Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino: RBI streak at six games
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Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 7-2 loss to the Guardians.
The first baseman opened the scoring for his squad in the first inning by taking Tanner Bibee deep, but the Royals' offense quickly dried up after that. Pasquantino has gone yard in back-to-back games and has a six-game RBI streak going, batting .348 (8-for-23) over that stretch with a double, three homers and eight RBI.
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Royals' Cole Ragans: Hit hard by Guardians
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Ragans (5-6) took the loss Saturday, coughing up five runs on six hits and a walk over 4.2 innings as the Royals were downed 7-2 by the Guardians. He struck out six.
The big blow off the southpaw was a two-run blast by rookie Jhonkensy Noel in the fourth inning, but Ragans also got tagged for doubles by Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez, with the latter chasing him from the game in the fifth after 93 pitches (52 strikes). Ragans hadn't given up more than three runs in a start since May 11, and he'll take a 3.33 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 126:34 K:BB through 102.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next weekend in Colorado.
Witt went 1-for-3 with two walks, one stolen base and two runs scored in Friday's 10-3 win over the Guardians.
Witt previously went 10 games without a steal and hit just .184 (7-for-38) in that span. While that's a rare cold stretch for the shortstop, he salvaged it by knocking five extra-base hits in that period. Witt is up to 22 steals this year while adding 12 home runs, 53 RBI, 63 runs scored and a .310/.363/.531 slash line over 84 contests.
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Royals' Maikel Garcia: Two more steals in win
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Garcia went 2-for-5 with a double, two stolen bases and two runs scored in Friday's 10-3 win over the Guardians.
Garcia was briefly bumped down the order last weekend, but he hasn't really rebounded since returning to the leadoff spot for the last five games. His multi-hit effort Friday was his first since June 14 and just his third such game in June, a month in which he's batting .153 (15-for-98). The infielder is now at a .234/.288/.347 slash line with five home runs, 40 RBI, 51 runs scored and 21 steals over 82 contests, with his speed being the biggest upside in his game this year.
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Royals' Kyle Isbel: Lifts homer Friday
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Isbel went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 10-3 win over the Guardians.
Isbel has four extra-base hits (two homers, two triples) over his last eight contests. The 27-year-old continues to hold onto a starting role in center field, slashing .235/.280/.390 with a career-high six homers through 67 contests. He's added 22 RBI, 28 runs scored, four stolen bases, five doubles and four triples this season.
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Royals' Hunter Renfroe: Smacks homer in win
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Renfroe went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Friday's 10-3 win over the Guardians.
Renfroe went back-to-back with Salvador Perez in the second inning, and the Royals never looked back. This was Renfroe's second multi-hit effort in seven games since he returned from a bruised toe. He's up to eight homers, 28 RBI, 25 runs scored and one stolen base while slashing .211/.292/.389 through 63 contests. As long as Adam Frazier (thumb) remains on the injured list, Renfroe should see a majority of the playing time in right field for the Royals.
Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino: Tallies homer, three RBI
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Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 10-3 win against Cleveland.
After cracking an RBI single in the third inning, the Kansas City first baseman popped a two-run homer in the eighth for his ninth of the season. Pasquantino has struggled lately, as this marked his first multi-RBI game since June 13 against the Yankees. Overall, the 26-year-old sports a .237/.314/.420 slash line across 328 plate appearances with 53 RBI and 37 runs scored.
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Royals' Salvador Perez: Slugs 13th homer
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Perez went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI in Friday's 10-3 victory over the Guardians.
The veteran Royal crushed a titanic 447-foot solo homer off Triston McKenzie in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1. Perez later tallied an additional RBI with a single to drive Maikel Garcia home in the third. The 34-year-old Perez appears to be heating up this homestand, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with two homers over the past five games.
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Royals' Alec Marsh: Picks up sixth win
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Marsh (6-5) earned the win Friday against the Guardians, allowing one run on four hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five.
After yielding 10 runs across 8.2 innings his previous two starts, the 26-year-old looked solid in this 91-pitch outing. The only blemish on Marsh's evening was a solo homer allowed to Jose Ramirez in the first inning. The Kansas City right-hander lowered his season ERA to 4.19 en route to his first win since June 8 against Seattle. Marsh is currently slated to make his next start at home versus Tampa Bay.
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Royals' CJ Alexander: Playing time dipping
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Alexander is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Guardians.
After starting each of the first two games upon his recall, the left-handed hitting Alexander has now been out of the lineup for three straight, and they've all been against righties. Nick Loftin is again handling third base and looks to be the preferred option of the two at the hot corner.
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Royals' Michael Massey: Not in Friday's lineup
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Massey is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Guardians.
Massey was hit by a pitch in Thursday's game, so it's possible he's a bit sore. Salvador Perez will be the Royals' designated hitter while Freddy Fermin does the catching.
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Royals' Jake Brentz: Receives outright assignment
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Brentz cleared waivers and was assigned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Friday.
Brentz was dropped from the Royals' 40-man roster Monday, and after going unclaimed he'll stick in the organization. The 29-year-old has surrendered 29 earned runs over 17.2 combined innings across Double-A and Triple-A this season.
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Royals' Nick Loftin: Nabs steal
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Loftin went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Guardians.
Loftin has gone just 4-for-41 (.098) with a 5:10 BB:K over his last 14 contests. The versatile infielder got the start at third base for the second game in a row after CJ Alexander was at the hot corner for the two previous contests. The Royals are limiting Michael Massey to designated hitter to ease him in after another back injury, but once he's able to play the field, Loftin's usage is like to decrease. Loftin is slashing just .223/.322/.282 with one home run, one steal, 13 RBI and 14 runs scored over 122 plate appearances.
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Royals' Sam Long: Earns second win
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Long (2-1) walked one and struck out four over 1.2 scoreless innings to earn the win Thursday over the Guardians.
Long worked in the sixth and seventh innings after a strong start from Michael Wacha. The Royals pulled ahead 2-1 in the sixth inning, and Long did his part to keep the score there. The southpaw has been scored on in just three of his 14 appearances this season, pitching to a 1.98 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB over 13.2 innings in a low-leverage role. The Royals' bullpen has been a weak spot this year, so it's possible Long could find himself in a more prominent role if he continues to have success.
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Royals' James McArthur: Nails down 14th save
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McArthur pitched a perfect ninth inning and picked up the save over the Guardians on Thursday.
McArthur entered the game with a one-run lead in the ninth and needed only eight pitches to retire the side for his 14th save of the season. The right-hander has been very reliable as of late, hurling a perfect inning in each of his last three appearances while lowering his June ERA to 2.00. On the downside, McArthur has managed just a 4:4 K:BB this month over 10 appearances (nine innings) and hasn't recorded a strikeout in either of his last two outings.
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Royals' Michael Wacha: Stuck with no-decision
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Wacha did not factor into the decision in a win over the Guardians on Thursday, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out six.
Wacha loaded the bases in the second inning after walking two batters and hitting another one with a pitch, but the right-hander was able to work his way out of the jam and didn't surrender a run until the fifth when Daniel Schneemann got him for a sacrifice fly. Wacha has gotten little offensive support of late, failing to walk away with a win for the fourth consecutive start despite allowing two or fewer runs in each of those outings. Wacha actually hasn't surrendered more than two runs in seven straight starts, and he lowered his ERA to 3.91 with Thursday's performance.
