Ned Yost Ejected In Royals-Rays Contest

Not a lot went right for the Kansas City Royals in their 5-3 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays, and manager Ned Yost ended up missing one of the only good parts of the game for KC after getting ejected in the top of the eighth inning.

Yost, along with the Royals hitters, was frustrated by a couple of strike zone calls and while Eric Hosmer argued, Yost called from the bench and ended up getting sent off by umpire Scott Berry.

"A little bit," Yost said. "Not a whole lot but some. A couple of pitches. Then he [Barry] wanted to stare into the dugout for another 15 minutes until I muttered another word."

Yost muttered and was gone.

After Yost's ejection, the Royals had a short offensive burst -- one of the few moments of decent offense all game for the team -- and scored two runs. Unfortunately, the comeback never came to fruition and the Royals lost the game as well as their series against the Rays.

Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more on the Rays. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Royals Vs. Rays Game Recap: Shields Takes Three-Hitter Into The Eighth In 5-3 Loss To Rays

Despite their best efforts to make a game of it in the eighth, the Kansas City Royals comeback fell just short as the team lost both the game, 5-3, and the series to the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday.

Manager Ned Yost tried to light a fire under his team in the top of the eight, getting ejected for arguing balls and strikes but the team could still only muster up two runs in the inning off a Alcides Escobar RBI triple followed by Alex Gordon bringing home the shortstop with a RBI single of his own.

The Rays would get one of the runs back in the bottom of the eight when Jose Libaton would homer off Aaron Crow.

James Shields chipped in a quality start for the Rays (7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 7 K, 1 BB) while Luis Mendoza did exactly the opposite, allowing nine base runners in his 4.1 innings of work. Jeff Francoeur got Mendoza the lead early when his single scored Salvador Perez in the second but the Rays would answer with two runs in the third and never relinquish the lead again.

The Royals (55-68) now have Thursday off before heading to Boston for a four game series. Bruce Chen (9-10) will look to build off his last solid start against the White Sox against a Red Sox pitcher that has still yet to be determined.

For more Royals news, head on over to Royals Review.

Jake Odorizzi Named PCL Pitcher Of The Week

Luke Hochevar Shows Royals Best Stuff Of Career

There's no denying Kansas City Royals Luke Hochevar has had a disappointing career up to this point. But if you watched his start Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, you would have never guessed it as Hochevar's stuff was nearly flawless, allowing him to out-duel David Price with a incredible final line (8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K).

Craig Brown of Royals Review does a masterful assessment of each of those 10 strikeouts for fans who really want to delve deeper into Hochevar's best start of his career. But if you just want the highlights, here's what you need to know:

1. This was only the third time in his career that he's struck out at least 10 batters.
2. This was the first time that he's reach double digit strikeouts and didn't allow a run.
3. This is exactly what the Royals were hoping for from him when they selected him first overall out of the University of Tennessee back in 2006.

Royals Vs. Rays: Kansas City Looking To Claim 3-Game Series With Tampa Bay

Eager to avoid dropping only their second series in the month of August, the Kansas City Royals will send right-hander Luis Mendoza to the mound on Wednesday afternoon for a matinee game with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Royals should enter the series' decisive meeting with plenty of momentum after Tuesday's thrilling 10th inning victory, in a game where Kansas City pitchers yielded a grand total of two hits to Rays batters. While it may be unwise to foresee a comparable performance to close out the series like the one put forth by Luke Hochevar Tuesday, Kansas City starter Luis Mendoza certainly has the talent to reel off a series of scoreless frames if given the opportunity.

The 28-year-old Mendoza enters Wednesday's finale with pedestrian numbers in both earned-run average (4.26) and walks and hits per inning pitched (1.40), but does own an impressive 18-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last four starts. The Royals have only allowed him to surpass the 100-pitch plateau three times all year, but it's quite evident that the Veracruz, Mexico native is more comfortable than ever with his spot in the rotation locked down at the moment.

Facing off against Mendoza and the Royals on Wednesday afternoon will be Tampa Bay veteran hurler James Shields, who is 11-7 on the season. Shields has bounced back in a huge way after getting shelled for 45 hits over four straight outings from June 28 to July 15, but has yet to face the Royals thus far in 2012.

Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more on the Rays. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Royals Vs. Rays Final Score: Kansas City Slides Past Tampa Bay In 10 Innings, 1-0

Powered by a walk-off single from first baseman Eric Hosmer, the Kansas City Royals pulled off a thrilling 10-inning victory over Tampa Bay Tuesday night in game two of the series.

The 22-year-old Hosmer, buried in the No. 8 spot in the order due to his .235 average entering the day, was the only player on either side to finish with multiple hits. He also swiped his 12th base of the season off Tampa left-hander David Price early in the game, and proceeded to hand Rays reliever Joel Peralta his fifth loss with his game-winning hit to break the scoreless tie in the 10th.

Unfortunate to leave the stadium with a no-decision, Royals starter Luke Hochevar was downright masterful on a day when he may have featured the best pure stuff of his career. Hochevar yielded just one hit to Tampa hitters through eight innings of shutout ball, and fanned 10 batters with only three walks.

With the series knotted at one win apiece, the Royals will look to right-hander Luis Mendoza (7-8, 4.26 ERA) for Wednesday's third and final game.

Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball news, and head over to DRays Bay for more on the Rays. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more coverage from around the league.

Royals Vs. Rays: Kansas City Looks To Rebound In Game 2

Following a short hot streak, the Kansas City Royals fell back to earth on Monday when they were ineffective all around against the Tampa Bay Rays, losing 5-1 in game one of their three game series. Game two on Tuesday will provide them with a chance to avenge the loss but it will be a much tougher ask for the Royals offense against a far superior pitcher to Jeremy Hellickson.

David Price (16-4, 2.39 ERA) will take the mound for Tampa Bay, sporting one of the best pitching records in baseball this season. The Cy Young and MVP candidate will face off against Luke Hochevar (7-11, 5.24 ERA) from the Royals, one of the many members of the Royals staff who has been banged up this season.

He'll need to put his best stuff on in a game against Price, especially if the Royals catch the no-hitting bug that infected them in game one.

The game will be at Tropicana Field at 7:10 p.m. ET.

Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more Rays analysis. Also check out Baseball Nation for more news from around the league.

Royals Vs. Rays Final Score: Kansas City Falls 5-1

The short-lived hot streak will not be continuing for Kansas City. A less-than-effective pitching effort from Will Smith along with a subpar offensive performance sunk the Royals in game one of their series against the Tampa Bay Rays, falling 5-1.

Smith ended up lasting only three and two-third innings and gave up four runs on eight hits. He never had a meltdown inning but repeatedly gave up runs and was pulled before the fourth had ended. Along with the 11 hits, the Royals pitching staff did themselves no favors by giving the Rays three walks as well.

Offensively, the Royals managed one run on seven hits, the RBI being provided by Alex Gordon in the third inning. Gordon was the only Royal to put together a multi-hit game. On the other side of things was Lorenzo Cain, who wore the sombrero with three strikeouts and never reaching first base. Jeremy Hellickson went seven innings with six strikeouts against the hapless Royals offense.

The Royals will get a chance to avenge the loss in game two against the Rays on Tuesday.

Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more Rays analysis. Also check out Baseball Nation for more news from around the league.

Royals Vs. Rays: Kansas City Faltering In Seventh Inning, Losing 5-1

Game one of the series between the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays has so far not gone the way the Royals would be hoping for. In the seventh inning, the Royals are currently losing 5-1 thanks to a poor offensive performance. Only six hits have been scattered by the Royals and Alex Gordon is the only player with more than one -- he also provided the only RBI of the game so far for KC.

Starting Royals pitcher Will Smith didn't have a particularly bad inning to speak of, but continued to let the Rays chip away at him with at least one run in every inning except for the first. He has been pulled in favor of Everett Teaford. Jeremy Hellickson for the Rays is putting on a solid performance with only one run allowed and six strikeouts.

Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more Rays analysis. Also check out Baseball Nation for more news from around the league.

Royals Vs. Rays: Starting Lineups For Monday's Opener

The Kansas City Royals will aim for their fourth straight victory on Monday night against the Rays, as left-hander Will Smith will take the mound to kick off a three-game series from Tropicana Field.

Winners of nine of their last 12 games dating back to August 7, the Royals are currently one of the American League's hottest clubs and enter Monday's game coming off two impressive series victories over Baltimore and the White Sox. Not to be outdone, the Rays also enter their pivotal series on commendable stretch of their own after wrapping up a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Smith, who sports a 4-4 record and 5.09 earned-run average, will make his 10th career start. The rookie hurler enters with two straight victories, and will attempt to slow down a Tampa Bay offense that racked up 37 runs in four games against Los Angeles pitchers.

Here are Monday's starting lineups:

Royals
1. Jarrod Dyson - CF
2. Alcides Escobar - SS
3. Alex Gordon - LF
4. Billy Butler - DH
5. Salvador Perez - C
6. Mike Moustakas - 3B
7. Lorenzo Cain - RF
8. Eric Hosmer - 1B
9. Johnny Giavotella - 2B
Will Smith - SP

Rays
1. Desmond Jennings - LF
2. B.J. Upton - CF
3. Ben Zobrist - DH
4. Jeff Keppinger - 1B
5. Ryan Roberts - 2B
6. Sean Rodriguez - 3B
7. Sam Fuld - RF
8. Jose Lobaton - C
9. Elliot Johnson - SS
Jeremy Hellickson - SP

Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more Rays analysis. Also check out Baseball Nation for more news from around the league.

Kansas City Royals Riding Strong Momentum After Sweep Of ChiSox

The Kansas City Royals are filled with young, dynamic potential through the Major League club and down through the farm system. From Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and company at the ML level to Wil Myers and Bubba Starling in prep mode, the team has a number of sluggers available. The pitching pipeline has also been developed and names like Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Zimmer will likely have a long-term home in KC soon enough. But recently that potential has turned into production the way Royals fans have hoped for.

The Royals are currently mowing through opponents and just swept the Chicago White Sox after taking two of three from the Oakland Athletics. Now they head out on an East Coast trip with more confidence than ever in 2012, but Royals manager said the team isn't there just yet.

"We're just trying to get back on track, finish the season off strong," Yost said. "That's our goal, and we're doing OK at it right now. We have a long way to go, still have a long road ahead of us. We've got to continue to stay focused on it, playing good, consistent baseball."

Will Smith takes the mound on Monday against the Rays in the first of three games against the team. Then the Royals move on to face the Boston Red Sox for another four. If they can hold up and take four of seven (or better), Royals fans will have a lot of hope heading into the home stretch for further success in 2013.

Royals Vs. Rays: Kansas City Tries To Stay Hot

A weekend sweep of the White Sox saw the Royals move into third place in the AL Central. Kansas City will look to keep their strong play going as they head out on a seven-game East Coast road trip, beginning in Tampa Bay.