Kansas City Royals News

Major League Baseball announced Thursday the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers will play a regular-season game in Omaha, Neb., the week the 2019 College World Series begins.The contest is scheduled for June 13, 2019, as reported earlier this week.The event will mark the first major league game ever played in Nebraska and will take place at TD Ameritrade Park, host site of the CWS. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN."As fans enjoy the excitement of the College World Series, I am pleased to announce that we will be playing a Major League game in Omaha next season," commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "We look forward to partnering with the NCAA and all the various parties who have worked hard to put this game together. This represents another significant step in our efforts to showcase the solidarity that links each level of our great game."The game will reportedly be the third of a three-game series between the teams. Games 1 and 2 will be played in Kansas City.

Rougned Odor homered, and Austin Bibens-Dirkx picked up his first win of the season as the visiting Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night at Kaufmann Stadium.It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Rangers, who have won 17 of their past 20 meetings with the Royals dating back to July 23, 2016.Kansas City dropped its ninth straight game, its longest losing streak of the season. The Royals have dropped 15 of their past 16 games.Bibens-Dirkx (1-1) allowed just five hits and a run over 6 2/3 innings. He was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock after scheduled starter Yohander Mendez was sent down as a disciplinary measure after what was called a violation of team rules following Monday night's 6-3 win over the Royals.The right-hander walked one and didn't strike out a batter. He also made history by combining with catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa to form the first battery in major league history of players with hyphenated surnames. Kiner-Falefa, making his big league catching debut, threw out Hunter Dozier trying to steal second to end the game.Jakob Junis (5-8) dropped his fifth straight decision despite allowing just three runs on five hits over six innings, walking four and also striking out four. Alex Gordon and Dozier each had a single and a double for Kansas City.Texas left fielder Shin-Soo Choo led off the game with a single to right and later scored on a sacrifice fly by right fielder Nomar Mazara. Choo extended his streak of reaching on base to 34 games, the longest active streak in the majors and the second longest of the season behind Odubel Herrera of the Phillies, who had a 40-gamer.

Cole Hamels allowed just four hits and an unearned run in seven innings and rookie third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa and right fielder Nomar Mazara each had three-hit games to lead the visiting Texas Rangers to their fourth straight win, 4-1, over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.Keona Kela picked up his 17th save in 17 opportunities in 2018 and 19th in a row dating back to last season with a 1-2-3 ninth for the Rangers. Jake Diekman struck out two in a perfect eighth to garner his eighth hold.Hamels (4-6), who has a 1.45 ERA and .176 opponent batting average in his last five road games, walked three and struck out seven and departed after throwing 108 pitches, 72 of which were strikes.It was the eighth straight loss and 14th in 15 games for the Royals, who fell to 10-28 at home this season. Jason Hammel (2-8) took the loss, falling to 0-5 this season in seven home starts and also extending his home winless streak to nine games.Hammel allowed four runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out four.Hamels, who entered the contest with the second lowest run support in the American League (2.74), including a total of four runs in his previous four starts, had a 4-0 lead to work with after just 2 1/2 innings.

Bartolo Colon became the winningest pitcher born in the Dominican Republic in major league history and Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre each homered as the visiting Texas Rangers handed the Kansas City Royals their seventh straight loss, 6-3, on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.It was the 244th career win for the 45-year-old Colon (4-4), breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for most wins by a Dominican-born player and moving him within one win of tying Nicaraguan Dennis Martinez (245) for most wins by a pitcher from a Latin American country.Colon gave up three runs on nine hits in six innings, walking one and striking out one, giving him 2,503 strikeouts in his career which also broke a tie with Christy Mathewson for 33rd place in MLB history.Choo, who also doubled and walked three times in five at-bats and scored twice, reached base for the 32nd straight game, the longest active streak in the major leagues.Colon was staked to an early 5-0 lead thanks to a leadoff home run by Choo, who barely cleared the fence in right with a towering drive off a fastball by Ian Kennedy (1-7) that measured at just 366 feet for his 13th of the season, and a four-run third inning that included a three-run homer by Adrian Beltre. It was the third home run of the season for Beltre and 465th of his career, moving him into a tie for 34th place on the all-time list with Dave Winfield and Miguel Cabrera.The Royals cut it to 5-2 in the bottom of third on an RBI double by Adalberto Mondesi driving in Abraham Almonte, who opened the inning with a single, and a sacrifice fly by Mike Moustakas which drove in Mondesi, who had moved to third on a single by Alex Gordon.

The Washington Nationals added to the back of their bullpen when they acquired two-time All-Star closer Kelvin Herrera from the Kansas City Royals, the Nationals confirmed in a press release issued Monday.The Royals are getting three prospects in return, but none of them from among a handful believed to be the best in the Nationals' farm system.Kansas City received third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez, outfielder Blake Perkins and right-handed pitcher Yohanse Morel.Herrera, 28, arrives as Washington's bullpen is 12th in the majors in ERA (3.74) and ninth in batting average against (.231).The Nationals, who entered Monday trailing the Atlanta Braves by three games in the National League East, get a closer who has World Series experience for a pen that already includes Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle.By acting well before the trade deadline, the Nationals also keep Herrera away from rivals also looking for bullpen help.