Kansas City Royals news: Josh Rojas has a day

Anne Rogers writes about a whirlwind day for Josh Rojas on Thursday, with a hit at Triple-A in the afternoon, and the game-winning hit in the big leagues that evening.

“I can’t imagine having a travel day like that,” said Michael Massey, who homered in the fourth inning. “And then having to come in and face a leverage reliever.”
“I think I would have been a little more stressed [getting here] if I hadn’t played a game yet today,” Rojas added. “But I’d already done all my activation. I played a game. I did sit at the airport for a while, but I still felt pretty good. It didn’t feel like I had just woken up out of bed. Obviously, the adrenaline of being in the big leagues, I felt really good just stepping out there.”

Jaylon Thompson notes that Rojas missed his initial flight.

“They were like, hey, your flight is in an hour and 45 minutes — we’re going to try and rush you there,” Rojas recalled. “I ended up missing that one and didn’t get there in time. And then, my next flight left at eight o’clock. So I was there for about four hours waiting for my next flight.”

Pete Grathoff looked at how rare it is to get hits for two different teams in the same day.

Researching players who appeared in a minor- and major-league game the same day has proven to be difficult, but the Twins’ Matt Wallner did it on May 23, 2023. After playing for the St. Paul Saints in the afternoon, he was promoted to the Twins but made an out in his pinch-hit appearance that night.
Curt Nelson, senior director of the Royals Hall of Fame, noted that former Royals outfielder Lane Adams played for the Braves and their minor-league affiliate in 2017.
Adams had two hits for Triple-A Gwinett in an afternoon game, then got the call to join the big-league Braves that night. He went 0 for 2 with Atlanta.

Jaylon also talks to Lucas Erceg about his recent struggles.

After blowing consecutive saves, Erceg became a major talking point among the fan base and national pundits. People criticized his subpar season, and it’s led to lingering concerns about his ability to stick in the role as the team’s closer.
“I’m allowing the outside noise to affect me a little bit,” Erceg said. “I talk about that a lot. It’s not allowing the outside noise and not allowing the situation to dictate how I feel out there. And I guess, the last couple of weeks, I’ve allowed it to affect the way I think and I moved down the mound.”

David Lesky breaks down Seth Lugo’s start on Thursday against the Twins.

Overall, the numbers don’t paint a picture of a particularly bad outing, but don’t mistake that for me saying Lugo was good or even just a little unlucky. He had trouble putting hitters away, and the Twins didn’t seem to be having trouble with any of his pitches. He had a perfectly respectable whiff rate of 23 percent and didn’t seem to get crushed overall, but it was just an underwhelming performance. One thing that I thought was interesting is that I thought his changeup looked different in the first inning. He threw one to Brooks Lee and then another to Clemens, which sort of caught me off guard when they came up as a changeup.
And sure enough, he was throwing it significantly harder. He averaged 86.2 MPH on it after averaging 84.6 on it this year previously. Additionally, it had a lot more spin. The movement wasn’t that different by the numbers, but there was one, in the fourth maybe, that I thought looked like a totally different pitch. That’s something I do appreciate from Lugo. He will continue to work and work and work, honing pitches. There might be something negative about that, too, if he doesn’t let what’s working keep working, but I appreciate someone who always tries to improve themselves.

Dave Helling reports that a petition may force a vote on the proposed Royals downtown stadium.

Catcher Elias Díaz has elected free agency.

Former Royals catcher Logan Porter signs with the Angels.

The ball that hit off Jo Adell’s head and went over the fence is changed from a home run to a four-base error.

Jorge Castillo at ESPN writes about the takeaways from the owner’s meetings.

Padres outfielder Ramon Laureano is likely out for the year after hip surgery.

What are the toughest decisions on All-Star ballots?

Why the Orioles serve as a cautionary tale for the Red Sox.

Cody Bellinger has been a great investment for the Yankees.

What starting pitchers have improved the stuff and command this year?

The Chicago Bears advance a plan to relocate to Indiana.

How Curaçao became the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup.