Witt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's win against the Twins. Witt took Louie Varland deep in the third inning to record his 24th home run of the season. Witt exited Monday's game early with a bruised forearm but he did not miss a beat as he continues to dominate in August. The 24-year-old is already up to five home runs this month with 13 RBI, 11 runs scored and a pristine .347 batting average in 12 games played.
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Witt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's win against the Twins. Witt took Louie Varland deep in the third inning to record his 24th home run of the season. Witt exited Monday's game early with a bruised forearm but he did not miss a beat as he continues to dominate in August. The 24-year-old is already up to five home runs this month with 13 RBI, 11 runs scored and a pristine .347 batting average in 12 games played.
Erceg did not allow a baserunner in 1.1 innings to earn his fifth save of the season Wednesday against the Twins. He did not record a strikeout. Erceg was called upon with two runners on and two out in the eighth inning. The 29-year-old promptly induced a groundout to end the threat before pitching a flawless ninth inning to record his second save as a member of the Royals. Erceg has been dominant since coming over from the Athletics at the trade deadline, allowing just three hits over 7.2 scoreless innings with a flawless 8:0 K:BB. Erceg has handled the last two save opportunities and appears to be the closer moving forward with Hunter Harvey (back) on the shelf and James McArthur owning a 5.01 ERA on the season.
Ragans (10-7) picked up the win Wednesday against the Twins, allowing one earned run on five hits and zero walks while striking out eight in seven innings. The only run surrendered by Ragans came on a solo shot by Carlos Santana in the fourth inning. Other than that blemish, Ragans cruised through seven innings, striking out eight or more batters for the first time since July 5. The southpaw has now collected wins in five of his past six starts, pitching to a 2.87 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 40:10 K:BB in 37.2 innings during that stretch. He'll look to stay in the win column in his next start, currently scheduled for early next week against the Angels.
Melendez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 13-3 loss to the Twins. Melendez has gone 9-for-24 (.375) with two homers, one stolen base and six RBI over eight contests in August. His improved numbers may be a result of being more strictly platooned to avoid left-handed pitchers. The power-hitting outfielder is up to 14 homers, 37 RBI, 34 runs scored, three stolen bases and a .205/.267/.410 slash line through 333 plate appearances this season.
Perez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 13-3 loss to the Twins. Perez has hit safely in 10 of his 11 games in August, going 12-for-40 (.300) with three homers, three doubles and six RBI in that span. The catcher is up to 22 long balls this year, one shy of matching his total from each of the previous two campaigns. He's added a .280/.340/.479 slash line with 79 RBI, 49 runs scored, 20 doubles and no stolen bases over 117 contests this season.
Lugo (13-7) took the loss Tuesday as the Royals were routed 13-3 by the Twins, surrendering eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits and two walks over four-plus innings. He struck out four. Minnesota put runs on the board in four of the five innings Lugo worked, including three in the fifth after the veteran right-hander put the first four batters he faced on the bases before getting the hook. Lugo's amazing beginning to the season has wilted in the summer heat -- he's allowed at least five runs in four of his last six starts, stumbling to a 5.73 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 25:10 K:BB through 37.2 innings over that stretch. He'll look to bounce back in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home early next week against the Angels.
Garcia is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports. Garcia will get a breather as the Royals wrap up their series in Minnesota with a day game after a night game. He had started in each of Kansas City's last eight games, going 8-for-32 (.250 average) with four runs, three RBI and one stolen base.
Massey is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports. Though Massey has produced multiple hits in three of his last six starts, the Royals will hold him out of the lineup for the series finale, even while Minnesota sends a right-hander (Louie Varland) to the hill. With Massey on the bench, the Royals will go with Adam Frazier at second base and in the leadoff spot.
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