Royals Rumblings - News for May 2, 2022

Royals Rumblings - News for May 2, 2022

Whit Merrifield stays positive during the offensive drought, writes Anne Rogers.

“Yeah, we’re a little frustrated right now, but it’s not carrying over,” said second baseman Whit Merrifield, who walked twice and singled. “I can tell you that. We’re an optimistic group. We feel good about the guys that we have regardless of how we’ve been playing. It’s up for grabs right now.

“We’re going to hit our stride, hopefully soon, and once we do, hopefully we can take off and build on that and continue to play well the rest of the year. I know we’ve got it in us. I really believe that, I really do. It just hasn’t shown yet.”

Lynn Worthy writes about Daniel Lynch’s solid start on Sunday.

Lynch retired 12 in a row from the end of the first inning to the start of the fifth.

“I thought I did a pretty good job of bouncing back after the first inning,” Lynch said. “I didn’t feel like my stuff was very sharp there. They were just fouling a lot of balls off. I didn’t feel like I made too many bad pitches. The one to Judge just kind of leaked back over the plate.

“I felt like I made a lot of really good pitches to [DJ] LeMahieu and then to Donaldson. He battled me, but I felt like I made quality pitches. I was happy with how I battled. In the fifth inning, they just came around and got me.”

Cam Gallagher left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury and will land on the Injured List.

“I did not want to come out,” Gallagher said. “Being a backup catcher, you got to give [Perez] a day. He catches a lot of games during the year. I got to give him a day. I was trying to do everything I could to stay in the game, let him rest his legs. Me wanting to do that and doing what’s best for the team is different.”

Bobby Witt Jr. was a late scratch Sunday due to a right wrist contusion from being hit by a pitch on Saturday.

“Just had some weakness,” manager Mike Matheny said. “We knew he was going to be sore. Everything checked out good. But it wasn’t allowing him to finish his swing, so if it’s bothering you on your swing, it’s probably going to bother you on your throws as well. So, hopefully a good day and a little more rest and some rehab all game long, he’ll be in a good spot [Monday].”

The Royals optioned Matt Peacock and Emmanuel Rivera to Omaha to get under the 26-man roster limit that begins today.

Jared Perkins at Royals Farm Report looks at internal options to help the offense.

Today’s game in St. Louis against the Cardinals has been moved up from 3:15 to 12:15 p.m. due to weather.

Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez hits his first MLB home run, a 450-foot shot.

The Guardians designate Bobby Bradley and Logan Allen for assignment.

The Giants acquire infielder Isan Diaz from the Marlins.

Clayton Kershaw becomes the Dodgers all-time leader in strikeouts.

The Angels already have Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani - now Taylor Ward is emerging as a threat.

A Jackie Robinson bat fetches more than $1 million at auction.

Brewers pitcher Brent Suter has a children’s book coming out in June.

Defensive shifts are increasing before MLB bans them.

Why the A’s and Rays should both move to Canada.

Kelsie Whitmore becomes the first woman to start an Atlantic League game.

Will Trevor Bauer’s suspension influence domestic abuse suspensions in other sports?

After 11 years in the minors, Jason Krizan gets his first MLB hit.

Draft grades for all 32 NFL teams.

A soccer club in England got into analytics in the 1980s by mailing tapes of their games to an analyst in Fiji.

There are issues with Elon Musk’s idea to open source Twitter’s algorithm.

New genetic research shows dog breed does not affect behavior.

Inside the ending of Ozark.

Your song of the day is The Bravery with An Honest Mistake.