Undefeated no more: Royals finally stumble in Minnesota
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
There will be no undefeated team in MLB again this season (or ever, but play along if you don’t mind). The last of the undefeated teams, the defending American League championship Kansas City Royals, finally fell on Wednesday dropping a 3-1 decision to the Minnesota Twins.
The Royals came in winners of their first seven, having swept the Chicago White and Los Angeles Angels before winning the series opener in Minnesota on Monday. They had outscored their opponents by a combined score of 52-19, but they were stymied by right-hander Kyle Gibson, who held them to one run on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings.
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Royals starter Edinson Volquez was good himself, allowing three runs on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings. He made one big mistake in the fourth inning which resulted in a two-run homer for Oswaldo Arcia.
What’s perhaps most interesting about Kansas City’s loss. It actually drops them to second place in the AL Central. The Detroit Tigers improved to 8-1 with a 1-0 victory in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, so the Royals are one-half game back. But hey, they lead the wild-card if you’re into watching the standings in April.
The Royals will look to pull even on Thursday when Jason Vargas battle Tommy Milone at Target FIeld. The Tigers get a day off before welcome the Chicago White Sox to Comerica Park.
ROCKIES SWEEP GIANTS, ARE 6-0 ON THE ROAD
We’re still early in the baseball season. The sample sizes remain small and mostly insignificant in the big picture. Unless maybe you’re the Colorado Rockies and you’re off to franchise-best 6-0 starts on the road this season. Then the sample size is anything but insignificant.
The Rockies reached that mark by the sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in their season-opening series, and completely a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants with a 4-2 victory on Wednesday night.
For a little perspective on the Rockies hot start, consider this.
The hero on Wednesday? You guessed it, Nolan Arenado. Only this time, with the bat, as his three-run first-inning homer off Tim Lincecum essentially wrapped the game up early.
Overall, the Rockies are 7-2 on the young season thanks to a combination of better than expected starting pitching, timely hitting, world class defense and a nearly spotless bullpen. The only blemishes there are LaTroy Hawkins’ two blown save, which resulted in his removal from the closer’s role.
It has been, to this point, a complete team effort for Colorado. But it’s always a monumental challenge to sustain success playing in Coors Fields, and for them, perhaps more so staying healthy.
A-ROD HOMERS, TIES DEREK JETER ON ALL-TIME RUNS LIST
It came in a losing effort, but Alex Rodriguez took a few more steps toward career milestones on Wednesday night.
With his fourth-inning home run against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Bud Norris, Rodriguez moved to within four of Willie Mays on the all-time home run list. A-Rod’s 656 homers rank fifth all-time, and assuming he stays healthy, a battle over the milestone clauses in his contract could begin soon with Mays’ 660 sitting so close.
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A-Rod’s second home run of the season also marked the 1,923rd run scored of his career, which ties him with former Yankees’ teammate Derek Jeter for ninth on the all-time runs scored list. He needs 27 runs to pass Stan Musial and take over seventh place. So again, assuming he stays healthy, that should be within his reach this season.
As for the big picture for the Yankees, things are not as bright after falling 7-5 to the Orioles. Their 3-6 record marks their worst nine-game start since 1991. That includes series losses to three division teams: Toronto, Boston and now Baltimore. They’ll meet the other AL East squad, the Tampa Bay Rays, this weekend in St. Petersburg.
TREVOR BAUER REMAINS WILD BUT EFFECTIVE
Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer followed up six no-hit innings in his season debut against the Houston Astros on April 9 by not allowing a hit in his first three innings against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. That’s nine no-hit innings overall — with 15 strikeouts — but it’s all only good for a pat on the back and two victories rather than a place in history.
On Wednesday, Bauer allowed two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts in Cleveland’s 4-2 victory. The only thing that stopped him from working deeper into the game again were his walks. He added another four, which raised his season total to nine over 12 frames. But he once again showed that he can be effectively wild and more consistently brilliant if he maintains his focus. The next step, should it come, will have to include better efficiency, but Cleveland’s happy to go one step at a time.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
