Kansas City Royals pitcher Bruce Chen (52) Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Sure, Bruce Chen didn’t get a win in the Kansas City Royals’ (2-2) 1-run victory over the Chicago White Sox (2-3) on Saturday but he pitched like a team in ace, and left the game with the lead. The Royals won 4-3, breaking a tie in the bottom of the 8th.
On the Mound
Chen went 6.1 innings, and allowed just 1 unearned run on six scattered hits, while striking out 7, and walking none. At one point, Chen struck out 4 straight Sox hitters. Chen is one of those pitchers that on paper just isn’t very impressive, and when you watch him, sometimes you don’t know exactly how he is getting batters out. He looked like an ace on Saturday.
Wade Davis struggled in the eighth, allowing the White Sox to tie the game. Despite giving up 2 runs in one inning, he was awarded the win because the Royals scored the winning run in the bottom of his horrible inning.
Greg Holland walked one but struck out 2 while saving his second straight game.
At the Plate
Alex Gordon was the only Royal who recorded multiple hits the day with two. One was a double in the 8th. He scored when Salvador Perez doubled him in a few minutes later in what turned out to be the winning run.
Billy Butler drove in two on a single and a sacrifice fly. He also walked in the 8th, though pinch runner Jarrod Dyson was thrown out at second trying to steal.
This and That
Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas both remained hitless but Moustakas walked with the bases loaded in the 4th. The two are a combined 0-29 to start the season.
With a nasty left hander going for the White Sox on Sunday, and Moose struggling, it will be interesting to see if Danny Valencia gets the nod against Chris Sale.
The Royals designated Pedro Ciriaco for assignment and called up rookie reliever Aaron Brooks from AAA. The Royals now lack a true back up in the middle infield spots.
KC Kingdom Player of the Game
Butler had 2 RBI, Gordon 2 hits, and Salvador Perez drove in the winning run, but Bruce Chen was just too impressive in his first start of the season. The 7 strikeouts and 0 walks were what sealed the deal.
The White Sox
Chicago out hit Kansas City 8-7 but they struck out 10 times and only walked twice.
John Danks gave up just 5 hits in 7 innings but walked 4, including Moustakas with the bases loaded. Danks is evidently fully recovered from surgery in 2012, as he threw 114 pitches on the day.
Up Next
Staff aces match up as James Shields (0-0, 4.26 ERA) will try for his first win of the season against Chris Sale (1-0, 3.68) at 1:10 pm Central at Kauffman Stadium.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Eaton CF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .286 | .741 |
| Marcus Semien 2B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .130 | .504 |
| Jose Abreu 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .300 | .900 |
| Dayan Viciedo RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.238 |
| Conor Gillaspie 3B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .400 | .962 |
| Paul Konerko DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .367 |
| Alejandro De Aza LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .211 | .895 |
| Alexei Ramirez SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .444 | 1.024 |
| Adrian Nieto C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| Adam Dunn PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .188 | .896 |
| Leury Garcia PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .375 | .750 |
| Team Totals | 35 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 10 | .229 | .511 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
SF: P Konerko (1, off W Davis).
HBP: J Abreu (2, by W Davis).
TB: C Gillaspie 2; A Ramirez 2; D Viciedo; A Eaton; J Abreu; M Semien.
RBI: A Eaton (5); P Konerko (1); C Gillaspie (2).
Team LOB: 9.
With RISP: 1 for 13.
Fielding
DP: 1. M Semien-A Ramirez-J Abreu.
PB: A Nieto (1).
E: J Abreu (2).
Outfield Assists: A Eaton (E Hosmer at home plate).
Baserunning
SB: L Garcia (1, 2nd base off G Holland/S Perez).
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norichika Aoki RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .743 |
| Omar Infante 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .353 | .742 |
| Eric Hosmer 1B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .357 | .971 |
| Billy Butler DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .662 |
| Jarrod Dyson PR-DH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Alex Gordon LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .267 | .694 |
| Salvador Perez C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .538 | 1.471 |
| Mike Moustakas 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .118 |
| Lorenzo Cain CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .267 | .533 |
| Alcides Escobar SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .067 |
| Team Totals | 28 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | .250 | .710 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
2B: N Aoki (2, off J Danks); S Perez (4, off M Cleto); A Gordon (2, off S Downs).
SF: B Butler (1, off J Danks).
TB: A Gordon 3; S Perez 2; N Aoki 2; B Butler; E Hosmer; O Infante.
GIDP: E Hosmer (1).
RBI: B Butler 2 (2); M Moustakas (1); S Perez (2).
2-out RBI: S Perez.
Team LOB: 6.
With RISP: 3 for 7.
Fielding
E: M Moustakas (2).
Baserunning
SB: N Aoki (1, 3rd base off J Danks/A Nieto).
CS: J Dyson (1, 2nd base by S Downs/A Nieto).
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Danks | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3.86 | 29 | 115 | 76 |
| Scott Downs, L (0-1) | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10.80 | 3 | 14 | 7 |
| Maikel Cleto | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 4.50 | 34 | 134 | 86 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Chen | 6.1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.00 | 26 | 101 | 64 |
| Aaron Crow, H (2) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
| Wade Davis, BS (1), W (1-1) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.23 | 7 | 25 | 15 |
| Greg Holland, S (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 20 | 12 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2.00 | 39 | 154 | 95 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Balks: None.
WP: None.
HBP: W Davis (1; J Abreu).
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: None.