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| Joakim Soria was lights out again on Thursday night in Baltimore. The right-hander threw a perfect ninth inning recording two strikeouts in his 23rd save of the season. |
Our View: It's hard to pick out a player that has not only surprised, but also performed better in the process. George Sherrill comes to mind, but he recently blew saves in consecutive appearances. Soria's ERA is at 1.22, his WHIP at .073, and only his 23 saves trump his 41 strike outs in 37 innings. |
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| Kyle Davies was hit hard for the third straight start against Baltimore on Thursday night. The right-hander allowed seven runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out four in the Royals win. |
Our View: Davies started strong after being recalled from Omaha, but has quickly returned to his career peripherals. After Thursday's performance, his ERA went from 3.34 to 4.71. |
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| David DeJesus matched his career-high hitting streak of 15 games by singling in a run in the sixth inning. |
Our View: DeJesus, who returned to the starting lineup for the second straight night after missing time to a bruised rib, has raised his average to .321 during the hitting streak. |
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| Jose Guillen went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored in the Royals 10-7 victory over the Orioles on Thursday night. |
Our View: Guillen has 14 multi-hit games in his last 26 starts and has his average up to .280 on the season. |
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| Mark Grudzielanek went 4-for-5 helping the Kansas City Royals defeat the Baltimore Orioles 10-7 on Thursday night. Grudz drove in and scored a run in the win. This is the second four-hit performance for the Royals second baseman in the last week. On June 29, Gruzielanek went 4-for-5 against the Cardinals.
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Our View: As bad as this Royals team can be at times, they rarely lie down for their opponents. KC overcame a four-run deficit, and a two home run performance by Aubrey Huff, to earn a split of the four-game series against the O's. Grudz is a large part of the big-hearted team. |
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| Tony Pena Jr., who hasn't played in nearly a week, started at shortstop in Baltimore on Thursday replacing Mike Aviles. |
Our View: Pena hasn't played in the teams' last six games. He lost his starting shortstop job to Aviles after hitting .154 in 169 at-bats in April and May. |
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| Mike Aviles was out of the lineup for the first time in 24 games as Kansas City was playing the fourth and final game of a road series in Baltimore. Tony Pena started at shortstop. |
Our View: The ookie shortstop was hitless in his last two games and made some costly mistakes defensively on Tuesday night. Ultimately costing the team a win. |
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| John Buck, who suffered a bruised groin due to a Wednesday night foul ball, was not in Thursday's starting lineup. |
Our View: Miguel Olivo started behind the plate. Buck is considered day-to-day. |
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| Joey Gathright, who suffered a left shoulder separation, didn't start in center field tonight against the Orioles.
Gathright suffered the injury when he attempted an over-the-fence catch during a 5-2 loss to Baltimore on Wednesday night.
David DeJesus was moved from left to center field. Jose Guillen went from designated hitter to left field and Billy Butler served as the teams designated hitter. |
Our View: The Royals television network reported that the Royals center fielder could have played, but manager Trey Hillman opted to give him the day off. |
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| Billy Butler is serving as the Royals designated hitter in the final tilt of a four-game series in Baltimore. |
Our View: Butler, who was recently recalled from Omaha, is hitting fifth against Orioles' lefty Garrett Olson. |
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| Ron Mahay is drawing interest from other teams as the trading deadline approaches, according to the Kansas City Star. The paper lists the Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, Marlins and Rays as potential suitors. |
Our View: Mahay has been very good as a left-handed reliever, with a 2.13 ERA while allowing just two home runs in 42.1 innings of work. He doesn't possess great fantasy value, but he does have 12 holds for players using that statistic. |
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| David DeJesus went 3-for-4 with three RBI in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Orioles. He hit two singles and a solo home run, his ninth of the season. |
Our View: DeJesus has been slowed by bruised ribs, but is safe to keep active in your lineups, evidenced by tonight's strong performance. He also extended his hitting streak to 15-games. |
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| Gil Meche allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits over six innings in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Baltimore, with two walks and no strikeouts. |
Our View: Tonight's loss snaps a three-game winning streak for him. He only allowed one earned run in each of his last two wins heading into tonight. |
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| The Kansas City Star reports that Leo Nunez will not likely join the Royals before the All-Star break, but he may begin his Triple-A rehab assignment soon. Nuņez is scheduled to throw a few sessions of live batting practice over the next week in Surprise, Ariz., and could begin a formal rehab assignment next week at Omaha. |
Our View: Nunez was 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 21 appearances before being set back with a strained side. He is a great source of holds with Joakim Soria proving to be one of the most reliable closers in baseball. |
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| According to the Kansas City Star, David DeJesus could rejoin the starting lineup Wednesday. Manager Trey Hillman said, "He took about 30 tee swings and about 20 soft-toss swings (before the game). He's better. We just felt it was better to keep him out one more day." |
Our View: Dejesus was on a 13 game hitting streak before bruising his ribs in a home plate collision on Sunday. He was hitting .438 over that span. |
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| Alex Gordon went 2-for-5 with a solo homer in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Orioles. |
Our View: That was his third homer over his last seven games, while collecting nine RBI over the span. He is worth penciling into your fantasy lineups while he is hot. |
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| Luke Hochevar was rocked for six earned runs on six hits over six innings in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to Baltimore, with three walks and two strikeouts. |
Our View: He falls to 5-6 for the season, with a 4.91 ERA. This ended a fairly solid run for Hochevar, as he was 2-0 over his previous five starts, while only allowing two earned runs in three of those outings. |
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| Billy Butler started at DH for the first time in three games on Monday since being recalled from Triple-A and he went 3-for-5 at the plate, according to the Kansas City Star. |
Our View: Number one, the kid can hit. Number two, it makes no sense to call him up and have him sit on the bench. Number three, if the Royals do as they should and run him out there everyday, Butler has a chance to be a mixed league option by the end of this season. |
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| David DeJesus is still suffering from a bruised right rib which could force him to remain on the bench for another couple of days, according to the Kansas City Star. |
Our View: DeJesus is showing progress but the team wants to make sure their hot hitting outfielder isn't in danger of re-injuring himself before they throw him back into the fold. |
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