Royals Recap: Santana Sparkles; Moustakas Homers; 8-1 Road Trip

The Kansas City Royals (56-52) finished off maybe the best road trip in franchise history as a 6-2 win against the New York Mets (49-60). The victory lifted the Royals to an 8-1 record on a trip with stops in Chicago, Minneapolis, and New York.

Aug 4, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana (54) reaches on a bunt single to second during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

On the Mound

What else can be said about Ervin Santana? He continues to pitch like an ace. When was the last time the Royals had two pitchers who perform like James Shields and Santana? David Cone and Kevin Appier?

Santana went 6 Sunday, allowing just 1 run run on 5 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 5 on the day. Tim Collins allowed the second run but Louis Coleman and Greg Holland each pitched scoreless frames to shut the door on the Mets.

At the Plate

Mike Moustakas broke out of his mini-slump with 2 hits on the day, including his 10th home run of the year. Eric Hosmer was the only other Royal with 2 hits. Jarrod Dyson scored twice and Lorenzo Cain drove in 2. George Kottaras walked three times.

This and That

Since the All-Star break, Santana is 3-0 in 4 starts. He has pitched 28.1 innings, allowed 18 hits and 5 walks, with 22 strikeouts. His ERA is 1.27 and his WHIP is .812. The Royals have won all 4 games. He is been a stud!

George Kottaras is just one, big, statistical anomaly. In 87 plate appearances, he has just 65 at bats and 11 hits for a .169 batting average. He has those 11 hits, but he also has 20 walks. 20! Of his 11 hits, only 3 are singles. He also has 3 doubles and 5 home runs. So, to recap, that is 3 singles in 87 plate appearances. He is the perfect example about how too much is made of batting average. Here is his slash – .169/.379/.446/.825.

Salvador Perez was placed on the 7-day DL for a mild concussion. Brett Hayes was recalled to fill in. Wade Davis was placed on the Family Medical Emergency List and Will Smith received the nod to take his place.

David Lough was removed from the game with a strained quad. The seriousness of the injury is still unknown.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Santana’s stalwart start earned him his 8th POG of the season.

• James Shields – 9
• Alex Gordon – 12
  
• Wade Davis – 5
• Lorenzo Cain – 8
• Luis Mendoza – 3
• Billy Butler – 8
• Ervin Santana – 8
• Miguel Tejada – 5
  
• Jeremy Guthrie -4
• Eric Hosmer – 10
  
• Chris Getz
• Mike Moustakas – 5
  
• Aaron Crow
• Jarrod Dyson – 3
  
• David Lough – 8
• Alcides Escobar – 5
• J.C. Gutierrez
• Jeff Francoeur
• Bruce Chen – 2
• Salvador Perez – 4
• Will Smith
• George Kottaras
• Louis Coleman – 2
  
• Bruce Chen
• Justin Maxwell

The Mets

Only Eric Young was able to conjure up more than one hits for the Mets. They had 8 on the day as a team.

The Mets struggled with the sun in right field early on. Daniel Murphy and Marlon Bryd were both charged with a couple of harsh errors due to the sun. It will interesting to see if those scoring errors are corrected. Bryd missed one other fly ball because of the sun that was listed as a hit.

Up Next

The Royals will return home for a 10 game home stand, starting with a suddenly hot Minnesota squad. Jeremy Guthrie (11-7, 4.22 ERA) will get the start in an attempt to set a career high in wins. Kevin Correia (7-7, 4.49 ERA) will go for the Twins, who are on a 3-game winning streak of their own.

AL Central Notes

The Tigers and the Indians are not cooperating with the Royals’ efforts to make headway in the divisional. Both won again on Sunday.

Detroit Tigers (64-45): Torii Hunter drove in the winning run in the 12th inning Sunday, knocking off the White Sox 3-2. Rick Porcello went 7.2 frames, giving up just one run. The Tigers have won 8 in a row.

Cleveland Indians (62-49): Scott Kazmir kept the Indians on top of their game with 6 scoreless, 2-hit innings in a 2-0 win over the Marlins. Yan Gomes had 3 hits and scored a run.

Minnesota Twins (48-60): The Twins completed the weekend sweep of the Astros with a 3-2 victory. Justin Morneau and Oswaldo Arcia homered for Minnesota.

Chicago White Sox (40-69): The 3-2 loss to the Tigers was the 10th loss in a row for the White Sox. Even home runs by Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko couldn’t help Chicago.