Royals Rumblings - News for September 16, 2024

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Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Salvador Perez is a good dude.

The Royals have not been hitting with runners in scoring position lately, writes Anne Rogers.

But those RISP numbers have dropped off lately; since Sept. 1, the Royals rank 25th in baseball in average (.212), slugging percentage (.323) and OPS (.601) with RISP. On this road trip, they’re 10-for-53 (.188) with RISP.

“I really believe in the volatility of that,” Quatraro said. “It’s not something that’s going to be steady all the time, hitting with runners in scoring position.”

Bobby Witt Jr. hit the 100-RBI mark for the season.

“I set a lot of personal goals, but sometimes statistical goals are hard to set because you don’t know where you want to set them at,” Witt said. “So just really trying to take things day by day and playing the game and let that kind of happen on its own.”

It’s the first time the Royals have had multiple 100-RBI hitters since 2002 (Carlos Beltrán and Raúl Ibañez) — and just the sixth time in franchise history that multiple Royals have reached that mark in a single season.

Jaylon Thompson writes about Bobby’s sensational season.

“It’s been a lot of fun to watch him this year,” Wacha said. “He’s a stud and you kind of never know what he is going to do that day. (It’s) exciting stuff in the field, in the box and with his (at-bats). He is just an all-around stud and great dude. Getting to that number, that’s a big number right there. That’s something to be proud of.”

The Royals have clinched a winning season.

“Last year, we knew what our team was capable of doing just because of what we had,” Witt said. “We just had to prove ourselves right. We didn’t want to try to prove everyone else wrong.

“Earlier this year, people were already saying, ‘Oh, it’s the same Royals.’ Hearing that, we knew what we were able to do. This clubhouse is tight in here. We knew we were going to go out there and win some games.”

Brady Singer struggled with command of his sinker on Sunday.

“It had the right movement, I just wasn’t really competitive in the (strike) zone with it,” Singer said. “I wasn’t able to get ahead with it and kind of fell behind in some counts.”

Chris Stratton landed on the Injured List after an outing on Friday, replaced by Angel Zerpa.

Manager Matt Quatraro said Stratton has been dealing with soreness for a “couple months now,” but it got to the point Saturday where he couldn’t ignore it or pitch through it.

“You want guys that want to compete,” Quatraro said. “It’s soreness. That’s something pitchers deal with all the time. So a veteran pitcher that knows how to work through that, we give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Michael Lorenzen is likely to return to the Royals this week.

Salvador Perez talks about the legacy of Roberto Clemente as he nominated for the award for community service.

“Everybody knows what [Clemente] did for his community. It’s amazing. It’s a model to follow. You want to try to be like him, help your community, help as many people as you can. Try to do some good. It’s pretty cool to be nominated.”

Salvy donated his gear from Sunday’s game to the Roberto Clemente Museum.

Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com writes about winners from the trade deadline with the Royals atop the list.

Tyler Glasnow is unlikely to return this year for the Dodgers.

Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton return for the Twins, but with managed workloads.

Ads are coming to MLB helmets in the post-season.

The Reds won’t commit to manager David Bell for next season.

Will Cody Bellinger opt out of his deal with the Cubs?

The Rangers have had a post-championship hangover season.

Nori Aoki will retire from the NPB in Japan.

Hall of Fame Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione is retiring.

Why the number 18 is significant for Japanese pitchers.

Former All-Star third baseman Pablo Sandoval pitches five shutout innings in indie league ball.