Royals Rumblings - News for June 21, 2024
The days only get shorter from here.
Bobby Witt Jr. came through when the Royals needed him in yesterday’s win:
“I mean, it’s easy to call it when it’s Bobby,” reliever Chris Stratton said.
After Witt’s homer gave Kansas City the lead back, Stratton picked up the save. He got the final two outs with runners on first and third in the ninth inning, and the Royals salvaged a disappointing series that saw them lose the first two games before avoiding the sweep.
The series finale — the Royals’ final game at the Coliseum with the A’s temporarily moving to Sacramento, Calif., for the 2025-27 seasons – showed Kansas City’s relentlessness again, both bouncing back from the previous two losses to the 28-49 A’s and a tough seventh inning.
They believe Witt and Salvador Perez should be All-Stars:
In addition to their stellar starting pitching, both Witt and Perez have carried the offense through different spurts. They are the lone Royals with 10 or more home runs. Prior to Thursday’s game, Witt was tied for the MLB lead with 11 Outs Above Average. “For what they’ve meant to us and how well they’ve performed this year, I think they should be (starters),” Quatraro said. “I hope it goes that way so that they both get to start.” It remains to be seen if the Royals do indeed get two All-Star starters, but Witt and Perez have a compelling case to be recognized with one of the game’s top honors. “They’ve helped this team tremendously to get to where we are now from where we were last year,” Loftin said. “That just shows the kind of players that they are.”
The Royals are reportedly interested in trading for Tommy Pham.
MANICA released renderings for a potential Royals ballpark in the West Bottoms.
A stirring tribute to Willie Mays highlighted last night’s game at Rickwood Field.
Left-handed pitcher and old friend Tim Hill is signing with the Yankees.
Old friend Andrew Benintendi has a shot at the worst season ever by WAR. ($)
A pitching coach and a veteran left-hander explain how starters prepare to pitch on game day.
This week’s injury roundup:
- Baltimore right-handed pitcher Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery.
- Dodgers right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler is headed to the IL with a hip injury.
- Angels right-handed pitcher José Soriano is headed to the IL with an abdominal injury.
- Milwaukee left-handed pitcher Robert Gasser will miss the rest of the season after elbow surgery.
- Yankees outfielder Jasson Domínguez will miss a couple months with an oblique injury.
East Carolina pitcher and draft prospect Trey Yesavage fears nothing.
Almost exactly a year ago, Paul Skenes and Rhett Lowder faced off in a College World Series showdown for the ages. ($) As amazing as that game was, it was still in my opinion the second-best game from last year’s tournament. I linked to the best one in my piece on Chase Burns.
Tennessee and Texas A&M are each seeking their first national title as they face off in this weekend’s College World Series Finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring JJ Redick as their new head coach.
Realtime highway information from KC Scout is back after a nearly two-month outage.
What’s up with influencers promoting raw milk? ($)
New York is banning “addictive feeds” for teenagers.
Last year’s OceanGate disaster was even worse than you thought behind-the-scenes.
Exploring why powerful American men have awful fashion sense.
Your song of the day is The Days by Avicii.