For about 30 seconds, there was nothing but deafening silence to be heard during the sixth inning of Bally Sports Kansas City’s broadcast of the Kansas City Royals‘ clash against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
Royals analyst Rex Hudler took the microphone to further break down Kansas City right-handed pitcher Seth Lugo whiffing Brewers shortstop Willy Adames with an 81.7-mph slurve.
“And then you drop the deuce on the outside part of the plate,” Hudler said. “That big curveball, nice, right out of the zone, just like you like it.”
Play-by-play announcer Ryan Lefebvre didn’t say a word. He let the moment breathe with viewers soaking in every last word of Hudler’s funny phrasing.
“And then you drop the Deuce on the Outside part of the plate.” đ¤Ł
“Just to clarifyâa deuce is a curveball,” Lefebvre said.
“Yeah, it’s two,” Hudler responded, referencing the number of fingers that catchers use to signal for a curveball.
Too funny.
Adames eventually got his revenge for the sixth-inning strikeout, blasting a three-run go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth. The Brewers beat the Royals 6â5.
Kansas City Royals catcher/first baseman Salvador Perez had a little fun joking with a cameraman during Monday's 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees at Kauffman Stadium.
In the top of the eighth inning, Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo, facing Royals' relief pitcher Dan Altavilla, fouled off an 0-1 fastball towards the Kansas City dugout area, which is where Perez, playing first base on Monday night, headed in pursuit of the ball.
When the foul ball landed out of his reach amidst a crew of camera operators, Perez couldn't help but joke with one of the camermen. Mics picked up Perez's funny moment with the cameraman in a video shared by Talkin' Baseball on X, formerly known as Twitter.
âHey you shouldâve moved. Oh my god. You donât have a glove.â Salvy is too funny đ pic.twitter.com/2n5pOFcIbw
â Talkinâ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 11, 2024
âHey you shouldâve moved. Oh my god. You donât have a glove!" Perez said with a smile as the man burst into laughter.
Yeah, where were you on that one? In all seriousness, thank you Salvador Perez for making a seemingly routine pop fly a moment of comedic relief.
Perez and the Royals (39-28) will play three more games against the Yankees (47-21).
The Kansas City Royals host the Seattle Mariners tonight at Kaufman Stadium.
Both teams have exceeded expectations this season. The Mariners sit atop the AL West with a 36-28 record, five games ahead of the Texas Rangers. The Royals have a nearly identical record at 37-26 but sit four games behind the Guardians in the AL Central.
Just the way we all drew it up.
Though the two teams have nearly identical records, one stat stands out: run differential. The Royals are at +72, compared to the Mariners at +10.
The Mariners have been successful due to their elite pitching. Seattle's pitching staff has combined for a 3.38 ERA this season, the sixth-best mark in MLB. Their hitting? Let's say it leaves something to be desired. The Mariners have scored an average of just 3.72 runs per game this season, ranking 26th in MLB.
The Royals have been excellent all around. Kansas City pitchers have combined for the eighth-best ERA (3.57), while the offense, led by Bobby Witt and Salvador Perez, has scored an average of 4.68 runs per game this year, ranking sixth in MLB.
Yet, the Royals remain home dogs.
Lefty Daniel Lynch gets the start for Kansas City at home. Lynch was sharp in his last outing, lasting five innings and allowing just five hits and two earned runs to the Minnesota Twins. Lynch has limited innings at the MLB league level this year, but as I mentioned, the Seattle offense is far from a juggernaut. Seattle is batting .219 vs. Southpaws (28th) and slugging just .373 (21st). Kaufman is one of the biggest ballparks, allowing the fifth-fewest home runs per game (1.72).
Bryce Miller gets the start for Seattle. Miller has been excellent this season, pitching to a 3.18 ERA. However, his xERA of 4.10 suggests there could be some regression. His hard-hit rate allowed is in the bottom 12% of the league, and his barrel rate is in the bottom 3%. That could spell trouble vs. Bobby Witt Jr., whose 12.4 barrels per plate appearance ranks fourth in MLB. Miller pitched six innings of no-run ball in his last outing vs. the Angels, but he had a 5.22 ERA in May.
Seattle is the hotter team, going 8-2 across their last 10, while Kansas City is just 3-7. However, sometimes a start at home is just what a team needs to get back on track.
The Royals are 8-7 as home underdogs this year and 22-10 at home overall.
While at it, consider a futures bet for the Royals to win the AL Central (+350). It could be the last time you grab that value.
UPDATE: Juan Soto's MRI came back with only inflammation, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman. His AL MVP odds have still dropped to +450 at FanDuel Sportsbook -- but they have rebounded after falling as low as +650.
The initial prognosis on Juan Soto's MRI is that it's only inflammation and he should be ok, per @JonHeyman
â Talkinâ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 7, 2024
What follows is the initial story of the odds movement following Soto's exit from Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Twins. His odds have remained the same at DraftKings Sportsbook (+235) throughout this process.
New York Yankees fans everywhere held their breath on Thursday night after Juan Soto was lifted from the team's win with what the Yankees called, "left forearm discomfort."
However, MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed on Friday that the Yankees are "nervous" when it comes to Soto and his injury and his odds have fallen since the injury occurred.
"The Yankees have their fingers crossed, they're nervous."
â New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 7, 2024
Soto is slashing an impressive .318/.424/.603 with 17 homers on the season. He was right behind teammate Aaron Judge in the odds as the No. 2 favorite for the AL MVP.
That has since changed at FanDuel Sportsbook, a sign that Soto could be looking at a stint on the injured list. Even if Soto plays, oddsmakers may be taking their chance on him being less effective with his forearm bothering him, at least in terms of his ability to win AL MVP.
Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. and Baltimore Orioles star Gunnar Henderson have leapfrogged Soto in the latest AL MVP odds. Soto dropped from +210 to +650 since being removed from Thursday's game, a massive falloff that signals oddsmakers believe he's at least expected to miss some time or be less effective in the MVP race.
The other important note here is Judge has jumped to a clear favorite in this market. After posting an OPS over 1.400 in May, Judge is now hitting .289 on the season and leads baseball in homers (21), doubles, and walks drawn.
Despite the movement at FanDuel, that isn't the case everywhere in the betting market.
In this case, oddsmakers still believe in Soto's AL MVP case, although Witt Jr. and Henderson are right on his heels for the No. 2 spot.
Until the Yankees officially announce a roster move, Soto's status is truly up in the air.
The star outfielder addressed the media on Thursday, saying he's been dealing with the ailment for a couple of weeks. While he's been able to play through it, there has to be some concern that this has been building over time.
Juan Soto says he's felt the forearm tightness for a couple weeks but it hasn't impacted his baseball related activities at all pic.twitter.com/UuyC2ATyyA
Soto didn't have to make many throws against the Twins on Thursday, and it's unclear if there is a specific spot where he could have aggravated his forearm that led to his removal from the game.
If the injury isn't bothering Soto when he hits, he theoretically could stay in the AL-leading Yankees lineup as a designated hitter.
The problem? That spot is usually manned by slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who has been injury-prone in the past and is certainly risky to play in the field. For now, the Yankees and their fans -- and Soto bettors -- are hoping for some positive news about his injury in the coming days.
I think this helps Judge's MVP case the most, as the Yankees would rely even more on the 2022 AL MVP if Soto can't play for any period.
Judge has finished in the top five in MVP voting in three different seasons in his MLB career.
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