Kansas City Royals OFFICIAL GAME NOTES Tampa Bay Rays (65-67) @ Kansas City Royals (64-65) Kauffman Stadium - Monday, August 28, 2017 Game #130 - Home Game #66 FOX Sports Kansas City (HD) & KCSP Radio (610 Sports) UPCOMING PITCHING PROBABLES Tuesday, August 29 vs. Tampa Bay Rays: RHP Alex Cobb (9-8, 3.69) vs. RHP Jakob Junis (5-2, 4.68), 7:15 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Wednesday, August 30 vs. Tampa Bay Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi (6-7, 4.82) vs. LHP Jason Vargas (14-8, 3.72), 7:15 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Thursday, August 31: Travel day to Minnesota Tonight’s game can be heard on KCSP Radio (610 Sports) and the Royals Radio Network with Royals Hall of Famer Denny Matthews, Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart on the call, while Don Free controls the dials as the producer/engineer…tonight is being televised in HD on FSKC with Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler mikeside, while Joel Goldberg and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery host the pre/postgame shows, Royals Live. Royals vs. Rays NOT SO HOT IN CLEVELAND--Things didn’t go so well during Kansas City’s 3-game weekend stop These clubs meet for the first time since KC took three of four near the shores of Lake Erie, as the Tribe completed a sweep of the Royals with a 12-0 thumping yesterday... during a visit to St. Pete in early May...Kansas City has gone 28-9 unfortunately it was a club record setting visit to Cleveland as KC established a team futility mark of in its last 37 contests against the Rays, including a 16-1 mark here consecutive scoreless innings with 34.0, the last 27.0 of which occurring over the weekend...the Royals last highlighted by eight wins in a row...the recent stretch of success has allowed KC to climb out of a 48-65 all-time deficit into a 76-74 scored when Brandon Moss homered in the second inning on Thursday against Colorado and then broke past advantage...KC is 41-27 in games contested in “The K.” the 2004 scoreless record of 32.0 innings after the eighth yesterday...Eric Skoglund worked only 1.1 innings Date Site Score WP LP Att. allowing seven runs on seven hits, the Onelki Garcia made his Royals’ debut and was solved for five runs, all 5/8 @ TB W, 7-3 Karns Snell 12,826 5/9 @ TB W, 7-6 (12) Junis Moreno 9,921 in his first inning of work before saving the pen with 5.0 more scoreless frames...the offense was held to six 5/10 @ TB L, 1-12 Archer Hammel 9,320 hits, two coming from Melky Cabrera...the lost weekend dropped the Royals to nine games out in the A.L. 5/11 @ TB W, 6-0 Vargas Odorizzi 9,340 Central race and 2 1/2 back in the Wild Card with KC needing to leap four other clubs to qualify. 8/28 KC 8/29 KC ROSTER MOVE--The Royals today recalled left-handed pitcher Brian Flynn from Omaha (AAA) and 8/30 KC optioned yesterday’s starting pitcher Eric Skoglund back to the Storm Chasers...the 27-year old Flynn got a late start to the 2017 season after suffering a back injury while working on his barn prior to spring training...since being activated from the D.L. in late-May, Flynn has made 22 appearances (four starts) for Omaha, going 5-3 with a 5.40 ERA...his last four appearances have been as a starter, giving up seven earned runs in 18.1 innings for a 3.44 ERA. 300 STRAIGHT FOR ESKY--Alcides Escobar extended his club record by starting for the 300th consecutive time in yesterday’s series finale in Cleveland...the indestructible shortstop has started every game since September 26, 2015, which is the longest active streak in the Majors, according to the Elias Sports Bureau...he recently passed Baltimore’s Miguel Tejada with 284 consecutive starts from April 4, 2004 through August 20, 2005, giving him the longest streak of consecutive starts at shortstop with the same club since Cal Ripken started 2,216 consecutive games for the Orioles from 1982 to 1996. QUICK STAY--The just completed weekend jaunt to Cleveland started a stretch in which the Royals are only home for three of 12 games with this quick set against Tampa Bay the lone games here...Kansas City will depart on Thursday for a 6-game intra-division tour of Minnesota (3) and Detroit (3), the final stop of the year in each city...the Cleveland series also started a stretch in which KC is on the road for 21 of 31 games before closing the year with a 6-game homestand. BACK TO A GAME UNDER--The rough weekend in Cleveland, coupled with Thursday’s loss here to Colorado has dropped the Royals back to a game below break- even at 64-65...the last time KC was under .500 was on August 11 when a loss to the White Sox lowered the mark to 57-58...Kansas City then turned is around to take seven of the next 10 before this 4-game hiccup. 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. TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Austin Pruitt (6-4, 5.76) vs. RHP Ian Kennedy (4-9, 5.09) 2017 2016 Career 2017 2016 Career Austin Pruitt vs. Royals 0-0 - 0-0 Major League Record 6-4 (5.76 ERA) - 6-4 Ian Kennedy vs. Rays - 0-0 1-4 Major League Record 4-9 (5.09 ERA) 11-11 90-88 IAN KENNEDY makes his 25th start of the season and 262nd of his career (264th appearance)…it’s his ninth career start vs. the Rays and first since August 4, 2016 in St. Petersburg…he’s in the second season of a five-year deal he signed with the Royals on January 29, 2016. NO-DECISION VS. ROCKIES--Ian ran his personal winless streak to five straight Ian’s 2017 Starts starts with a no decision last Tuesday against Colorado, but his teammates made sure the DATE OPPONENT SCORE IP H R ER HR BB SO TP-K LEFT 4/5 at Minnesota L, 1-9 5.0 3 3 3 0 5 5 95-55 1-3 night ended on a positve with a 6-4 walk-off win...winless since a 16-2 triumph at Detroit 4/9 Oakland L, 0-2 6.0 6 2 2 1 2 4 99-61 0-2 on July 26, Kennedy worked 4.2 innings on Tuesday allowing three runs on seven hits 4/16 LA Angels ND, 1-0 8.0 2 0 0 0 2 10 111-67 0-0 4/22 at Texas ND, 1-2 7.0 4 1 1 1 3 3 95-60 1-1 with three walks and six K’s, leaving the contest down 3-1...the Royals cut the deficit to 4/28 Minnesota ND, 4-6 5.1 2 2 2 1 2 6 100-61 3-2 5/4 White Sox L, 3-8 4.1 6 5 4 2 1 3 84-52 0-5 one in the seventh inning, the Eric Hosmer hit a 3-run homer in the ninth to secure the KC 5/21 at Minnesota (2) L, 4-8 2.0 3 5 5 2 3 1 54-28 2-5 win…Ian has failed to complete 5.0 innings in consecutive starts for the second time this 5/26 at Cleveland ND, 6-4 5.0 3 4 4 1 2 4 88-50 4-4 5/31 Detroit L, 5-6 3.0 4 5 5 1 3 4 74-43 3-5 season (also, May 4-21), after doing so just once in the previous eight seasons (2016-09). 6/5 Houston L, 3-7 5.0 6 4 4 1 3 4 96-53 2-4 HITS ON THE RISE--After beginning this season with a club record 15 consecutive 6/10 at San Diego ND, 12-6 6.0 6 4 4 1 2 5 100-67 3-4 6/16 at LA Angels W, 3-1 6.0 2 1 1 1 1 4 97-57 2-1 starts allowing six-or-fewer hits, Ian has allowed 34 hits over 23.2 innings in his five starts 6/21 Boston ND, 6-4 4.2 3 4 2 2 3 4 89-54 2-3 this month...he still ranks 11th in the American League with a .239 opponents’ average 6/28 at Detroit W, 8-2 7.0 5 2 2 2 1 5 94-63 5-2 7/3 at Seattle W, 3-1 6.2 4 1 1 0 2 7 105-67 3-1 (114-for-476) with a minimum of 127.0 innings…the old club record for six or fewer hits 7/8 at LA Dodgers ND, 4-5 (10) 6.0 7 3 3 1 1 7 100-71 3-3 7/16 Texas ND, 4-3 6.2 5 2 2 2 1 6 99-63 2-2 in consecutive starts was set by Edinson Volquez over his first 13 of 2015.