8-9-10?

     My title says it all folks. The Royals have won their last 9 games in a row. The question is can they keep it moving and Make the Playoffs for a third consecutive season.And do the unthinkable yet again? The Marlins are currently the team who stands in the way of the Streak. After last nights 1-0 win for the boys in blue, The Marlins drop to 65-60 overall. Which is good for second place in the N.L. East behind the Nationals, 73-52, and ahead of the Mets who are at a .504 winning percentage with a record of 63-62. With the loss last night for the Marlins, there post season chances are still very intact. As they are only 8 games out from winning the division, and only trail by 1.5 games in the wildcard race.
     As for the Royals, they gained ground in the A.L. Central last night by a half game on the Tigers, who are currently in second place in the Central with a record of 66-59, and the Indians, who are in first place with a record of 72-52. Which puts them out of the division lead by 7.5 games. As for the wildcard spot, the Royals stayed put at 4 games out to the Orioles, 69-56. Next to the Orioles all the Royals have in front of there third post season quest is the Mariners, 67-58, and once again the Tigers at 66-59. With a little over a month left in the season, I still think the Royals quest for a third post season is very much alive.
     Over the past two years the Royals have closed out the season in the month of September with an under .500 winning percentage at 26-29. Which isn't to bad and has gotten the job done so far. But this year is a different story. Two seasons ago, the Royals danced there way into the post season sweeping every game up until the world series. Last season, the Royals came out with a 95 win season winning the division by an impressive 12 games over the Twins, who competed with KC for first all season until the last month.
     So how do I still see KC in the playoff hunt? I`ll tell you how, the Royals under pressure have been a winning machine as of late, and when things click they just can't be beat. Hence the last two post seasons and all of last season. With there eyes on yet another post season berth, the Royals are looking healthy again. Danny Duffy has been the talk of the Royals organization as of late. And since the All-Star break, Duffy has gone 5-0 with an ERA of 1.18, along with 37 K`s, of which 16 of those came in a single game against Tampa Bay for a Royals Record and where Duffy almost threw a no hitter and went 8 strong innings, which has dropped him to a 2.66 ERA. Yes folks, that ranks him 2nd in the American League only behind Detroit`s Michael Fulmer who has an ERA of 2.58.
     With this spark from Duffy, Kansas city`s pitching  has been decent enough to post a record of 16-5 in the month of August thus far. and in the last 8 games the Bull Pen has gone 32 consecutive scoreless innings. and if those two aren't enough, Ventura is beginning to shape up. As he has allowed  no more than three runs allowed in his last nine appearances.
     So with all that in mind, the Royals just simply need to continue to gel well together. Everyone is feeding off of each other right now and the results have been great thus far, resulting in the 9 game winning streak. Despite a rough first half of the season losing player after player, and pitcher after pitcher, If the Royals stay injury free and continue to play smart baseball. Well hey, I see a divisional win for a second straight year. But lets not get to far ahead of ourselves. With thirty plus games left and only 7.5 games out of first at the moment, the chance is still there and thats hopeful thinking. But, knowing this team over the past 3 years anything can happen.
    So Royals fans, sit back and relax. and watch the rest of the 2016 season unfold. Because one freaky thing could lead to another and then Bam! you're in or out, and that`s what its all about.


   

Here Comes Jonny Number Two!

     As Royals new pitcher Johnny Cueto Returns to the K this week. All fans can think about is thirteen runs against the Royals so called Ace. In his past two starts, Cueto has given up those thirteen runs in just eleven innings. Which for Johnny Cueto isn't herd of. At-least not in a Royals uniform. Cueto started off his time with the Royals 0-1 in his first two starts, with one of those starts being a no decision. Cueto then came to Kauffman Staduim and threw a nine inning shut out in his first appearance while he threw eight innings, allowing only one hit and improved his record to 2-1 as a Royal.
     The Royals ace is back in action at Kauffman tonight. Where he will be facing Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers. If Cueto can't get back in his groove tonight in Kansas City, then the Royals may have something to worry about. With a few guys on the disabled list already, the Royals can't afford to lose anymore of their starters this late in the season.
     On a bright note, The Royals signed utility player Johnny Gomes yesterday. Gomes is 34 years old and has plenty of post season experience. In fact, Gomes has appeared in the playoffs the past five seasons with one world series win. Gomes also has an .878 OPS, on base plus slugging percentage, against left-handed pitchers this season as he is batting .223 overall with 22 runs batted in and 7 home runs thus season.

Royal Timing!

   From when I last posted on here, the Royals have done a lot. Two years have gone by and the Royals are making a Splash in the MLB. Since then, the Royals have gone from worst to first and the organization has has seen major improvements. Now that the Royals have a world series behind them, The chip on their shoulder is even bigger this year.

     They started the 2015 season 9-0 and haven't looked back since. Our boys in blue are now an A.L. best 72-46. Not only do they have the best Record in The A.L., they also have a thirteen and a half game lead in the central division. Not to mention, this Royals team is twenty-six games over five hundred for the first time since 1980. Yeah, thats right world and ESPN, who all said the Royals would not finish in first place this season, Kansas City is in first place!

     Speaking as a Royals fan here, I`m really glad General Manager Dayton Moore decided to convince owner David Glass to open up his pocket book and sign everyone back he needed, and then some. It's been great to have a four, sometimes five, starter rotation who can get things done as well as having one of the top defenses in the MLB to back up the bullpen. Not to mention the stellar hitting core that has revamped the Royals offense. As Morales leads the way with 83 RBI`s and Hosmer and Cain continue to bat above .300 at the same time. It continues to be great for both the organization and the city of Kansas City.

    Not only did the Royals do well in the offseason, but now with their most recent acquisitions of Pitcher Johnny Queto and utility player Ben Zobrist. The Royals two newest players both continue to dominate. Yes, they started off slow in their first couple of outings as Queto went 6 plus innings in his first two appearances, but with lack of run support fell to 0-1 with a no decision in his first two outings and for Zobrist, he went 0-4 in his first outing and in his second outing he went 1-4 as he went 1-8 in his first two starts. Despite their first two disappointing starts, Queto and Zobrist have been clutch. Queto has since then gone 17 innings with one earned run and twelve strike outs as Zobrist has gone 19-49, which is a .387 batting average, along with 4 home runs.

     If the Royals can continue at this pace and feed off the energy of their new teammates. They will once again find themselves in the post season, but not just only in the postseason, but in first place in their own division and in the American League over all. which would give them home field advantage for the entire postseason. Which is great for them beings that they are 42-20 at Kauffman this season.

Six games back!

The Royals have lost three in a row now, as they fall six games back from first place. The Royals didn't struggle on the Run portion of the game, but they did struggle as their pitching fell down hill. The Bull pen looked like they were tired yet again and showed struggle, this after Mendoza pitched a gem on Friday night, but that made no difference for the Double header on Saturday and again on sunday as the Royals fell short in all three games. They simply looked worn and torn. As the series with the Twins is now over, They look to Face the the BlueJays in Toronto. So here we go,


Tonight @ 6:07pm, Ricky Romero looks to play host to Everett Teaford. Romero is 8-2 with an ERA of 4.94 as Teaford is 0-1 with an ERA of 5.06. Look for a great match-up here as Teaford looks to get his first win after being Blown out by the Cardinals 2 weeks ago, being sent to Omaha, and then winning in a no decision against Tampa last Wednesday. Not to mention Romero is coming off his worst outing of this season. So as I stated look for a good game.


Tomorrow July 3, 2012 @ 6:07pm it will be Brett Cecil hosting Vin Mazzaro. Cecil is 1-1 on the season with an ERA of 6.06 while Mazzaro is 3-2 with an ERA of 4.72. look for a great match up here as Mazzaro looks to Redeem himself as well as Cecil. both got smashed in there last outing, and would love a win, so that is why I call a good game.


Wednesday July 4, 2012 @ 6:07pm it will be Carlos Villanueva Taking on Luis Mendoza. Villanueva is 2-0 this season with a 3.52 ERA as Mendoza is 3-4 with an ERA of 4.50. Look for a good game from both Pitchers here as well. The reason for this is Mendoza is coming off a great outing, in which he pitched 8 innings and gave 1 run, as for Villanueva, He struggled through 5 innings on friday, but got the win any way.

I have the Royals bouncing back and beating the BlueJays 2 games to 1 in this series. I think the young team will do what they have done all season, more recently in the past 15 games, swept, 4 game win streak, swept, 4 game win streak , swept, now I look to see a sweep or a 2 game streak and a loss on the fourth. Look for a good series between these two teams, as three decent pitchers with Decent defenses, go head to head over the next three days.

Red Birds Sweep on Through!

After a weekend sweep by the Cardinals, there were a few positives for the Royals. Salvador Perez Was fresh off the DL on Friday as he went 2-3 with a single in his first at bat, a home run in his second, and reached base on a fielders Choice. Perez would sit out the next game and would return on Sunday where he went 1-4 with a walk. So 3 hits 8 at bats with a walk, 2 singles, fielders choice, and a home run. Not to bad in his first 2 games in the Majors. Now all that we need is Cain back in the line up and we can play with the team we had in spring. And hopefully after the All-Star break we can still make a run for at least second, but now lets look at the task at hand. And that is Tampa Bay, lets look at the series.

Tonight @ 7:10pm the Royals Luke Hochevar will take on the Rays Alex Cobb. Hoch is 4-7 this season with an ERA of 5.65 and for Cobb, he is 3-3 with an ERA of 3.82. Look for a good match up as Luke Hochevar seems to possibly have his form back on the mound and Cobb looks to make it 4-3 on the season after a little delay in the rotation as their game against the phillies was rained out thursday.

Tomorrow June 26, 2012 @ 7:10pm Bruce Chen will play host to Chris Archer. Chen is now 6-6 on the Season with an ERA of 4.81 and Archer is 0-1 with an ERA of 1.50. Chen looks to keep on rollin after a 5 2/3 inning start vs the Astros and Archer looks to grab his first win on the season. look for a good match up here between these two pitchers and a close game.

And Wednesday June 27, @ 1:10 pm Royals Pitcher TBA, will play host to the Rays Matt Moore. Moore is 4-5 on the year with an ERA of 4.13 and comes in to Kc on a no decision in his last outing last week vs. the Nationals. Look for a pretty good match-up here as I`m sure the Royals will pick a decent pitcher for this game. it will be close as Perez will play for the Royals as well.


My prediction for this series is the Royals will win 2-1 here. I say this because they Just got swept for the second time this season, and the last time they were swept, by the pirates, they went on a 4 game winning streak. which included a sweep of the Brewers at the K, look for a good series here as the Royals finish their last home stand until after the All-Star break. Not to mention I expect Salvador Perez to break out in this series as well.

Royal Clutch!

It`s been a series of clutch moments for this young Royals team since that series sweep by the Pirates. After that series the Royals have played six games against the NL Central and are now 5-4. In the past six games, the Royals have come from behind five times and have won four of those 5 comebacks. The only downer in their last series was Gets getting hurt. Gets has become a key player at second base in the past month and has played very dominate at that. The Royals travel down to Texas to take on the Astros today, after a 15 inning Thriller in St. Louis last night. So lets break it down.

Tonight at 7:05pm, Pitcher J.A Happ will host Jonathan Sanchez. Happ is 4-7 with an ERA of 5.33 and for Sanchez, he is 1-2 with an ERA of 5.33. Happ`s struggled a lot lately, as he has gone 0-4 with an ERA of 7.17 in his last 5 starts. In this span he's allowed 30 hits and 18 runs, while walking 10 batters in 21 1/3 innings. As for Sanchez, he made his return from the DL in his last outing and received a no decision, in that game he allowed one run on seven hits in 5 innings. He`s yet to make it to the 6th inning this season. So look for a close game here tonight and a tired Royals team as Houston is the favorite.

Tomorrow June 19, 2012 @ 7:05 Wandy Rodriguez takes on Luke Hochevar. Rodriguez is 6-4 with an ERA of 3.35 and Hoch is 3-7 with an ERA of 6.27. Rodriguez is 3-0 in his past 5 starts, but has not been dominate. His ERA is 5.72 in those five appearances, allowing 42 hits in 28 1/3 innings in 9 starts, while Hochevar just threw one of his best games of the season in his last time out, when he went 7 1/3 innings, allowing just 3 runs on 6 hits and struck out 5 Brewers in a no decision. so look for another great game between two, as of lately, struggling pitchers.

Wednesday June 20, 2012, @ 1:05 pm, Jordan Lyles will host Bruce Chen in the Final game of the 3 game series. Lyles is 1-3 with an ERA of 5.50 and then Chen, Chen is 5-6  with an ERA of 5.05 In his previous two starts, Lyles has carried a shutout into the fifth inning before giving up five runs and lasting 4 1/3 innings. He is 0-2 with an ERA of 7.27 in those starts, for Chen, he was KO`ed in St. Louis last Saturday in 1 2/3 innings. The reason for this was, he could not establish his fastball in the 89-mph range, and got stuck in the 80`s. He will look to capitalize against Lyles, who is struggling as well, as they go head to head at 1:05pm on Wednesday.

My prediction for this series is that the Royals will win two of three and walk out with their third series win in 12 games. I like the Royals rotation right now and I like how the team is 6 games from .500 ball and 5 games behind the White sox. I expect the Royals to play good ball in this series as they are gelling well together and capitalizing on their mistakes.

Sweeping through Kc!

The Royals swept right through Kansas city this week as the done all three games in their series vs the Brewers. In the First game of the Series The Royals out doled Zack Greinke pulling out the win 2-1. Then in game 2 the Royals win in walk off fashion 4-3 in the 11th inning and last night they do the same thing and get a walk off win in the bottom of the 9th as a wild throw to home plate allowed the Speedy Jarrod Dyson to score the winning run as Kc wins 4-3 again. The Royals head to St. Louis tonight to take on their cross-state rival  the Cardinals. So lets get too it.

Tonight at 7:15pm, Kyle Lohse will play host to Royals Vin Mazzaro. Lohse is 6-1 with an ERA of 2.90, as for Mazzaro, he is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.60. Look for a great game here as Lohse as he only allowed 3 hits in his last outing, and Mazzaro looks to rebound after his first loss on the season.

Tomorrow Saturday, June 16, 2012, at 1:10 pm, it will be Joe Kelly taking on Bruce Chen. Kely is 0-0 on the season with an ERA of 1.80 while Chen is 5-6 with an ERA of 4.44. look for another good match-up here as well. This is because Both pitchers pitched a great game in each of their last outings, but Kelly lost in a no decision, and Chen Got the loss while he left 2 on and the relief could not seal the deal. So both of these pitchers have a bit of an edge in this game.

And Sunday, June 17, 2012, at 1:15pm, Adam Wainwright takes on Luis Mendoza. Wainwright is 5-7 with a 4.75 ERA and Mendoza enters the game at 2-3 with an ERA of 4.89. look for another Duel till the end here as both of these pitchers are off to a shaky start, but Mendoza has shown a little spark lately for the Royals, as he pitch a 6 inning no hitter until milwakee didn't want anymore of it.

I have the Royals winning two of three in St. Louis,and my reasoning behind this is the fact the Royals are red hot right now while the cards have been struggling the past few games. I say the Royals will settle in and settle down. Go Royals!