Week 23 – September 16th: TL Player of the Week Named; Series Start with Detroit
The Texas League has made it official -- Osiris Johnson is this week's winner of the Player of the Week Award. The Northwest Arkansas shortstop was sensational with a .538 batting average, 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. Johnson also had 4 walks and posted a .600 on-base percentage. So far this year, Johnson is batting .261 with 8 home runs.
We acquired him in a trade with the Marlins in July, just a few days before the trade deadline. He was sent along with RP Huascar Brazoban and 2B Jordan McCants in exchange for SP Michael Wacha and LF Javier Vaz. I remember that trade as being one to dump Wacha, but we had to include Vaz for it to go through. In the end, as seen today, I don’t think it hurt or helped us. We're in a rebuild phase anyway and looking ahead to next year.
We have a three-game series at home starting today against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are hitting .467 this season, with a record of 70 wins and 80 losses. They sit in 3rd place in the Central Division, 14.5 games behind the leader. The Tigers are currently playing well, riding a three-game winning streak. They have scored 626 runs, ranking 13th in the American League, and their .236 batting average is 14th. On the defensive side, they have allowed 629 runs, which is second most in the league, with their starters posting an ERA of 4.18, ranking 4th. Their bullpen has an ERA of 3.44, the best in the league. When facing our Royals this season, they hold a record of 5 wins and 5 losses.
Here are the projected pitching matchups:
LHP K. Bubic (1-3, 5.97 ERA) vs RHP J. Jobe (4-4, 4.35 ERA)
RHP B. Singer (5-6, 4.30 ERA) vs LHP T. Skubal (11-14, 3.40 ERA)
RHP A. Marsh (3-3, 4.46 ERA) vs RHP R. Olson (10-10, 4.62 ERA)
The top 5 players on their team are:
1. SP Tarik Skubal (Age: 27, Overall: 75, Potential: 80)
2. 2B Colt Keith (23, 60, 80)
3. RF Riley Greene (23, 60, 80)
4. SP Reese Olson (25, 55, 60)
5. CF Parker Meadows (24, 50, 55)
Game Summary – September 16th – Bubic Now 2-3 After Beating Tigers
The Kansas City Royals won at Kauffman Stadium, beating the Detroit Tigers 4-3. Left-hander Kris Bubic was on the mound and was crucial to the victory. Kansas City now has a record of 65-86, while Detroit is 70-81. Bubic delivered a quality start, giving up no earned runs on 3 hits over 7 innings. Kris stayed focused, fought hard, and made key outs when needed.
However, the bullpen almost let us down tonight. Brazoban nearly lost the lead we had going into the 8th inning and gave up a 2-out, 3-run, 2-RBI homer to Detroit’s DH Colt Keith. I had to pull him and hope that Topa could get the final out to help us escape the inning without further damage. Thankfully, that’s how it all worked out.
KANSAS CITY PITCHING LINESCORE
Code:
Player Rslt (W-L) IP H R ER BB K HR PI ERA
K. Bubic W (2-3) 7.0 3 0 0 1 7 0 91 4.79
H. Brazoban 0.2 3 3 3 1 1 1 29 8.38
J. Topa H (2) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.25
B. Bernardino SV(11)1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 3.90
Game Score: K. Bubic 77
Batters Faced: K. Bubic 24, H. Brazoban 6, J. Topa 1, B. Bernardino 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: K. Bubic 5-8, H. Brazoban 0-1, J. Topa 0-1, B. Bernardino 1-1
Pitches - Strikes: K. Bubic 91-65, H. Brazoban 29-16, J. Topa 1-1, B. Bernardino 9-4
Inherited Runners - Scored: J. Topa 1-0
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Kris Bubic
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (72 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 6 mph
Start Time: 6:40 PM CT
Time: 2:54
Attendance: 17062