Royals Rumblings - News for September 20, 2021

Royals Rumblings - News for September 20, 2021

It was a rough start for Jackson Kowar on Sunday, writes Lynn Worthy, but he’ll keep grinding.

“The walks, again, killed me early, and anything I got beat on was just center cut,” Kowar said. “So it really all boiled down to command, I would say. Just not locating pitches either in the zone at all or when they were in the zone catching way too much plate to a couple of guys.”

The outing wasn’t exclusively doom and gloom. Royals manager Mike Matheny and Kowar both pointed to Kowar’s fourth and final inning on the mound as a sign of him getting in sync and pitching more in line with the way he had as he came up through the minor leagues.

Kris Bubic succeeded in his goal of pitching deeper into the game in his start against the Mariners on Saturday.

“He was living on the corners with just about everything,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “[He had] a little bit of trouble right out of the game and then found it in a hurry. He just got better as he went. The breaking ball really showed up later in the outing. The changeup was very good, but he was hitting all quadrants. He was living on the edges.”

Jon Heasley was thrilled to make his MLB debut on Friday.

“Words can’t explain the feeling,” Heasley said of being told he was going to the majors. “It’s something that I’ve worked for for my whole life. Just to finally know that all the work has paid off and I was able to do this tonight, it just means the world. I wouldn’t be out here without the Lord and family and friends, everybody who has helped me along the way. I just can’t say thank you enough.”

The Royals will shut down Brad Keller for the rest of the season.

“The timing of it sucks,” Keller said. “I felt like I was starting to put some starts together in the second half. Getting on a little bit of a roll. I had started to feel like myself again. Starting to attack the zone a little bit better, starting to pitch in a little bit better. Stuff that I’ve always done in the past that I just wasn’t doing in the first half.

“What me and [pitching coach] Cal [Eldred] talked about a million times, those mechanical adjustments, were definitely a contributing factor to go out there and put up some good starts. I felt like I started to get my confidence back again and put together a decent second half. And then this happens.”

The staff at Inside the Royals considers what to do with Edward Olivares.

Early polling shows a downtown baseball stadium faces a lot of opposition.

Mary English pens a column suggesting a rail system to the Truman Sports Complex rather than a new downtown stadium.

The Kansas City Monarchs can win a championship tonight.

Eddie Rosario hits for the cycle on just five pitches.

The Brewers clinch a fourth straight trip to the playoffs.

Tony LaRussa and White Sox pitcher Mike Wright are suspended for throwing at Shohei Ohtani.

Longtime catcher Alex Avila will retire after the season.

Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr. are seen having a heated dugout exchange.

Mets and Phillies minor leaguers protest low pay with wristbands.

Can the minor league pitch clock solve MLB’s problems?

The Mets are targeting Billy Beane to run their club.

Minnie Miñoso’s legacy lives on as the “Jackie Robinson of Latino baseball.”

Driveline founder Kyle Boddy leaves the Reds organization after just two seasons.

The Chiefs fumble away their first loss of the season in Baltimore.

The American Athletic Conference will look to poach Mountain West schools to replace members departing for the Big 12.

FX has unveiled a new slate of shows, but where can you watch them?

Here is your list of Emmy winners.

Your song of the day is 13th Floor Elevators with You’re Gonna Miss Me.