(March 28th, first game of series opener with Minnesota Twins!)
It’s too early for our scout to comment on the opponent’s season, but he has provided a report on projected pitching matchups and their top 5 players. Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP S. Lugo (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP P. Lopez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
LHP C. Ragans (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP C. Paddack (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP M. Wacha (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP J. Ryan (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
The top 5 players on their team are:
1. CF Byron Buxton (Age: 30, Overall: 80, Potential: 80)
2. CL Jhoan Duran (26, 75, 75)
3. SP Pablo Lopez (28, 70, 70)
4. SP Chris Paddack (28, 70, 70)
5. SS Carlos Correa (29, 65, 65)
Game Summary – March 28th - Royals Clip Twins, 3-2
The Kansas City Royals started the 2024 season with an impressive 3-2 win against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Seth Lugo led the way for Kansas City. Chris Stratton earned the save for Kansas City, his 1st of the year. Maikel Garcia helped the Kansas City cause in the bottom of the fifth inning with a run-scoring sacrifice fly. For the game, the third baseman was 1-2 with a walk.
"We're in a marathon, not a sprint," said Lugo. "But I like how we're playing right now."
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Seth Lugo
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy (46 degrees), wind blowing out to right at 11 mph
Start Time: 3:10 PM CT
Time: 3:05
Attendance: 37523
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Game Summary – March 30th - Royal's Starter Ragans Now 1-0 Following 5-0 Win
Kansas City left-hander Cole Ragans pitched his team to victory over the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. The final score was 5-0. The Royals, now 2-0, have stormed out of the gates. The famously hardworking Ragans handled the Twins all day, notching 6 strikeouts in 7.2 innings while allowing 3 hits. Ragans goes to 1-0 on the year with 6 strikeouts.
"Cole throwing strikes, pounding the zone, that is exactly what you want to see," said Kansas City manager Todd "BigP" Pollard.
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Cole Ragans
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (43 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 11 mph
Start Time: 3:10 PM CT
Time: 2:46
Attendance: 28191
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Game Summary – March 31st - Twins Deal Royals 9-1 Loss 
The Minnesota Twins pinned a convincing loss on the Kansas City Royals, 9-1, at Kauffman Stadium. Matt Wallner was a main factor in the win. He was 3-5 with a home run and a double. He scored 2 runs and drove in 2 for Minnesota. Joe Ryan earned the win to go to 1-0. He allowed no runs on 6 hits, with no walks and 3 strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. Kansas City falls to 2-1. With Minnesota leading 1-0 in the top of the sixth, Wallner hit a run-scoring single off Kansas City hurler Michael Wacha. It was the 5th hit of the season for Wallner and put his team ahead, 2-0.
"I'm just trying to make good contact," said Wallner, "one at-bat at a time."
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Matt Wallner
Weather: Partly Cloudy (49 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 10 mph
Start Time: 1:10 PM CT
Attendance: 26678
Special Notes: Royals' CF Dairon Blanco was injured while throwing the ball due to a herniated disk and will be out for a week. He was replaced by M.J. Melendez, who moved to LF, and Drew Waters shifted to CF.
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Although I'm happy with my first series performance as manager and taking the series win 2-1, that last game we were damn near shutout, and we just could not get anything going.
Is the front office coaching staff of Brian Sweeney and Alec Zumwalt already showing its flaws?
I'll have to take a hard look at the bullpen, too, so I've got my manager issues to sort out.