Royals Rumblings - News for May 4, 2023

Salvy exited Tuesday’s game, but not before clubbing two home runs:

Perez was the only Royals position player over 27 years old in the lineup on Tuesday night. In a season meant to evaluate the young talent the Royals have in the Major Leagues, Perez is the steady leader.

There are not many things that will keep him down.

“He’s the leader of this team, leader of this clubhouse,” Yarbrough said. “We feed off him. Catcher is a tough position, your body gets beat up in general, so for him to bring that energy when he takes a beating like that is huge. … We’re trying to do more for him. It’s just not going our way right now. Especially as a starter and pitching staff, when you’re able to score seven runs, you’re hoping to win those games. That’s really on me that we lost this game.”

Wednesday’s game was the best-played game of the season so far:

Quatraro’s bullpen plan went as scripted as Taylor Clarke, Aroldis Chapman, Amir Garrett — who pitched on his 31st birthday and was surprised with a cake and milkshakes from his teammates after the game — and Josh Staumont combined for four scoreless innings. It was the Royals’ second win at home, exactly one month after their first win at The K.

But the takeaway from Wednesday was the offense. It has been a slow start for the Royals’ young hitters this season, but they’ve scored 13 runs in the past two games.

“The process we put in place going back four years ago is all about approach and sticking to that plan and approach,” general manager J.J. Picollo said Tuesday when asked what went wrong offensively in the first month. “When you break down these at-bats, guys are getting out of the approach. I don’t think it’s a process issue. I think it’s more of an execution issue right now. Guys just have to calm down.”

The Negro League Baseball Museum is expanding:

The new state-of-the-art facility will be built adjacent to the Buck O’Neil Education and Research Center (BOERC), which will now be housed in the former Paseo YMCA. That historic building is where Rube Foster first gathered other team owners to start the discussion that led to the Negro National League forming in 1920.

The NLBM has already received its first donation — and that came from Bank of America, which pledged $1 million in support of the new construction of the museum. The estimated cost to build the new facility is around $25 million.

“We share NLBM’s mission to preserve and celebrate the rich history of African American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America,” said Matt Linski, president, Bank of America Kansas City. “Our commitment recognizes the importance — culturally and economically — of the 18th & Vine District to Kansas City today, and we hope it will be an example for other funders to follow.”

Kiley McDaniel has his latest round of draft prospect rankings ($). Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes could be the first college teammates to go 1-2 in a draft.

Seattle’s Bryce Miller joined Stephen Strasburg and Johnny Cueto as the only starting pitchers in AL/NL history to strikeout at least ten and walk none in their debut.

Matt Chapman appears to be positioning himself for a huge payday this winter.

Yankees haters rejoice: the Bronx Bombers are more like the Bronx Bruises at the moment.

Cardinals haters rejoice: the writers at Viva El Birdos are now experiencing our pain of writing game recaps for a terrible team. Sidenote: it should be Vivan Los Pájaros, or Los Aves - the butchering of Spanish really bothers me.

Bryce Harper’s rapid recovery from Tommy John surgery is a surprise to everybody except the Phillies.

Both dugouts in this High-A matchup include a woman in a prominent position on the staff.

Colorado starter Germán Márquez is undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Liam Hendriks will begin a rehab assignment.

Duke, Miami, and West Virginia surge in this week’s college baseball Top 25.

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will take on Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in a 12-hole golf exhibition next month.

The Boston Celtics evened their series with a blowout Game 2 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Vegas Golden Knights took a 6-4 victory in the series opener over the Edmonton Oilers.

The Carolina Hurricanes won a comfortable 5-1 opening match against the New Jersey Devils.

High-resolution radar data has revealed over 19000 previously unmapped seamounts.

Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the fourth busiest airport in Europe, is planning to ban private jets.

A recent study observed brain activity in dying humans, challenging our understanding of the dying brain.

Your song of the day is Starlight (Keep Me Afloat) by Martin Garrix, Dubvision, and Shaun Farrugia.