Kansas City Royals OFFICIAL GAME NOTES Seattle Mariners (62-75) @ Kansas City Royals (71-66) Kauffman Stadium - Tuesday, September 3, 2013 - 7:10 p.m. Game #138 - Home Game #70 Fox Sports Kansas City (HD) & KCSP Radio (610 Sports) UPCOMING PITCHING PROBABLES Wednesday, September 4 vs. Seattle Mariners: RHP Taijuan Walker (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Ervin Santana (8-8, 3.19), 7:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Thursday, September 5 vs. Seattle Mariners: LHP Joe Saunders (11-13, 4.92) vs. RHP Jeremy Guthrie (13-10, 4.08), 1:10 p.m., No TV & 610 Sports Friday, September 6 vs. Detroit Tigers: TBA vs. RHP James Shields (10-8, 3.03), 7:10 p.m., FSKC (HD) & 610 Sports Saturday, September 7 vs. Detroit Tigers: TBA vs. LHP Danny Duffy (2-0, 1.35), 6:10 p.m., No TV & 610 Sports Sunday, September 8 vs. Detroit Tigers: TBA vs. LHP Bruce Chen (6-2+ tonight), 1:10 p.m., No TV & 610 Sports Every game can be heard in Kansas City on KCSP Radio (610 Sports) with Denny Matthews, Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart mikeside tonight, while Don Free mans the board as the producer/engineer...tonight’s game is being televised in High Definition by FOX Sports Kansas City with Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler describing the action...the pre and postgame show on FSKC, Royals Live, is hosted by Joel Goldberg, who is joined by Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery. Royals vs. Mariners FRESH PRINCE OF KAUFFMAN DOMINATES--Seven trips up and down I-29 this year between Kansas Kansas City won the first of seven 2013 meetings with the City and Omaha didn’t deter reliever Will Smith who did more than “get jiggy with it” yesterday, picking Mariners with yesterday’s 3-1 triumph, already matching the up starter Danny Duffy with 4.1 dominant innings of relief to gain a 3-1 series-opening win over Felix win total vs. the M’s in 2012...KC was just 1-7 against Seattle last year, going 1-3 here and 0-4 in Seattle...the Royals lead the Hernandez and the Mariners...the 24-year old Smith fanned 8 of the 14 men he faced with no walks and all-time body of work by a 212-195 mark, 117-91 in “The K.” allowing only one hit, a sun ball that dropped near Jarrod Dyson in centerfield in the seventh inning...Duffy’s Date Site Score WP LP Att. pitch-count was his nemesis on Monday, needing 91 tosses to get through 3.2 innings, allowing just a run on 9/2 KC W, 3-1 Smith Hernandez 20,063 5 hits and 4 walks with 4 K’s...he managed to strand 6 runners through the first three innings and then Smith 9/3 KC fanned the first Mariner he faced in the fourth to leave 2 more runners aboard...KC tied the game in the fourth 9/4 KC 9/5 KC on a Mike Moustakas RBI single and then took the lead with a pair in the fifth after hits by Dyson and Alcides 9/23 @ Sea Escobar, each used their speed to score on a wild pitch and sac fly, respectively...the win was Kansas City’s 9/24 @ Sea seventh in its last 9 games and closed the Royals to within 4 1/2 games of a Wild Card spot, thanks to the 9/25 @ Sea Rays losing in Anaheim last night. ONE AND DONE FOR THE STAFF--Yesterday was the seventh time in the last 8 games that the Kansas City pitching staff has allowed one or fewer earned runs...by surrendering only 8 earnies in the last 8 games (70.0 innings), KC has lowered its team ERA to an American League leading 3.43, topping #2 Detroit at 3.61...in the last 8 games, starters have allowed 7 earned runs in 49.1 innings for a 1.28 ERA, while the bullpen has surrendered just one run in 20.2 innings for a 0.44 mark while striking out 30 and limiting opposing hitters to a .087 batting average (6-for-69). PEN STILL ALSO ON TOP--Kansas City’s bullpen fired 5.1 innings of 2-hit, 9-K relief yesterday to secure both the win and the save in the 3-1 decision over the M’s... the Royals still have the best overall pen ERA in the American League with a 2.51 mark, bettering the #2 club from Texas (2.91)...only Atlanta has a better statistical bullpen in the Majors with a 2.36 mark...if the current 2.51 mark holds up over the final month, it would be the second best American League pen since 1982, with only Oakland’s 2.35 relief ERA in 1990 ranking better. SMITTY ON THE “K” ROLL--Reliever Will Smith recorded a big league best 8 strikeouts in yesterday’s 4.1-inning relief stint, matching the most K’s by a Kansas City reliever in 20+ years dating back to Tom “Flash” Gordon’s 8-K performance on July 9, 1993 in 4.2 frames vs. the Tigers...Gordon also holds the club record for strikeouts by a reliever with 10 on April 12, 1989 vs. Baltimore (6.2 innings). BILLY STREAKING AT HOME--Kansas City designated hitter Billy Butler was 1-for-4 yesterday, snapping out of an 0-for-16 funk with a fourth inning single that moved Eric Hosmer to third and set the stage for Mike Moustakas to tie the game with a hit...Butler has now reached base safely in 25 consecutive games here in Kauffman Stadium, hitting safely in 22 of those affairs at a .387 clip (36-for-93) with 6 doubles and 4 home runs...dating back to the July 19 home game vs. Detroit, Billy has compiled a .467 on-base pct. and .581 slugging pct. for an OPS of 1.048. NEW TROOPS ON BOARD--The Royals have taken full advantage of the September roster expansion, adding 6 players in time for tonight’s tilt with the Mariners... pitchers Louis Coleman and Wade Davis were recalled from Wilmington (A), where they had been optioned last week, while lefthanded reliever Donnie Joseph was recalled from Omaha (AAA)...also recalled from the Storm Chasers was infielder Johnny Giavotella, while Omaha infield teammates Pedro Ciriaco and veteran Carlos Pena had their contracts selected...to make room on the 40-man roster for Ciriaco and Pena, the Royals designated for assignment outfielder Edinson Rincon, who was playing at Northwest Arkansas (AA), and recalled lefthanded pitcher Noel Arguelles and placed him on the 60-day disabled list...uniform numbers include: Coleman (#31), Davis (#22), Joseph (#49), Giavotella (#9), Ciriaco (#37) and Pena (#23). TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Erasmo Ramirez (5-1, 5.18) vs. LHP Bruce Chen (6-2, 2.79) 2012 2011 Career 2013 2012 Career Erasmo Ramirez vs. Royals first career appearance Major League Record 5-1 (5.18 ERA) 1-3 6-4 Bruce Chen vs. Mariners 0-1 1-0 4-1 Major League Record 6-2 (2.79 ERA) 11-14 77-74 BRUCE CHEN takes the hill for his 10th start (29th appearance) of 2013, his 380th big league outing (213th start)...he is facing Seattle for the 13th time in his career (ninth start)...KC is Bruce’s 10th big league stop, following the Braves, Phillies, Mets, Expos, Reds, Astros, Red Sox, Orioles and Rangers. BACK ON TRACK IN MINNESOTA--Bruce bounced back from consecutive losses Bruce as a starter - 2013 by earning his sixth victory of the season last Thursday at Target Field in a 3-1 triumph over WHEN DATE OPPONENT SCORE IP H R ER HR BB SO TP-K LEFT the Twins...the veteran lefty allowed a solo homer to Brian Dozier in the sixth inning and 7/12 at Cleveland ND, 0-3 6.0 1 0 0 0 1 4 97-60 0-0 7/23 Baltimore W, 3-2 6.0 3 1 1 1 0 4 94-63 3-1 scattered 5 hits over 5.2 frames with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts...staked to a 3-run lead after the 7/28 at Chicago ND, 4-2 6.0 3 2 2 1 2 5 94-62 2-2 second, Bruce made it stand up with some defensive help...he pitched around baserunners 8/3 at N.Y. Mets ND, 4-3 6.0 4 1 1 1 0 8 94-64 3-1 8/8 Boston W, 5-1 7.2 5 0 0 0 1 2 108-73 3-0 by enducing a double play off the bat of Clete Thomas in the third and had a runner erased 8/13 Miami ND, 0-1 7.0 3 0 0 0 3 6 107-71 0-0 in the fourth when Alex Gordon threw out Ryan Doumit at second trying to stretch his hit 8/18 at Detroit L, 3-6 5.1 8 6 6 1 1 1 92-59 0-5 8/23 Washington L, 10-11 3.2 6 7 7 0 5 2 95-62 6-6 to a double...the victory was Chen’s first since tossing a season-high 7.2 innings against the 8/29 at Minnesota W, 3-1 5.2 5 1 1 1 1 3 93-60 3-1 Red Sox on August 8...the win was also his first on the road since May 21 in Houston, when 2013 Totals 6-2 2.79 87.0 74 29 27 8 27 59 1486-976 (66%) 2013 as a starter 3-2, 3.04 53.1 38 18 18 5 14 35 779-512 66% he pitched a scoreless inning of relief in a 7-3 come-from-behind win.