Oakland A’s (16-12) Monday, March 27, 2017 ACE 30 LATE RUNS KNOCK OFF HALOS--The Royals plated a pair of ninth inning runs, the tie-breaker a Wander Franco single to center, to post an 8-7 win over the Angels yesterday in Tempe...it was a game of comebacks, with KC trailing 1-0 early, but then rebounding with a 4-run fourth and another in the fifth for a 5-1 lead...the Halos bounced back with a 6-run fifth, but the Royals chipped away and eventually recorded the “W”...Jason Hammel, in his next-to-last tuneup for the 2017 season, allowed the seven runs on eight hits over 6.0 innings, with the brunt of the damage coming in that fifth inning...the bullpen once again did its thing with Mike Minor, Travis Wood and Al Alburquerque each providing a scoreless inning to up Wood’s spring record to 3-0 and earning Alburquerque his first save...KC played long ball off of Angels’ starter J.C. Ramirez, with Paulo Orlando clubbing a 2-run shot over the centerfield fence in the fourth, followed later in the inning with Brandon Moss hammering an opposite field blast, also a 2-run homer...Moss finished the day going 3-for-3 while Drew Butera and Brayan Pena each had two hits. DUFF TO GET OPENING DAY NOD--Manager Ned Yost officially announced that Danny Upcoming Probables Duffy will get the start on April 3 when the Royals open the 2017 season in Minnesota... Today vs. Oakland A’s at Ho Ho Kam Park (1:05) he is slated to go against Minnesota’s Ervin Santana, which will be a rematch of the Pool F Jason Vargas (L), Kelvin Herrera, Chris Young WBC game in San Diego last Saturday when Duffy went for Team U.S.A. against Santana’s vs. Dominican squad, with Duffy and the U.S. prevailing to advance and ultimately win the Andrew Triggs, John Axford, Daniel Coulombe (L) Classic...the remainder of the rotation in order will be Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel, Jason Tuesday vs. Chicago White Sox @ Surprise Stadium (1:05) Vargas and Nathan Karns...Duffy will stay on his five-day rotation and pitch the Saturday, Chris Volstad, Zack Burdi, Michael Ynoa, Gregory Infante April 8 game in Houston, followed by Karns on Sunday, thus Kennedy will work the home vs. opener at Kauffman Stadium on April 10 vs. Oakland. Nathan Karns, Kelvin Herrera, Travis Wood (L) HAPPY 24TH ERIC--Kansas City hurler Eric Stout is celebrating his 24th birthday today... Wednesday vs. Texas Rangers @ Surprise Stadium (12:05) just for fun, he shares this birthday with fellow baseballers Buster Posey (30), Matt Harvey Dillon Gee (28) and the recently retired Michael Cuddyer (38)...other lumanaries celebrating a birthday vs. today include singers Fergie (42) and Mariah Carey (47) and director Quentin Tarantino (54). Danny Duffy, Joakim Soria, Mike Minor (L), Chris Young, Matt Strahm (L), Seth Maness VS. A’S--The Royals look to even the spring score with Oakland in today’s final exhibition meeting between these clubs...the A’s took an 11-7 decision in Surprise on March 10...these Thursday -- Off day in Texas clubs will inaugurate Kansas City’s home schedule on Monday, April 10 in the first of a Friday vs. Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park (7:05) 3-game series, while KC will visit the Coliseum on August 14-16. Ian Kennedy vs. DINGER STREAK REMAINS IN TACT--The fourth inning dingers by Paulo Orlando and TBA Brandon Moss on Sunday extended Kansas City’s home run hitting streak to 17 consecutive games, hitting 24 home runs in that span...the Royals have homered in every game dating Saturday vs. Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park (1:05) back to the March 10 contest vs. Oakland...overall, the Royals have hit 40 home runs this Jason Hammel, Jason Vargas spring, the fifth most among all Major League clubs, fourth among the Cactus League vs. squads...last year’s Kansas City squad connected for 41 exhibition home runs to finish TBA eighth among MLB clubs...Peter O’Brien’s seven roundtrippers this spring are tied with the Sunday at Target Field Yankees’ Greg Bird for the big league lead and are the most by a Royals hitter since Alex Workout - Time TBA Gordon went deep eight times during the 2013 Cactus League season. KENNEDY APPEARS READY TO GO--Ian Kennedy, the #2 starter in Ned Yost’s season opening rotation, continued his Cactus League dominance on Saturday, firing 6.0 shutout innings allowing only three hits (two of which were fly balls lost in the sun) with two walks and seven strikeouts in the no decision vs. Milwaukee...for the spring, Kennedy has tossed 17.1 scoreless innings allowing only nine hits with three walks and 19 strikeouts, compiling an opposing batting average against of .155 and a 0.59 WHIP...Kennedy is one of only two pitchers in Major League Baseball to work at least 17.1 innings and not surrender a run this spring, with the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka tossing 18.2 scoreless. TV TOMORROW--The ninth of a record 10 spring telecasts on the Royals’ television home, FOX Sports Kansas City, will be tomorrow’s tilt from Surprise against the Chicago White Sox...Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler will call the action...that duo will also be joined throughout the season by Steve Physioc, Joel Goldberg and Jeff Montgomery on FSKC...the final spring telecast is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, when FSKC will televise the Rangers’ broadcast back to Royals’ fans. RAISED ON THE RADIO--Today and tomorrow will be carried on the Kansas City’s flagship station, KCSP (610 Sports) and the Royals Radio Network...Royals Hall of Famer Denny Matthews, Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart are alternating the calls this spring with Don Free providing the work as producer/ engineer...Wednesday’s noon game against the Rangers will be a webcast with Steve Stewart calling the action and then Friday night’s contest from Arlington will be back on 610, while Saturday will be back on the web. ROSTER BREAKDOWN--Entering the final week of spring training, the Royals have 29 players in big league camp...the breakdown includes 13 pitchers (2 non-roster), three catchers (one non-roster), seven infielders and six outfielders...among the 13 pitchers, five are left-handed...southpaw Brian Flynn is not listed among the 29 players on the roster and will open the year on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from a low back injury incurred just prior to spring training... of the three non-roster players in camp with Kansas City, all have previous Major League experience. SPRING WORK--Yesterday’s comeback upped Kansas City’s spring ledger to 15-13-1, which does not include the exhibition loss to Team Venezuela...the Royals have an all-time exhibition record of 680-623 with 39 ties for a .522 winning pct...the club has a 248-200 mark with 19 ties for a .554 mark in the Valley of the Sun...Kansas City spent its first 34 seasons training in Florida, beginning with Fort Myers (1969-87), followed by a 15-year stint in Baseball City (1988-2002). VALLEY DAYS DWINDLING--The days in Arizona are down to just three followed by a pair of tilts in Arlington against the Texas Rangers this Friday and Saturday...of the remaining games here in Arizona, the Royals will be at home in Surprise tomorrow (1:05) and Wednesday (12:05). THE SEASON AHEAD--The 2017 campaign will begin a week from today in Target Field, as the Royals and Twins face-off in the first of a three-game series...all three games in Minneapolis will be day affairs, with an off day on Tuesday, April 4, sandwiched between games one and two...Kansas City will then head to Houston for a three-game weekend Starts by Position set before the home half of the schedule opens on Monday, April 10 against the Oakland A’s... 1B -- Hosmer (8), O’Hearn (7), Cuthbert (5), Dozier (3), Dueñez (2), KC will host the Athletics for a three-game set, also separated by an off day on April 11, Merrifield (2), Moss (2), Cecchinin (1), then visits from the Los Angeles Angels (3) and San Francisco Giants (2) will wrap-up the 2B -- Mondesi (11), Merrifield (8), Colón (6), Cuthbert (5), initial stay of the season...Kansas City will have a stretch from April 28-May 18 when it will 3B -- Moustakas (12), Cuthbert (9), Colón (3), Merrifield (3), play 16 of 20 games in Kauffman Stadium, separated only by a four-game journey to Tampa Cecchini (2), Dozier (1) Bay on May 8-11...as evidenced by the two-game visit from the Giants during the opening SS -- Colón (8), Escobar (8), Torres (6), Mondesi (4), Arteaga (3), homestand, the Royals will battle the N.L. West in Interleague play in 2017, also making trips *N. Lopez (1) to San Francisco (2), Dodger Stadium (3) and San Diego (3), while the Giants, Rockies (3) and Diamondbacks (3) pay a visit to Kauffman Stadium. LF -- Soler (7), Moss (6), Gordon (5), O’Brien (4), Bonifacio (3), Burns (3), Orlando (2) AT THE HELM--The winningest manager in franchise history, Ned Yost begins his seventh CF -- Cain (16), Orlando (6), Burns (3), Starling (3), Gordon (2) full season with the club, taking the reins on May 13, 2010...he has a 549-550 regular season RF -- Gordon (10), Soler (9), Orlando (6), Bonifacio (3), record at the helm for the Royals, surpassing Whitey Herzog’s previous team mark of 410 wins O’Brien (1), Starling (1) (1975-79)...Yost is the 16th full-time manager in franchise history and enters this year seventh C -- Butera (9), Peña (7), Perez (7), Gallagher (6), Morin (1) among active managers is games (2,058) and wins (1,006)...this is his second stint as a big P -- Karns (5), Vargas (5), Kennedy (5), Hammel (5), Duffy (3), league manager after nearly six full campaigns at the helm for the Milwaukee Brewers (2003- Staumont (2), Wood (2), Young (2), Zimmer (1) 2008)...he compiled a 457-502 record with the Brew Crew including a 166-146 mark in his last two seasons...Yost, a catcher during his playing days, began his coaching career in the Atlanta DH -- Moss (9), Moustakas (6), O’Brien (4), Soler (4), Gordon (2), organization, including 12 straight seasons on Bobby Cox’s big league staff (1991-2002).