KC Royals - May

[SubGod22]

Hosmer has final word as Royals prevail

NEW YORK -- If you thought Eric Hosmer couldn't top his first Major League home run in Yankee Stadium, think again.

Hosmer also knocked in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, as the Royals overcame the New York Yankees, 4-3, in a marathon that stretched for four hours, 31 minutes in front of 40,164 fans on Wednesday night.

"They're both big," Hosmer said. "Winning the game is what we come here for, and that was huge for us."

In the 11th, the Royals loaded the bases on Chris Getz's walk, Jarrod Dyson's one-out infield hit, Dyson's stolen base and an intentional walk to Melky Cabrera. Hosmer lifted a fly ball to center field off reliever Luis Ayala, deep enough to allow Getz to race home. The Yankees appealed to third base, hoping that Getz left the bag too soon, to no avail.

"No chance," Getz said. "I know they appealed it, but I know when I leave early, and I didn't leave early."

Getz crossed the plate easily ahead of Curtis Granderson's throw.

"He's fast -- it's reassuring that he's on third," Hosmer said. "I saw Curtis misread it a little bit, and it looked like it was almost going to fall. He had to come in pretty hard for it, so I thought at that point we had a pretty good chance. I saw Getzy take off and, from the takeoff, you knew they weren't going to get him."

Did batting in the No. 3 spot, subbing for a resting Alex Gordon, for the first time in Yankee Stadium give Hosmer a case of the shimmy-shakes? Apparently not.

"I was just holding Gordo's spot down until he's back," Hosmer said.

Leading off the Royals' fourth, Hosmer slammed a 3-2 pitch from Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett over the right-field wall for his first big league blast. Burnett said he threw a fastball right down the middle.

"First big league home run, huh? Great," Burnett said. "He's got a good swing. I fell behind, and I want to challenge guys."

A quartet of rookie pitchers came through big for the Royals, as Adcock, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow and Louis Coleman combined for six shutout innings. Three were posted by Crow in his longest big league outing.

Yost opted not to bring back Soria for a second inning, and Coleman stepped in to pitch a 1-2-3 11th for his first big league save. Coleman got Alex Rodriguez to fly out and finished with strikeouts of Eduardo Nunez and Nick Swisher.

There's also a three and a half minute video on Hosmers day in the link. Enjoy!

[XManCometh]

Hosmer looks like the real deal:

Now, fast forward to the 11th inning. Bases loaded, one out, an 0-2 count against right-hander Luis Ayala. Hosmer reaches for a pitch down and away, out of the strike zone. Sacrifice fly to center. Go-ahead run. Royals win, 4-3.

Good thing Hosmer, 21, has Francoeur, 27, advising him at every turn. Want to know what Frenchy told Hosmer, a left-handed hitter, before the series began?

You're so good at hitting the ball the other way. Don't be seduced by the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium. Don't get pull-happy.

Uh, fine advice, Frenchy, considering where Hosmer deposited his first homer. But in fairness, Francouer also says this:

“At 21 years old, I wish I knew half the stuff he does about hitting. His approach and maturity is off the charts.”

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/eric-hosmer-kansas-city-royals-rookie-looks-like-real-deal-051111

[RoyalShock]

Another nice game from Hosmer. 3 for 5 with a HR and check-swing RBI double.

KC leads 11-5 in the 9th.

[wsushox1]

Gotta love that right field wind tunnel.

[SubGod22]

Royals strut out of Bronx with series win

Look out, baseball, because by beating the Yankees, 11-5, on a chilly Thursday night, the Royals took a series in New York for the first time since 1999. They won two of the three games at Yankee Stadium, disappointing most of the 41,790 fans that made an early retreat from the series finale.

Eric Hosmer certainly made it here. The rookie had three hits in this victory, and his second home run in two nights launched a six-run second inning for the Royals. His first series in New York was a winner.

"I can definitely get used to it," Hosmer said. "It's fun when the crowd leaves early and you put up a good amount of runs on them in the first couple of innings."

Hosmer's drive into the right-field seats followed a similar path to the first homer of his career, on Wednesday night. It came on the first pitch of the inning by starter Ivan Nova, a right-hander.

"It felt good," Hosmer said. "I tried to get on the fastball early right there, and he came with it first pitch. I put a good swing on it, and fortunately enough, it went over and got us the lead and got us going."

Bronx Beatdown… The Good Kind

– The most surprising thing of the night was the Alcides Escobar double. Not really… It was probably the Hosmer double on the check swing. The dude hits even when he doesn’t mean to.

[Shocker85]

Very good feel good series win for the Royals. This team most definitely has some offensive punch and a great mix of speed and power.

--'85.

[SubGod22]

Very good feel good series win for the Royals. This team most definitely has some offensive punch and a great mix of speed and power.

--'85.

They're fun to watch. Even more so now that Hosmer has joined the other rookies up there. Seeing guys like Gordon and Butler play well, with the addition of Cabrera and Frenchy, and the young bullpen with Collins and Crow... We're starting to see a little bit of what the future holds, and so far, it hasn't been bad. Duffy will be added soon enough and Monty will hopefully be up in the 2nd half. Moose may or may not get called up before September. I guess it depends on how he's playing and if Aviles/Betimit continue to produce or if either can be traded for anything of value.

I think we'll have to wait until next year for Giovatella, Cain or Lough. But over the next year or two, this team will look quite a bit different but should be one of the teams to beat. Maybe I'm a little too excited, but I can't help it. Then to think we still have guys like Lamb, Dwyer, Odorizzi, Colon and Myers waiting to come up over the next couple of years... I like it.

[SB Shock]

I have been watching the royals almost every night and it has been fun. This yankee-royal series with the beamings almost reminds me 1980's royal/Yankee series.

[Shocker85]

They're fun to watch. Even more so now that Hosmer has joined the other rookies up there. Seeing guys like Gordon and Butler play well, with the addition of Cabrera and Frenchy, and the young bullpen with Collins and Crow... We're starting to see a little bit of what the future holds, and so far, it hasn't been bad. Duffy will be added soon enough and Monty will hopefully be up in the 2nd half. Moose may or may not get called up before September. I guess it depends on how he's playing and if Aviles/Betimit continue to produce or if either can be traded for anything of value.

I think we'll have to wait until next year for Giovatella, Cain or Lough. But over the next year or two, this team will look quite a bit different but should be one of the teams to beat. Maybe I'm a little too excited, but I can't help it. Then to think we still have guys like Lamb, Dwyer, Odorizzi, Colon and Myers waiting to come up over the next couple of years... I like it.

And they have enough guys in the line-up to absorb a little cold streak like Butler had or give guys a day off every so often (Gordon).

The team also appears to have pretty good chemistry, too. They revel in their wins and don't implode after losses. The six game hiccup a couple weeks ago didn't lead to a long drought for them. Credit Yost for that.

FSN is a regular channel-surf stop again for me to watch the Royals. The last few years, I stopped there, felt embarrased for them and moved on. I'm already looking ahead to June or July family trip to the K.

--'85.

[SubGod22]

I can't wait to return to the K again. I have a friend who mentioned the Cubs series at one point. Who knows when I'll make it up there but it's a must. Especially with this young and exciting club.

[RoyalShock]

I think Cain will be up no later than August. Cabrera will either play well enough to get traded or poorly enough to get released.

If Lough continues to play well I could see Maier getting put on waivers. Same with Giovatella and Getz.

[SubGod22]

That's a fair point. I forgot all about Maier being up there considering he never plays. He'd make a pretty good 4th outfielder for someone I think. But it's fairly obvious that it won't be in KC. I know they really like Cain and Lough is playing well. I guess we'll see what people are offering for Melky when the time comes.

I do like the fact that we have such a young team, and that we may be getting younger as the season progresses. But that getting younger may in fact make us better as well. I know Yost likes the defense that Getz provides, but if he continues to hit .220ish, you may be right.

I wonder what happens to Colon. I know they say he can play SS but range is a question. Many project him to play 2B, but if Giovatella is around... Who turns into the utility guy in that group? We have Aviles there right now. Is Colon or one of the others capable of playing 3B as well?

Maybe I should start looking into some of this a little more...

[XManCometh]

That's a fair point. I forgot all about Maier being up there considering he never plays. He'd make a pretty good 4th outfielder for someone I think. But it's fairly obvious that it won't be in KC. I know they really like Cain and Lough is playing well. I guess we'll see what people are offering for Melky when the time comes.

I do like the fact that we have such a young team, and that we may be getting younger as the season progresses. But that getting younger may in fact make us better as well. I know Yost likes the defense that Getz provides, but if he continues to hit .220ish, you may be right.

I wonder what happens to Colon. I know they say he can play SS but range is a question. Many project him to play 2B, but if Giovatella is around... Who turns into the utility guy in that group? We have Aviles there right now. Is Colon or one of the others capable of playing 3B as well?

Maybe I should start looking into some of this a little more...

From what I hear, Colon is the future at 2nd. They want him, Escobar and Cain manning the middle of the field for years to come. I've never even heard Giovatella mentioned as a long term answer.... anywhere actually. With Moustakas likely to play 3rd base 150+ games a year, Giovatella had better like being a utility player. I also think Lough is going to be the odd man out as well. Cain will be manning CF, Gordon in LF and from what I've gathered recently, we're considering signing Francouer to a long term deal, around 4-5 years. So either Lough is the 4th OF, or he's in AAA until we deal him. Personally, I like Maier as a 4th OF. He's solid, plays great defense and won't screw up repeatedly when he's in the lineup. I think Lough's upside is pretty average considering his size and poor strikeout to walk ratio. Plus he gets caught stealing a bunch. Don't forget about Jeff Bianchi too. He's been a "top prospect" in our system for what seems like 10 years. He might get a shot at some point.

[SubGod22]

That's a fair point. I forgot all about Maier being up there considering he never plays. He'd make a pretty good 4th outfielder for someone I think. But it's fairly obvious that it won't be in KC. I know they really like Cain and Lough is playing well. I guess we'll see what people are offering for Melky when the time comes.

I do like the fact that we have such a young team, and that we may be getting younger as the season progresses. But that getting younger may in fact make us better as well. I know Yost likes the defense that Getz provides, but if he continues to hit .220ish, you may be right.

I wonder what happens to Colon. I know they say he can play SS but range is a question. Many project him to play 2B, but if Giovatella is around... Who turns into the utility guy in that group? We have Aviles there right now. Is Colon or one of the others capable of playing 3B as well?

Maybe I should start looking into some of this a little more...

From what I hear, Colon is the future at 2nd. They want him, Escobar and Cain manning the middle of the field for years to come. I've never even heard Giovatella mentioned as a long term answer.... anywhere actually. With Moustakas likely to play 3rd base 150+ games a year, Giovatella had better like being a utility player. I also think Lough is going to be the odd man out as well. Cain will be manning CF, Gordon in LF and from what I've gathered recently, we're considering signing Francouer to a long term deal, around 4-5 years. So either Lough is the 4th OF, or he's in AAA until we deal him. Personally, I like Maier as a 4th OF. He's solid, plays great defense and won't screw up repeatedly when he's in the lineup. I think Lough's upside is pretty average considering his size and poor strikeout to walk ratio. Plus he gets caught stealing a bunch.

Wil Myers is the future in RF. He's a few years out. If they want to sign Frenchy to a deal that will keep him in RF until the young man is ready I'm all for it. He's been a great addition to the roster and sounds like he's really helped some of the young guys.

[RoyalShock]

Myers is adjusting to AA right now and seeing moderate success. I see him being there all season and in AAA next season. I think Francouer's contract includes a club option for next year. So the pieces for RF are fitting nicely together.