Royals Rumblings - News for August 21, 2023

Jordan Lyles lost his 14th game of the year on Sunday.

“The first inning wasn’t ideal,” Lyles said. “Salvy and I got in cruise control and later on in the game, just two mistakes, backup sliders that left the yard. Execution-wise (it) wasn’t there on those pitches. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone on base, so it was a single run each time.”

Brady Singer struggled on Saturday.

“The stuff wasn’t very sharp,” Singer said. “They kind of jumped on a lot of mistakes there and I couldn’t really get the ball where I wanted to. I think the kind of sharpness of everything was a struggle.”...

“I thought his stuff looked fine,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It’s a day where a couple of those home runs are tough pitches and in a park where those are homers. He threw the ball fine and just didn’t command it when he needed to.”

Anne Rogers writes that Maikel Garcia is settled in as the leadoff hitter.

“I just try to get on base for Bobby and [Michael] Massey and Salvy [Salvador Perez],” Garcia said. “Or get on base to drive in runners who are at the bottom of the lineup. That’s all I think about. Hitting leadoff, it’s like you are a leader for the team. If you don’t get on base, the team can’t score runs right away. If you’re on base, we can get to the pitcher earlier. I like that spot.”

Zach Crizer at Yahoo Sports highlights Bobby Witt Jr. as a player having a sneaky good season.

Witt’s full-season offensive numbers still won’t have anyone drooling, but since July 1 — even with the Royals’ season long in the tank — he has been one of the game’s best position players, slashing .342/.376/.658 with 11 homers and 11 steals.

Perhaps more importantly, his defense has not just improved but flipped to full-on spectacular. Allowed to play shortstop full-time, Witt rates among the top-10 defenders in the game by Statcast and has his share of spectacular plays to back it up.

The Reds targeted Singer at the trade deadline.

After refusing assignment with the Royals, Nick Wittgren signed a minor league deal with the Mariners.

Max Scherzer moves into 11th place all-time in strikeouts.

Elly de la Cruz has another electric moment with an inside-the-park home run.

The Blue Jays designate infielder Paul DeJong for assignment.

The Yankees lose their eighth in a row, their longest streak in 40 years.

The Yankees will meet the Tigers for the Little League Classic.

The Houston Astros have a team meeting after getting swept by the Mariners.

The Padres have a complicated future.

Logan Webb is an old school workhorse pitcher.

Adbert Alzolay has been a breakout closer for the Cubs.

MLB may make a decision about Wander Franco’s fate today.

Spain wins the Women’s World Cup with a win over England.

Who are the most intriguing non-quarterbacks in college football this season?

Artificial intelligence may be able to help us recycle.

Scientists try to tackle narcissism.

Has Hollywood finally figured out how to do adapt video games?

Your song of the day is The Boomtown Rats with I Don’t Like Mondays.