The Royals and the Month of May...

[SubGod22]

Unlucky seventh hurts Royals in loss to O's

KANSAS CITY -- Inning No. 7 has been anything but lucky for right-hander Luke Hochevar this season.

The Royals led 3-2 going into the seventh on Thursday, but Hochevar and reliever Aaron Crow combined to allow three runs in the frame, propelling the Orioles to a 5-3 win at Kauffman Stadium.

Hochevar entered the matinee with a 16.20 ERA in the seventh inning this season, and the seventh-inning blues struck again. After Hochevar allowed a leadoff single to Wilson Betemit, Chris Davis smacked a line drive to center field. The ball was misplayed by center fielder Jarrod Dyson and skipped by him, going all the way to the wall. Betemit scored to tie the game at 3.

[SubGod22]

Friday Notes

One of the most difficult things about being a Royals fan over the last 20 plus years is that it’s really difficult to know when to get excited. The Royals were 3-14 at one point this season, which is really, really bad. That was at the end of the 12-game losing streak. From there, they made it to a high water mark (so far) of 15-20. Lots of people began chiding those who were overly upset during the rough patch for not being patient enough. The comeback for that is that the team was still five games under .500. And then we have a couple days like the last two where the team has a couple losses that look like the team during the losing streak and somewhat the team in the mid-2000s with the bullpen not coming through. We’re so hungry for a winner as Royals fans that we’re willing to begin believing with very little reason given to us. The good news is we can always count on Friday Notes.

• To get out of the negative talk, one thing I’ve really enjoyed seeing the last few days is when the Royals have a late inning lead they’ve been doing a great job of adding on in the late innings. In the case of the game on Sunday, the royals had a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the ninth when they scored six. They added on against Texas and they even added on at the end of Wednesday’s game before Broxton couldn’t close down the game. The point is that tacking on at the end of games is what championship teams do. I’m not a fan of modern bullpen usage, but it’s not going anywhere, so we have to work with what we have. And the truth of the matter is that if a closer gets a one run lead to work with every single time, he will blow some saves. It’s just bound to happen. By tacking on, it gives the late inning relievers that much more cushion. I hope this is something we see in the future

[SubGod22]

Royals still Snake-bitten with another home loss

Duffy, Wood both need Tommy John surgery

KANSAS CITY -- Left-handed starter Danny Duffy's date with Tommy John surgery was confirmed on Friday after an examination by the elbow procedure's noted practitioner, Dr. Lewis Yocum.

The Royals also announced that right-handed reliever Blake Wood will have Tommy John surgery as well, after both pitchers met with Yocum in Tempe, Ariz. The surgeries will be performed within two weeks in Los Angeles.

That makes four such surgeries for pitchers the Royals' system this year. Closer Joakim Soria, a right-hander, had the elbow reconstruction by Yocum on April 3. Left-hander John Lamb, a top Minor League prospect, underwent the surgery on June 3 and is rehabbing at Surprise, Ariz.

[SubGod22]

Perez signaling earlier return to Royals

KANSAS CITY -- Catcher Salvador Perez might be back in the Royals' lineup about two weeks earlier than expected.

Perez, who had knee surgery in Spring Training, originally was projected to be out until about the break for the July 10 All-Star Game in Kansas City. Now it appears he could return by late June.

Perez took batting practice on the field for the first time on Friday after a period of swinging in the indoor cages. He's also been catching side sessions with pitchers in the bullpen.

Teaford to DL; Adcock to start Sunday

KANSAS CITY -- Left-hander Everett Teaford's listing as the Royals' "probable"

pitcher for Sunday against the Diamondbacks turned out to be just that. Now he's not probable.

Teaford was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lower abdominal strain on Saturday and was scratched as Sunday's starter.

That job will be taken by right-hander Nate Adcock, recalled from Triple-A Omaha on short notice for the second time

Chen's strong outing helps Royals end slide

The Royals, in a muscle flex not seen in three weeks, hammered two home runs off D-backs starter Ian Kennedy. Billy Butler followed Alcides Escobar's single with a 422-shot to left field in the third inning. Mike Moustakas cracked a solo homer 409 feet into the right-field stands in the fourth.

"Billy Butler, he's a good hitter. Moustakas is another good hitter," said Kennedy, 21-4 last season but 3-4 this year. "They have good guys in their lineup, just haven't had that much success lately. They're young players. I wasn't sharp at all. They did what they needed to do."

[ShockTalk]

Perez signaling earlier return to Royals[COLOR=#000000][FONT=arial]
Teaford to DL; Adcock to start Sunday[COLOR=#000000][FONT=arial]
Chen's strong outing helps Royals end slide

Just curious, @SubGod22:, what did you do different this posting that the print inside the quote is black and not white? This question has probably been asked elsewhere as I notice some posters regularly have postings that are black on black, so sorry for not having seen it.

[SubGod22]

I didn't do anything differently. I've noticed once before when I simply copied and pasted something it came out darker. It only happens when I do it from my laptop but it doesn't do it all the time. It also screwed up the quotes by breaking up two of them even though I went back and deleted the extra coding. My work computer has different issues when doing this. I can't figure it out. Work computer always has a few issues on ShockerNet. My laptop will occasionally do something weird, but only on ShockerNet. I've never had issues on any other site. So I'm not sure what's different about this site as compared to others.

[SubGod22]

Perez will work with Sanchez in Arizona

KANSAS CITY -- Royals catcher Salvador Perez left for Arizona on Sunday to continue his rehabilitation from left knee surgery.

His assignments will include working with left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, who is on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis and is also at Royals extended spring training at Surprise.

"He'll be down there catching Sanchez and catching his sides, and catching his BPs and catching him in games. Taking batting practice and playing in games," manager Ned Yost said.

Francoeur's four-hit day doesn't slow D-Backs

Right-hander Nate Adcock, pressed into starting duty after an emergency callup, gave the Royals five solid innings. He was summoned from Triple-A Omaha on Saturday when lefty Everett Teaford unexpectedly went on the disabled list and had to be scratched from the assignment.

After four scoreless innings, Adcock was tagged for one run in the fifth inning. Paul Goldschmidt led off with a double against the left-field wall -- the hardest-hit ball off Adcock.

[SubGod22]

KC bench coach benefiting catching duo

NEW YORK -- Brayan Pena credits bench coach Chino Cadahia for making a big difference in the uptick in throwing efficiency for the Royals' two catchers, Pena and Humberto Quintero.

"We've both improved a lot with Chino; he's always been hard on us as catchers, but it's a good hard," Pena said.

The catching duo threw out just two of their first 18 would-be basestealers, but going into the Royals' series at Yankee Stadium, they had caught 11 of the last 24. That included a 7-for-12 showing by Quintero.

Getz exits after aggravating rib injury

NEW YORK -- Royals second baseman Chris Getz left Monday's 6-0 win over the Yankees in the fifth inning after aggravating a left ribcage injury. He's scheduled to undergo further tests on Tuesday to determine the extent of the setback.

In the fifth inning of Wednesday night's game against the Orioles, Getz suffered a bruised rib on his left side during a baseline collision with Chris Davis and left a couple of innings later. He didn't play the next two games but returned to the lineup on Saturday night.

In the third inning on Monday, Getz tried to stretch a single to center field into a double, but after pausing for just a moment, he was thrown out sliding headfirst into second base. At the time, Getz thought he was safe.

I'm ok with this. I'd rather see Falu and Gio play anyway. Getz may have actually been safe on the play though. Appeared that way to me.
Beating Yanks again, Paulino continues rise

NEW YORK -- Rain kept falling and the breeze made the damp evening chilly, but the Royals found the weather at Yankee Stadium positively beautiful.

That's because Felipe Paulino threw 6 2/3 innings and Mike Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur each hit a two-run homer in Kansas City's 6-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Monday night in the Bronx.

Paulino, now with a 2-1 record and a 1.42 ERA in four starts since coming off the disabled list, has given the Royals' rotation a new lease on life.

He's off to a fantastic start. Better than I'd have expected. But we all knew he was going to be an important part of this rotation with Chen and Duffy. At least we have 2 of them available.
That Big Hole In the Middle of the Lineup

Ned Yost trotted out three radically different lineups this past weekend against Arizona and managed to get one win. Hey, for this particular Royals team, any win at home is an accomplishment. After a 4-1 road trip, we all expected a better result than a 1-4 homestand. That result was made all the more bitter by the fact that the Royals seemed in control of the first three games, only to lose all of them.

What this team does or, more precisely, does not do at home is a topic for another column. Let’s get back to the lineups. They were basically just all over the place – kind of like that softball team you were on that was not very serious and the batting order was simply the order in which you showed up for the game. Frankly, I don’t blame Yost for trying some things and, for right now, I like Escobar at or near the top of the order, but it is probably worth noting that the most traditional of the three lineups this weekend did happen to score the most runs.

Yost has had some major headscratching linueps this year. Sometimes I think he picks his starters then puts their names in a hat and draws them out one by one in order to fill out the lineup card.

[SubGod22]

Royals call up Smith, place Getz on DL

NEW YORK -- Needing pitching depth, the Royals called up left-hander Will Smith from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.

At the same time, they placed second baseman Chris Getz on the 15-day disabled list with a left ribcage contusion, an injury he aggravated during Monday night's 6-0 victory over the Yankees. The move gives the Royals a 13-man pitching staff.

Smith, the Royals' No. 15 prospect, had a 1-3 record and a 4.01 ERA in nine starts this year for Omaha. Last season, he went 13-9 for Double-A Northwest Arkansas with a 3.85 ERA in 27 starts and was the Naturals' Pitcher of the Year.

I was wondering if Smith would get a look with all the issues the pitching staff has had to deal with. Not sure if they'll plug him in as a 5th starter or lean on him for long relief, but the guy seems to pitch well and give his teams a shot to win. Nothing overly special, but he's been fairly solid since joining the organization. And at least we get a couple of weeks without Getz. More Falu and Gio for everyone!

[SubGod22]

Royals to platoon Falu, Giavotella at second

NEW YORK -- Irving Falu and Johnny Giavotella will platoon at second base while Chris Getz recuperates, Royals manager Ned Yost said Tuesday.

Getz aggravated an injury in his left ribcage with a slide on Monday night and was placed on the 15-day disabled list before Tuesday's game against the Yankees. Getz was originally injured last Wednesday night during a collision with Orioles baserunner Chris Davis.

"I'm not great with the terms, but it's intercostal cartilage," Getz said. "The stuff in between ribs four and five is inflamed -- it's not torn -- along with bone contusions on both of those ribs. That's the part that's painful for the breathing."

Royals strengthened by early hiccup

NEW YORK -- You should never, ever say that it can't get worse. But goodness, if it can get any worse for the Kansas City Royals, you might need to start describing this season in Old Testament terms.

They've already lost their starting catcher, center fielder, closer, and one of their most exciting starters to major injuries. They endured a 12-game losing streak. They began the season with a historic stretch of home futility. If frogs started to rain down on the fans at Kauffman Stadium, it would really only be mildly surprising.

And yet even after a brutal run of cruelty from the baseball gods, the Royals are hanging in. They remain eight games under .500, but after a 3-14 start, that doesn't sound so bad. They've stopped taking on water, at least, and there's reason to think things will get better as the season goes on.

Yankees will give Smith first taste of Majors

It's shaping up to be quite a week for men named Will Smith.

The actor will see the premier of his third "Men in Black" movie this weekend, but first, the pitcher will make his Major League debut for the Royals on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

Smith was called up from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, following Chris Getz's left ribcage injury, which forced the second baseman to the disabled list. Smith has spent five seasons in the Minor League systems of both the Royals and Angels. He joined the Kansas City organization during the 2010 season, coming over with Sean O'Sullivan in a trade that sent Alberto Callaspo to Anaheim.

The left-hander entered the season ranked as the Royals' No. 15 prospect by MLB.com. He pitched well last season, going 13-9 with a 3.85 ERA in 27 starts for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. In nine starts with Omaha this season, Smith went 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA.

Welcome to the Majors
Royals edged, though Hochevar progresses

NEW YORK -- Luke Hochevar lost to the Yankees, but if there's any solace, he managed to look quite good in defeat.

Hochevar had one choppy inning that led to the 3-2 loss that he and the Royals were dealt on Tuesday night as the Yankees found ways to please a crowd of 37,674 after losing six of their previous seven games. The boos took a holiday at Yankee Stadium.

So now, if the Royals are to win their first season series from the New York Yankees since 1999, they'll have to come away with a victory on Wednesday night. The season series is tied at 3 going into the final game, in which the Royals will have left-hander Will Smith making his big league debut.

I bestow upon thee the title of Ace

Last night’s baseball contest was one of the more enjoyable I’ve watched this season. As I begrudgingly left my TV and couch for the more productive radio and riding lawn mower, I was enthralled and enthused by the rain-soaked game in New York. The victory brought the fellows in the Royal a half-game closer to first, but somehow a whole lot closer to respectability.

There was an element last night of being clubbed over the head by the Greatness Of The Yankees. Steve Physioc could barely contain himself and seemed as if he was just itching for someone to say something bad about Derek Jeter so he could rip their heart out of their chest and make the victim watch.

But however hard those paid to watch the game tried to tell me that I should bow down in the presence of what was clearly a superior grouping of men, it fell flat. It seemed as if the Royals got the same message. The Yankees aren’t a team to be feared, but rather a team that is over-paid and relying on their uniforms to do the work for them.

Giavotella Is The Symptom

Early in the spring, I theorized that Johnny Giavotella would win the job as the Royals starting second baseman. I went further and speculated he would struggle out of the gate with his bat (and glove, naturally) and he would fall out of favor for the Prodigal Royal, Yuniesky Betancourt.

It wasn’t like I was sticking my neck out on a line… The signs have been there all along that the Royals aren’t Giavotella’s biggest fans. Why else would you sign the Yunigma? ($2 million!) You’re not paying him that kind of scratch if he’s going to sit in the dugout. And despite the Royals claiming that Betancourt possessed some sort of defensive versatility, the plan was always for Yuni to play second base.

So Gio made the trek up I-29 and set up shop in Omaha. Of course, having crushed Triple-A pitching in 2011, he went to work straight away. In 152 plate appearances for the Storm Chasers, he hit .331/.408/.504. Minor league baseball is easy for Johnny Giavotella. He has now played 141 games in Omaha – roughly a full minor league season. And he’s put up a line of .336/.394/.486 in 655 plate appearances. Easy.

I agree. Gio has yet to be given the shot to show if he can be an everyday contributor to this team or just another Getz. I still don't understand the love affair that Yost has with Yuni and Getz...

[SubGod22]

Falu driven to make promotion last

NEW YORK -- When you're in your 10th Minor League season and finally get called up to the Majors, it's imperative to make a good first impression.

"For sure, I want to stay here; I don't want to go back," Royals rookie Irving Falu said. "That's why I'm working every day on how to play the game and stay here."

Falu entered Wednesday's series finale against the Yankees with a .400 average (14-for-35) and having hit safely in his first nine games to tie a club record. With starting second baseman Chris Getz on the disabled list due to a left ribcage injury, Falu is being platooned with Johnny Giavotella at second, which Falu considers his best position.

Bronx glare foils Smith in Royals debut - He threw some nice pitches. The 2nd HR wasn't really that bad of a pitch in my opinion. I'm glad they plan on giving him another start. I think he could become a solid asset at the end of the rotation. The kid is going to be around the strike zone and just can't afford to miss like he did on a couple of occasions. We'll see how it goes on Tuesday.

Best relievers come in small packages

Collins is in his second year in the big leagues, and after some drastic adjustments in Spring Training, the walks are down, the strikeouts are up and he's one of Kansas City's most reliable bullpen arms.

This season, Collins has walked just seven batters through 21 2/3 innings. He has fanned 32 hitters in 2012, leading all American League relievers. His ERA is down to 2.91, and that strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.57 is good for one of the top 20 marks in the AL.

"I put in a lot of work in Spring Training ... simplifying my mechanics to help me repeat a lot more and be more consistent throwing strikes. It's helped a ton," Collins said. "Cutting the walks down and throwing a lot more strikes, it's also helped me get a lot more swings on balls that I wouldn't get last year."

Must Score Runs

I have to admit, I was nervous the first time I went to New York. All I had to do was get off a plane, get in a car driven by someone else and go to a meeting with four other people. I imagine, Will Smith, whose first trip ever to New York included pitching to the Yankees might not have been on top of his game.

Will Smith is not a prospect, that’s the primary reason he was on the mound instead of someone else last night, but he is also not the next Eduardo Villacis either: even if the results of their major league debuts in Yankee Stadium were freakishly similar. The Royals will give Smith another shot next week and that may give us a better indication of what Will brings to the table.

Last night was simply not Kansas City’s night. The Yankees batted around in one inning despite getting just one hit and that was a bunt single. Think about that for a minute. The Royals also failed to mount much offense despite being gifted, be it by lackadaisical Yankee defense or the kind heart of the baseball gods, at least five soft hits. Eric Hosmer, whose three hits combined probably don’t reach the centerfield wall, rightly believes the baseball gods owed him, but in the end it all added up to just three runs.

Offense Around The Horn

I’m told this weekend is the unofficial start to summer. It appears it’s also the unofficial point where a third of the baseball season is past. Strange dichotomy, that.

Seems as though now is as good a time as any to check some league wide numbers and see how the Royals are comparing offensively. I’m looking at slash stats and dropping in sOPS+ for the numbers. Just a rough measuring stick of how the Royals are getting production out of their infield positions when looking at the scope of the entire league.

[SubGod22]

Big League Debuts In Big, Scary Places

When news started to circulate that Will Smith may have been called up from AAA Omaha and then was finally confirmed, my first thought was that the Royals didn’t feel comfortable with Luis Mendoza starting without a long reliever ready to go. Then I got to thinking that maybe the Royals felt more comfortable with Luis Mendoza as the long reliever and the young lefty would potentially make his big league debut against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it, but I did know (and still do) that there’s something about a big league debut that just interests me so much. I think it’s something about the firsts, but anyway I digress.

As the day went on yesterday, I started to get more and more worried about Will Smith making his big league debut. My first reactions came from the fact that it’s kind of scary to play at Yankee Stadium for your very first game and then I instantly thought back to our old friend Eduardo Villacis. There was a bit of a difference between Villacis and Smith and that was the fact that Villacis was and is a nobody in terms of baseball. While Will Smith wasn’t and isn’t a sexy name in the prospect game, he at least is someone who was known to have a chance in the big leagues as either a long reliever, a fifth starter or maybe a lefty specialist with his size. So Smith gets the nod and I thought to myself, ‘how bad could it be? We’ve already lived through Villacis making his big league debut at Yankee Stadium.’

*Insert Bad Pun* - The Will Smith Report

Five runs, three homers, six hits, 3 1/3 innings and 2,499,621 bad puns later, the big league debut for Royals prospect Will Smith is in the rear view mirror. After retiring his first batter, Derek Jeter, on a grounder to short, things got out of hand for Smith rather quickly.

For someone who has a hard time seeing past the immediate results on the field, it will be difficult to sell that Smith is anything more than one-hit wonder Eduardo Villacis. But in reality, aside from the forgettable pitching line, Smith is nothing like Villacis in that he’s a legit prospect and belongs (eventually) in the big leagues.

I’m not a professional scout (though if you know anyone who wants to give a guy a job, hit me up, I’d love to play one) but having seen a lot of Smith in the minors, I’m convinced he’s a future 4-5 starter. A few reports out there peg Smith with a ceiling as a No. 3 guy, but I feel that may be a bit generous (unless, of course, he’s pitching in a thin rotation some day).

I agree with a lot of what he says here.

Free Gio!

Let’s face it, the Royals have made some odd moves over the years. I am not here to rehash them, but I will say that usually I could at least follow the thought process. But whatever it is the Royals are trying to accomplish with Johnny Giavotella right now…I don’t see it.

To recap: Gio is called up last August and proceeds to post a less-than-stellar .247/.273/.376 line with 2 home runs and 21 RBIs in 46 games. Then he had October surgery for a slightly-torn labrum in his hip. It turns out he’d been playing hurt for most of the season. Who knows how much that affected him at the plate?

The Royals then proceeded to sign Yuniesky Betancourt for one year, claiming he would be a utility infielder, although I think anyone familiar with the Royals knew they wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to play him every day. And since Alcides Escobar played a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop last year and Mike Moustakas is a cornerstone of the future, it was pretty obvious where Yuni would play most often.

During spring training, you couldn’t go a day without hearing about Chris Getz’ new batting stance or how it would give him more power (those 2 homers Gio hit last year were two more than Getz hit in 72 more games). Of course, the numbers did not bear that out: Getz hit .200/.241/.220 in spring training. But hey, he did hit a double. However, Gio only hit .250/.267/.318, so I actually understood when the Royals sent Gio down. He needed to earn the job, and he didn’t really do it.

Can't argue much with this one.
Tommy John And The Arms Of Today

Since when did the arm of a major league pitcher become such a fragile thing. Guys in combat sports have been labeled as having a glass jaw when they get put to sleep easily. Maybe the new pitcher has the equivalent with a glass arm. Long removed from the days when Nolan Ryan would man the bump for a pitch count that most today don’t even come close to approaching. He threw the ball hard really hard for entire games. The current equal would have to be Justin Verlander bringing it in the triple digits on the final out. What has gone wrong in the game today to cause this? Is it merely that the surgery has become more relevant and easily performed? Could this many pitchers who’s careers faded out in the past have benefited from it and extended their careers?

-Parents wanting their uninjured kids to have Tommy John surgery.

The first article I read about this and the stories I heard following just made me angry. How could so many parents and coaches be so naive and flat out moronic. Requesting the surgery for an uninjured little leaguer close to the age of fourteen is asinine. Some said that they just wanted to get it out of the way. Really? Like there is no possibility that the kid might not need it in the future. Others actually thought that it would increase the velocity for one and others even thought it would increase control. The process a person must go through to believe that a still growing and maturing boy who shouldn’t even be throwing a curveball at this point in his career can ultimately throw harder from it is one of blindness. These parents and coaches should be excluded from health decisions and their children’s sport life forever. This is the best article I read about the surgery and derailing a child’s career.

Some interesting reading
Friday Notes

I hate the Yankees. I know that the Royals rivalry with them is pretty dead due to the fact that the Royals just haven’t been good enough to actually have any rivals, but I still hate the Yankees. And to think, I wasn’t even around when the Royals and Yankees were facing off in the playoffs. So needless to say I am not a happy camper that the Royals lost two of three to the Yankees, but that series is over and the Royals are actually playing moderately decent baseball over the past few weeks. Once this offense picks up, I think this team may not be too fun to play.

• I’m going to start things off with Eric Hosmer because he’s the topic that everybody wants to talk about when talking about the Royals offense. He had three hits on Wednesday against the Yankees and they went a grand total of about 300 or so feet. Three hits are awesome no matter how they come and maybe they’ll give him the confidence boost to get him back on track, but that’s the only way those hits will get him back on track. The way he’s swinging the bat right now, he’s simply not hitting very much hard. He did have five hits with two doubles against the Yankees, though one of the doubles was a bloop, but it still counts. He’ll come around and we just have to hope that a three hit game will get him going somehow even if nothing fundamentally changed other than he hit into great luck. The Royals badly need him.

[SubGod22]

Perez goes live, Sanchez set for Omaha start

BALTIMORE -- The Royals, who currently have 10 players on the disabled list, got a few bits of good news on Friday.

Catcher Salvador Perez saw his first live action since having left knee surgery in March, while lefty starter Jonathan Sanchez will make his first Minor League rehab start for Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.

In addition, Royals manager Ned Yost said right-hander Blake Wood underwent successful Tommy John surgery on Friday.

Chen's winning run ends with loss to O's

Opportunities to bring baserunners around to score, opportunities to limit big innings, and an opportunity to finally win after an off-day all went by the wayside with an 8-2 loss to the Orioles in the series opener at Camden Yards.

"We had our chances to change that ballgame and we didn't do it," Billy Butler said.

[Ta Town Shocker]

I watched part of the game against Baltimore yesterday and the Royals played exceptional baseball, after being down 3-0 they scored in the 5th, 6th ,7th, and 8th then held on to win 4-3. The Royals are 5-17 at home and 13-10 on the road. It appears if they could improve at home they can compete in the divisional race. I may start following them a little more closely now that WSU's season appears to be over.

[SubGod22]

Escobar's bat adding to fine glove work

BALTIMORE -- After tweaking his swing, Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar has become a model of consistency.

Escobar hit just .235 in 2010 and .254 in 2011, his first two full Major League seasons. But so far in 2012, he's hitting .316, a change manager Ned Yost attributed to taking the "loop" out of Escobar's batting motion.

"He's got a flatter swing now," Yost said. "His bat stays through the strike zone longer, and it enables him to use the whole field better."

Butler sparking offense with power stroke

BALTIMORE -- When Billy Butler blasted a home run an estimated 436 feet into the visitors' bullpen at Camden Yards in Saturday's 4-3 win over the O's, it was a relatively new wrinkle from one of Kansas City's most consistent players.

Butler has hit at least .291 for three consecutive seasons, and with a .301 average start to 2012, the Royals slugger has a chance to make it four.

Butler connected for his 11th homer in his first at-bat in Sunday's 4-2 win -- a solo shot into the left-field seats. His career high for home runs is 21, and Butler's 11 in the first 46 games puts him on pace to shatter that mark by 18.

Francoeur enjoying his current hot streak

BALTIMORE -- Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur has been on fire of late, going 15-for-29 to raise his batting average from a paltry .235 to a healthy .281.

Francoeur remained hot with a 2-for-4 day in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Orioles, extending his hitting streak to seven games.

Francoeur broke a 2-2 tie with a solo home run to left on a hanging slider in the sixth and also singled in the second, eventually scoring on a squeeze bunt by Mitch Maier.

Royals too powerful for O's in rubber game

BALTIMORE -- What was once a sputtering Royals offense is clicking on at least two cylinders. Now all that's left is to get the rest of them into gear.

Billy Butler and Jeff Francoeur both homered on Sunday, continuing their hot streaks and propelling the Royals to a 4-2 win over the Orioles in the rubber game at Camden Yards.

The Royals (19-27) won the final two games of the weekend set after dropping the first three meetings with the American League East-leading O's this season, including an 8-2 loss in Friday's series opener. Baltimore swept the two games played in Kansas City on May 16 -17.