Royals' Offense Continues to Impress, Sweeps Expos

The Royals continued their offensive onslaught, plating 29 more runs in 2 games against the Expos.  But the pitching staff wouldn't let the hitters take all the credit, as they pitched 15 innings without allowing an earned run, while striking out 19 in the doubleheader.

 

Game 1 marked the return of Chris Dyer, who missed the post season and first week of fall, but fell right back into form.  3 solid innings and 6 strikeouts later, Dyer had a successful season debut on his hands.  The rest of the game would be handled by the dominant Royals' bullpen.  Today, it was Ryan Schappery for 2 innings (0ER, 4K), Zach Sloane for 2 innings (0ER, K) and Ryan Elliott for 1 (0ER, K.)

 

On offense, there were too many fireworks to list.  Every Royal scored a run, and all but one had a hit.  Chris Dyer, Dylan Pereira and Trevor Nathanson had 3 hits each, and Nathanson and Zach Sloane each scored 4 runs.  Pereira led the team with 3 rbis.

 

 

Game 2 featured more dominance on the mound, with Jake Romo starting.  Without his best stuff, Romo pitched 3 innings of 3-run ball, although none of the runs were earned.  He struck out 5 before turning the ball over to Ryan Elliott, who knuckled his way to 2 strikeouts and no runs over the final 4 innings of the day.

 

The offense again was dominant, although tired after playing for nearly 6 hours in triple digit heat.  Mike Miller, making up for his 3 strikeout performance in game 1, led the team with 3 hits in game 2.  Miller, Dylan Pereira and Jason Bolding each scored 2 runs, and 6 different Royals knocked in a run in the victory.

 

Congrats go out to Ryan Elliott, who reached a milestone in game 2 with his 100th run batted in.  He's now 9th on the Royals' all-time list!  And also, congrats to Trevor Nathanson, who started the season reaching base safely in 10 consecutive plate appearances - the second longest streak all-time as a Royal!

 

 

Pitching - Game 1

Chris Dyer - 3IP, 0R, H, 6K

Ryan Schappery - W, 2IP, 0ER, H, 4K, 2BB, HBP

Zach Sloane - 2IP, 0ER, H, K, 2BB

Ryan Elliott - IP, 0R, 0H, K, BB

 

Pitching - Game 2

Jake Romo - 3IP, 0ER, 2H, 5K, 4BB

Ryan Elliott - W, 4IP, 0R, 2H, 2K, 2BB

 

Batting - combined

Royals' Offense Flattens Ironbirds 24-5

The Royals were looking to get off on the right foot in fall and make up for a lackluster spring championship performance, while the Ironbirds were looking to avenge their walk-off 6-5loss to the Royals in the first round of the spring playoffs.  Scoring early and often, the Royals batted around in 2 separate innings and put up 24 runs to start the season on a high note.

 

With both of their starting pitchers out of town, the Royals bullpen would have to shoulder the load in game 1 of the Fall 2016 season.  Mike Miller took the hill and worked around a single and an error in the top of the first, bringing up the Royals offense.

 

Danny Platt singled in his first at bat as a Royal and moved to second on a Zach Sloane walk.  Last fall's batting champ Stephan Ohayon singled home Platt, and rookie Trevor Nathanson singled home Sloane.  Rookie Dylan Pereira grounded into a fielder's choice to plate Ohayon, and eventually scored on Jason Bolding's single.  After 1 inning, the Royals led 4-0.

 

In the second, the Ironbirds took advantage of Miller, who didn't have his trademark control.  2 walks followed by 2 singles plated 2, and after a quiet bottom of the inning, a walk and 3 singles by the Birds tied the game at 4.

 

In the bottom of the 3rd, the Royals struck back.  Trevor Nathanson walked, and Dylan Pereira grounded into his second fielder's choice in as many at bats.  Ryan Elliott and Jason Bolding loaded the bags on back-to-back singles, and Mike Miller plated Pereira on a fielder's choice.  Phillip Gerber came up with a 2-out single to bring home Elliott, and the Royals led 6-4 after 3.

 

Phillip Gerber relieved Miller in the top of the 4th, and the leadoff man proved to be his only blemish on the day.  After a walk, a stolen base and a wild pitch, he'd score on a balk, cutting the Royals' lead to 6-5.  That would be as close as the Ironbirds would come, as Gerber and Michael "My Arm Won A Championship" Schofield allowed no hits over the final 4 innings.

 

Meanwhile, the Royals' offense was just getting started.  In the bottom of the 5th, Danny Platt led off with a walk, swiped second and moved to 3rd on a passed ball.  Zach Sloane followed with a deep sac fly to center, bringing home Platt.  Stephan Ohayon walked, Trevor Nathonson singled and Dylan Pereira walked to load the bases (his first NON-fielders-choice as a Royal!)  Ryan Elliott walked to bring home Ohayon, and Jason Bolding hit a sac fly to left to plate Nathanson.  After a Mike Miller walk, Phillip Gerber walked to bring home Pereira and chase the Ironbirds' pitcher.  Michael Schofield walked to bring home Elliott, and the Royals had an 11-5 lead after 4.

 

In the bottom of the 5th, Zach Sloane led off with a single, moving to second on a Stephan Ohayon walk.  Trevor Nathanson singled to load the bases, and Ryan Elliott knocked in Sloane with a fielder's choice.  Elliott, known more for his glove than his speed, executed a perfect double steal with Ohayon, who was on third, to make it a 13-5 Royal lead after 5.

 

In the bottom of the 6th, Phillip Gerber singled, and with 2 outs, pinch hitter extraordinaire Justin "Juice" Born singled him to 3rd.  Not to be outdone, Danny Platt brought out his big boy bat and smashed a triple to deep center, knocking in both runs and giving the Royals a 15-5 lead after 6.

 

Heading into the bottom of the 7th, the Royals were still leading by 10.  Stephan Ohayon led off with his 3rd walk of the day, and rookie phenom Trevor Nathanson doubled him home.  Dylan "Fielder's Choice" Pereira doubled home Nathanon (we'll get him a new nickname soon), and one out later, Jason Bolding singled to put runners on the corners.  With 2 outs, Phillip Gerber walked, and Michael Schofield singled home one.  Justin Born got hit by a pitch to knock in another, and Danny Platt got a home-team bounce at second to knock in a pair with an error.  Zach Sloane did his best Juice impersonation, getting hit by a pitch, and Stephan Ohayon singled to knock in Born.  Trevor Nathanson (fast becoming a household name) singled home a pair with his 5th hit on the day - what a Royals' debut, becoming just the 12th Royal ever to record 5 or more hits in a single game!  After 7 innings, the Royals led 24-5.

 

Unfortunately, the field worker at Kennedy stopped the game several minutes early and prevented any further fireworks, but the Royals' would finish the day with 24 runs on 19 hits.  The Ironbirds will definitely have their sites set on revenge when these teams meet again in mid-October.

 

Congrats to all of the Royals making debuts - Trevor Nathanson (5 hits, 2 runs, 4 rbis), Danny Platt (2 hits, 3 runs, 2 rbis) and Dylan Pereira (1 hit, 4 runs, 2 rbis.)  Every Royal either got a hit, scored a run or knocked in a run (and most players did all 3), so this was a great team victory!

 

 

Pitching

Mike Miller - 3IP, 4ER, 6H, 2K, 3BB

Phillip Gerber - W, 2IP, ER, 0H, 2K, BB

Michael Schofield - 2IP, 0R, 0H, 3K, BB

 

Batting

2016 PCBL AA-Division Spring Championship

August 21, 2016 @ CSUN
Royals (10-7-1) -vs- Pirates (14-3-1)
Photos
 

 

Sunday morning was sunny and clear - perfect for the 2016 Double A Spring Championship game between the Pirates and the Royals.  These long-time rivals were the two of the top teams in the league in most runs scored and least runs allowed, and they always tend to place close games.

Micah Dunham took the mound for the Pirates and worked a quiet first inning.  Will Chapman started for the Royals and returned the favor, leading to a 0-0 score after 1.
 

In the second, the Royals' Zach Sloane tripled with 1 out.  Ryan Elliott singled him home 1 pitch later, giving the Royals an early 1-0 lead.

Fast forward to the bottom of the 3rd, where the Pirates offense began to wake up.  Travis Reed walked, but was erased on a John Smith ground out.  The Royals botched the double play, leaving Smith on first.  Manager Gio Smith and Dan Oh both walked, loading the bases and chasing Chapman from the game.  Jake Romo entered, quickly striking out one and getting another ground out to escape the jam.  After 3 innings, the Royals led 1-0.

Dunham continued baffling the Royals' hitters, working a quiet 4th before the Pirates offense finally came through.  Jesse Hirdler led off the inning with a sharp ground ball to third, reaching on a fielding error.  But aggressive baserunning and an errant throw moved him to second base with nobody out.  After a ground out moved him to third, he scored on a wild pitch, tying the game.  Micah Dunham followed with a walk, and with 2 outs, Travis Reed blasted an rbi double to give the Pirates the lead.  Zach Handy looped a single to center to plate another, and after 4 innings, the Pirates led 3-1.

Both pitchers worked a quiet 5th before Romo ran into more trouble in the bottom of the 6th.  With one out, Jesse Hirdler walked and Chris Norton singled.  Royals' closer Brett Kahanowitch entered the game, and after striking out his first batter, got out of the jam with a pop-up to short.

Meanwhile, Micah Dunham was on cruise control until the top of the 8th inning.  Royals' manager Mike Miller led off the inning with a walk, giving way to designated runner Jake Romo.  With 1 out, Greg Falk singled, and with 2 outs, Kahanowitch came up with a big rbi-single to make it a 3-2 game.

But the Pirates came right back in the bottom of the inning.  Jorge Leon led off getting hit by a pitch, and moved to second on a Dan Oh single.  Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Chris Oliver walked to load the bases.  Zareh Sobhatian got hit by a pitch to bring home 1, and Jesse Hirdler hit a sac fly to left to bring home another, leaving men at 2nd and 3rd with 1 out.  Kahanowitch settled down to strike out the next two batters, but the damage was done - heading into the 9th, the Pirates led 5-2.
 

The PCBL Royals never give in, just like their MLB counterparts, and today would be no exception.  After 2 quick outs, the Royals were staring down the end of their season when Will Chapman singled.  Jason Bolding walked before Mike Miller came up and worked the count full against a tired Dunham.  He'd hit a slow roller between first and second, narrowly beating it out while colliding with the first baseman.  With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Phillip Gerber lined a single to left to plate 1 and put the tying runs in scoring position.  The next batter worked a full count, but Dunham had his eyes set on a trophy, and struck out the final batter to escape the jam and bring home the title.
 

Congrats to both teams on a well-played game - they don't get much closer than that.  But most of all, congratulations to the 2016 Double A Champion Pirates for finishing strong and bringing home their first PCBL title!

 

 

 

Pirates
Micah Dunham - 4-5, 2-2B, R, 4RBI (Championship Game MVP)
Travis Reed - 1-2, R, RBI, BB
Daniel Oh - 1-3, R, BB
Zack Handy - 1-1, RBI, BB

Royals
Will Chapman - 2-4, R
Zach Sloane - 1-3, 3B, R
Phillip Gerber - 1-2, RBI
Mike Miller - 1-3, R, BB

Royals Hang On In Semis

Round 2 in the playoffs was another nail biter, as the two top scoring teams in the league faced off.  Both teams had allowed 117 runs in the regular season, and their only meeting this season ended with a walk-off win for the Dodos.

 

The Royals offense got things going quickly.  Greg Falk walked, then moved to 3rd on passed balls.  1 out later, Brett Kahanowitch and Rick Valdez each walked, and Zach Sloane got hit by a pitch to bring home 1.  But the Dodos escaped the bases loaded jam and trailed 1-0.

 

Will Chapman took the mound and worked a quiet first inning.  In the top of the 2nd, the Royals offense kept up the pressure.  With 1 out, Jason Bolding was hit by a pitch and Mike Miller walked.  Greg Falk singled to load the bases, and Kyle Tillack hit a ground ball to first.  The first baseman came home with the ball to get the runner, but the return throw sailed down the first base line plating 2, and giving the Royals a 3-1 lead.

 

The Dodos offense got on the board in the bottom of the inning, plating 1 on 2 hits and 2 walks, but Zach Sloane slowed their momentum by throwing out a runner at 3rd from right field (perhaps his new starting position?)  After 2 innings, the Royals led 3-1.

 

More Dodos offense would occur in the bottom of the 3rd, with 2 runs scoring to tie up the game.  But in the top of the 4th, the Royals would come through in a big way.  With 1 out, Greg Falk walked and Kyle Tillack reached on an error.  After Brett Kahanowitch singled to load the bases, Rick Valdez walked to plate 1, and Zach Sloane singled to plate another.  With 2 outs, Ryan Elliott singled to bring home one more, and the Royals led 6-3.

 

Chapman worked his way through the bottom of the 5th, striking out 2 more for 6 Ks on the day.  He would give way to Brett Kahanowitch, who tip-toed out of trouble in the 6th before the Dodos came up big in the 7th.  2 runs scored on 2 hits, a walk and an error - all with 2 outs - to make it a 6-5 game.  Kahanowitch struck out the final hitter in the 7th with men on 2nd and 3rd.  In the 8th, the Dodos loaded the bases again, but Kahanowitch struck out the side to escape another jam.

 

With the Royals offense quiet, the defense would have to finish this one off.  Kahanowitch worked through the heart of the Dodos order in the 9th, and the defense played clean ball to slip by the Dodos with a 6-5 victory, sending the boys in royal blue back to the championship game for the 5th time in 6 seasons.

 

Congrats to the Dodos on another great game!  This game couldn't have been any closer, and we look forward to many more in the seasons to come!

 

 

 

Pitching

Will Chapman - W, 5IP, 2ER, 5H, 6K, 3BB

Brett Kahanowitch - S, 4IP, 0ER, 4H, 5K, 4BB

 

Batting

Royals Walk-Off on Ironbirds

Round 1 in the playoffs was a lot closer than anyone expected, as the Ironbirds put up one of their best performances of the year.  But the Royals kept things close, breaking the Ironbirds' hearts with a 9th inning rally to move on in the playoffs.

 

Will Chapman took the hill for the Royals and struck out 4 of the first 7 batters he faced.  Leading off the bottom of the 2nd, Chapman blasted a solo home run to left.  Brian Rapf followed with a double, and back-to-back singles from Ryan Elliott and Jason Bolding made it a 2-0 lead.

 

The Ironbirds came right back in the 3rd.  Taking advantage of an error, 2 walks and a hit, they tied to score 2-2.

 

In the bottom of the 2nd, the Kyle Tillack led off with a single for the Royals.  After a walk and a passed ball, Ryan Elliott singled him home to retake the lead 3-2.

 

On to the top of the 5th inning, when Jake Romo took over on the hill.  He walked the first 2 batters he faced, and the Ironbirds took advantage of his early wildness, scoring both runs and taking a 4-3 lead.  In the 6th, they'd add another on 3 singles and a balk, chasing Romo from the game as the Royals were forced to go to their closer Brett Kahanowitch early.

 

Meanwhile, the Royals' offense had stalled.  Heading into the bottom of the 7th, they still trailed 5-3.  Kahanowitch led off with a grounder right back to the pitcher, but an errant throw allowed him to reach first.  After stealing second, Kahanowitch scored on a Will Chapman single.  Chapman stole second, and scored 1 out later on a Ryan Elliott single, tying the game at 5-5.

 

Kahanowitch worked quickly through the last 2 frames, facing only 7 batters and setting up the 9th for some Royal magic.  Brian Rapf led off with a walk, and Ryan Elliott doubled him to 3rd.  Jason "I ALWAYS swing at the first pitch" Bolding promised to take the first pitch.  On the first pitch, he swung - skying a ball to center, well deep enough to score Rapf and give the Royals a walk-off win and a ticket to the semi-finals.

 

Congrats to the Ironbirds on a great game!  They showed they're a contender in this division, and we look forward to many more battles.

 

 

 

Pitching

Will Chapman - 4IP, ER, 3H, 7K, 3BB

Jake Romo - BS, 1.2IP, 3ER, 3H, K, 2BB

Brett Kahanowitch - W, 3.1IP, 0R, 0H, 3K, BB, HBP

 

Batting

Royals Clinch 3-Seed 12-6 Over Berserkers

With 1 game to go until playoffs, both the Royals and Berserkers were fighting for playoff seeding - the winner would clinch the 3-seed, while the loser would fall to the 5-seed.  With a strong opening inning and a rested bullpen, the Royals came up big in the final regular season contest.

 

Will Chapman took the mound and worked a quiet first.  In the bottom of the inning, the first 8 batters reached base, giving the Royals a 6-0 lead after 1.  Chapman struck out 7 of the next 11 batters faced, and the Royals plated 4 more in the 3rd to move it to 10-0.

 

But just like the last game between these two squads, the Berserkers came back.  Plating 2 in the 5th, and 3 more in the 6th, Chapman handed the reigns over to Chris Dyer.  Dyer struck out 5 in the next 3 innings, stomping out any momentum the Berserkers had gained.

 

In the bottom of the 8th, the Royals plated 2 more to take a 12-5 lead.  Brett Kahanowitch came in to work the 9th, allowing 1 unearned run to finish off the regular season.

 

Congrats to the Berserkers on a great year!  Good luck in the playoffs!

 

 

 

Pitching

Will Chapman - W, 5IP, 3ER, 3H, 10K, 3BB, HPB

Chris Dyer - 3IP, 0R, H, 5K, BB

Brett Kahanowitch - IP, 0ER, 0H, 2K, BB, 2HBP

 

Batting

Veterans Lead Lion Hunt

With vacations and injuries ravaging the Royals, they found themselves short-staffed again on Sunday.  Not to worry, as a pair of veterans threw the team on their shoulders and carried them to victory.

 

Mike Miller took the hill for the Royals, and after back-to-back singles to lead off the first, Daniel Kahn took a ground ball to first and turned it into a double play, "gunning" a runner at home with his bum shoulder.

 

Both team would remain quiet until the bottom of the second, when the Royals offense stepped up.  Brian Rapf led off with a screaming double down the left field line, and after Jason Bolding reached on an error, Mike Miller lined a single to left for a run.  With 2 outs, Justin "Juice" Born picked up his biggest hit as a Royal - a double to the gap in left-center to plate 2 and give the Royals a 3-0 lead.

 

Miller continued mowing down hitters with his mix of slow-slower-and-slowest off speed pitches, and the score remained the same until the 5th.

 

In the top of the inning, a hit by pitch, followed by back-to-back singles plated the Lions first run of the day, making it 3-1.

 

In the bottom of the 5th, new Royal Kelan Smith led off with a walk, and moved to third on a Kyle Tillack double.  Will Chapman got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Ryan Elliott must have thought it looked like fun, so he got hit by a pitch to bring home one.  Brian Rapf singled home another, and Jason Bolding hit a sac fly to center to plate one more, giving the Royals a 6-1 lead after 5.

 

From there, it was the "Mike Miller Show".  Miller continued to silence the Lions bats, and entering the top of the 9th, the score was still 6-1.  With Will Chapman warmed up and ready to go, Miller stepped back on the hill to try and finish what he started.  A leadoff walk followed by a double to shallow left center, and the Lions looked like they were making a comeback.  But a few ground balls and a strikeout would secure Miller's second career complete game, and his first since his rookie season (April 13, 2003.)  Almost as amazing was the fact that while his first complete game took over 170 pitches, this one lasted only 87!  Great job Mike!

 

Congrats to the Lions on a tremendous turnaround this season - they are 100x better than the first time these teams met, and are looking to be a playoff contender as early as next season after barely missing the cut this year.  The Royals look forward to many more close games in the future!

 

And finally, congrats to The Juice, on his first extra-base hit as a Royal - and it couldn't have come at a more clutch time!

 

 

 

Pitching

Mike Miller - W, CG, 9IP, 3ER, 9H, 3K, 2BB, 3HBP

 

Batting

Royals Flat in Loss to Angels

The Royals high-powered offense took the day off Sunday, as the Angels handled business on both sides of the ball for a 9-2 victory.

 

Brett Kahanowitch took the hill for the Royals, but showed some uncharacteristic wildness, plunking 4 batters and walking 8 over 5.1 innings, though he only allowed 5 hits.  The rest of the bullpen was solid (if not a little eccentric), as Dennis King II and Chris Dyer combined to allow 1 earned run over the remaining 3.2 frames.  On the day, Royal pitchers combined to strike out 10 hitters.

 

On offense, Jake Romo and Kyle Tillack both had a pair of hits on the day, Romo scored both Royals runs, with Tillack's triple in the 9th accounting for one of the two.  Kahanowitch knocked in the other with a single in the 3rd.

 

 

 

 

 

Pitching

Brett Kahanowitch - L, 5.1IP, 4ER, 5H, 7K, 8BB, 4HBP

Dennis King II - 1.2IP, ER, 2H, K, BB

Chris Dyer - 2IP, 0R, H, 2K, BB

 

Batting

Pirates Capitalize on Errors, Win 5-4
 

On a triple digit day in the valley, both teams' bats were ice cold.  But the Royals wasted a great day from their pitching staff, committing 5 errors in the field that led to 3 unearned runs and a 5-4 loss.

 

Mike Miller took the mound for his second start of the year and threw a gem.  He matched the Pirates starter by putting up zeroes in each of the first 4 frames, while also turning a double play and allowing only 1 hit.

 

To lead off the 5th inning, the Pirates put men on 1st and 2nd after an error and a single.  But an over-aggressive runner on second and poor base running on first led to both runners being picked off on a single play!  The next 2 batters would reach, and 2 consecutive errors would plate the first 2 runs of the day, giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

 

Greg Falk led off the bottom of the 5th with a single, scoring 1 batter later on a Kyle Tillack single, making it a 2-1 game.

 

The first two hitters singled off Miller in the top of the 6th, chasing him from the game.  Greg Falk came in and retired the side, but not before one run scored, making it 3-1 Pirates.

 

Brett Kahanowitch relieved, and allowed a run in the top of the 8th on a walk and a double.  But the Royals responded in the bottom of the inning.  With 1 out, Phillip Gerber reached on an error, moved to 2nd on a Ryan Elliott walk, then scored on a Jason Bolding single.  After 8 in the books, the Pirates led 4-2.

 

Another error in the top of the 9th gave the Pirates a 5-2 lead, but the Royals weren't going to go down quietly.  With 1 out, Justin "Juice" Born, Brett Kahanowitch and Greg Falk each walked, loading the bases.  Kyle Tillack brought home one with a sacrifice fly to left, and Kahanowitch scored on a passed ball.  But with the tying run on 3rd, the Pirates got a big strikeout to preserve the win.

 

Congrats to the Bucs on a great game - we'll hopefully see you again in the playoffs!

 

 

 

Pitching

Mike Miller - L, 5IP, ER, 5H, 2HBP, 1 pick off

Greg Falk - IP, K

Brett Kahanowitch - 3IP, ER, 2H, K, BB

 

Batting