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Category: Professional

Chiefs lose at Green Bay to finish preseason winless

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With most of the Super Bowl champions’ marquee players on the sideline, outside linebacker Vic So’oto likely sealed up his roster spot in the Green Bay Packers’ 20-19 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Thursday night’s preseason finale.

So’oto, an undrafted free agent out of BYU who ended up in Green Bay after his wife chose among multiple NFL offers, returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown. He had 1 1/2 sacks and a forced fumble.

Packers defensive lineman Howard Green, a 340-pounder, gave the Chiefs a scare when he landed directly on top of starting quarterback Matt Cassel.

Aaron Rodgers played just one series for the Packers, throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tom Crabtree.

The Chiefs pulled Cassel after the big hit but kept many of their starters in the game into the fourth quarter. Kicker Ryan Succop missed a 56-yard attempt at the end of the game for Kansas City (0-4).

Meanwhile, several Packers veterans didn’t suit up — and the night belonged to So’oto.

So’oto, who recently said he came to the Packers after his wife choose among offers from Green Bay, Arizona and Miami, already seemed likely to make the roster with a surprising performance in training camp. Thursday’s game might have been all he needed — and then some.

With the Chiefs facing third-and-6 on their first possession, So’oto shed his block and sacked Cassel. He made another big play with the Chiefs driving on their second possession, forcing a fumble by Jamaal Charles.

So’oto made his biggest play in the third quarter, dropping into coverage and picking off a pass by Tyler Palko and rumbling into the end zone to give Green Bay a 20-16 lead. So’oto then did a “Lambeau Leap” into the stands.

It probably won’t be his last.

Meanwhile, pass protection has been an issue for the Packers in the preseason, and Thursday brought more of the same — this time from the backups.

With the Packers’ offense backed up near its own end zone after a holding penalty on Ray Dominguez, center Nick McDonald snapped a ball over the head of backup quarterback Matt Flynn. He got the ball back but was tackled by defensive lineman Allen Bailey for a safety.

Although Cassel left the game after he took the hard hit from Green, Kansas City continued to play its offensive starters. Both their first-half touchdown drives came against Packers backups.

The Chiefs went out of their way to get their first-team offense one last tuneup, even trying a fake punt and onside kick in the first half. The fake punt worked, continuing a drive that ended with Cassel throwing a 10-yard touchdown to Dexter McCluster.

With time running out in the first half, Palko threw a 2-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe on 4th down. The call was upheld on a replay review.

While the Chiefs played most of their front-line players, the Packers rested plenty of players Thursday. Cornerback Charles Woodson, safety Nick Collins, linebacker A.J. Hawk, outside linebacker Clay Matthews, tight end Jermichael Finley and wide receivers Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones were among the Packers who did not play.

— Associated Press —

Royals rally past Tigers in series finale

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Danny Duffy overthrew his catcher on an intentional walk, and Alcides Escobar struck out on a pitch that hit him in the shoulder.

This wasn’t the prettiest of games for the Kansas City Royals, but Jeff Francoeur and his teammates managed to outslug Detroit.

“You saw a lot of stuff,” Francoeur said.

Francoeur homered for his 1,000th career hit and drove in three runs, and the Royals outlasted the Tigers 11-8 Thursday to salvage a split of their four-game series. Kansas City scored four runs in both the fifth and seventh innings, batting around each time.

Johnny Giavotella hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh against Luis Marte, who was making his major league debut. Eric Hosmer added a solo shot in the eighth to make it 11-8. Hosmer also had two singles and two walks.

Francoeur opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the second, reaching his milestone in style. His first hit as a major leaguer was also a homer, back in 2005 with the Atlanta Braves.

“To do it on a home run — even more special,” he said. “My mom texted me, reminding me that my first in the big leagues was a home run and my 1,000th.”

Magglio Ordonez homered, doubled twice and stole a base for the first-place Tigers, who lead Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox by 5½ games in the AL Central. Detroit won the middle two games of the series against Kansas City with late-inning rallies and took an 8-6 lead Thursday on a two-run homer by Austin Jackson in the sixth.

Aaron Crow (4-4) allowed three runs in the sixth, his only inning of work, but was credited with the win after the Royals reclaimed the lead in the seventh. Phil Coke (2-9) came in with a man on second and one out and allowed a walk to Hosmer, an RBI double to Francoeur and an RBI single by Mike Moustakas.

Giavotella’s soft single to left off Marte put Kansas City ahead to stay. Marte was brought up from Double-A earlier in the day as part of Detroit’s expanded September roster.

“I don’t know a thing about him, so I don’t know if that’s Marte nervous or Marte at his best or Marte at his worst,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “That’s why I went with him, because they had never seen him, and I wanted to see how he handled it. He did fine — he just got one pitch up.”

Three more Kansas City relievers finished the game, with Joakim Soria pitching the ninth for his 25th save.

Detroit rookie Jacob Turner struggled in his second career start, allowing six runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Duffy had problems of his own, allowing five runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out four, walked three and overthrew his catcher on an intentional walk in the third inning for a bizarre wild pitch.

Duffy said he’d never intentionally walked someone at any level.

“Literally never — never in my whole life,” he said. “I didn’t really know how to go about it. Obviously, you throw it to the glove, but it didn’t happen that way.”

The Tigers had already scored three runs in the third to take a 3-2 lead when that mishap occurred, but Duffy recovered to strike out Alex Avila with men on first and third to end the inning.

In the sixth, Escobar struck out swinging on an inside pitch that hit his right shoulder. Escobar, who hits right-handed, appeared to try to hold up his swing at an inside pitch. He said the bat might have come through the hitting zone because he was trying to avoid the ball.

“If I hadn’t swung, it maybe hits me in my chest,” he said. “I can do nothing in that situation.”

The Royals made up for those bloopers later on, and Francoeur, Hosmer and Giavotella had three hits each. Moustakas extended his hitting streak to 15 games, and Hosmer extended his to 10.

— Associated Press —

Pujols hits grand slam as Cards sweep Milwaukee

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Albert Pujols showed everyone who the Cardinals’ real power hitter is.

A day after pitcher Jake Westbrook hit a grand slam, Pujols hit one of his own and added a solo shot to help the Cardinals complete a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers with an 8-4 win Thursday.

“If Albert doesn’t have that kind of game, I don’t know where this game goes,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said after Pujols finished 4 for 4 with five RBIS and three runs scored.

That production helped the Cardinals win for the sixth time in seven games and move within 7½ games of the Brewers on the NL Central.

“Seven and a half is still plenty good,” Hart said. “I felt like we played extremely well. This is the first series in a while when we didn’t play as we should have. You’re going to get beat by good teams when you don’t play well.”

The Brewers dodged Pujols’ power until Thursday. He was batting .189 in 14 games. Milwaukee hadn’t been swept at home since the Dodgers did it Aug. 24-26, 2010.

“We just came here to try to win the series,” La Russa said. “Obviously, it wasn’t easy. These guys are playing pretty well in their ball park. Taking three games out of three is awesome. We just need to flip the page and be ready to play tomorrow with Cincinnati.”

Rafael Furcal led off the game with a home run for the second game in a row and Pujols also hit a first-inning homer before his third-inning slam.

Matt Holiday hit his 200th career home run in the fifth with a two-run shot.

“It was nice — 200 home runs is a pretty good mark,” Holliday said. “It’s nice to get it out of the way.”

Milwaukee scored all of its runs on homers by Prince Fielder, Jonathan Lucroy and Corey Hart.

Fielder became the first player in Brewers history with 30 home runs in five consecutive seasons with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth.

Throughout the series, the Brewers never mounted any come-from-behind threats against the Cardinals’ relievers.

“They’re such a dangerous club to keep off the scoreboard,” La Russa said. “The fact that our bullpen did so many of them, that’s a credit to a lot of guys with good arms making a lot of good pitches and our catcher is a magician sometimes.”

Pujols crushed Yovani Gallardo’s 2-0 pitch in the first 462 feet to left, but his slam went the opposite way to give him the NL lead with 34 homers.

“I got a good pitch to hit up and just put a good swing (on it) and it went out of the park,” Pujols said.

It was the 42nd multihomer game of his career.

Pujols and Holliday helped chase Gallardo (15-9) in the fifth. Pujols hit a liner for a single and Holliday followed with an opposite-field two-run shot for an 8-3 lead.

Four of Furcal’s five home runs with the Cardinals since being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31 have come against the Brewers.

Brandon Dickson made his first major-league start for St. Louis after being recalled from Triple-A Memphis.

La Russa said that there were too many games left to think the Brewers will panic.

“I wouldn’t even begin to expect that they have doubt,” he said. “They know they’re a good club. The record they built, they built because they are a good club and they compete well.”

Hart’s two-run homer off Dickson made it 6-3. After a visit by bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist, Dickson struck out the side to end the threat.

Official scorer Tim O’Driscoll gave the win to Octavio Dotel (1-2) who took over for Dickson in the fourth when the Brewers put two on with one out. He promptly struck out Lucroy and Gallardo to end the threat.

Gallardo allowed eight runs on nine hits, struck out eight and walked one.

The Brewers and the Cardinals play their final three games of their season series this coming Monday at Busch Stadium.

“We’ve got to go on the road and start playing a little better,” Hart said. “We’ve been doing it all year, so I don’t see why we’re not going to do it.”

— Associated Press —

Former Royal Betemit helps Tigers rally past Kansas City

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The Detroit Tigers have two of the best players in the majors in ace Justin Verlander and slugger Miguel Cabrera.

The rest of the roster is holding up quite nicely, too.

Wilson Betemit capped Detroit’s three-run eighth inning with a tiebreaking RBI double against his former team, leading the Tigers to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Betemit’s big hit came less than 18 hours after reserve Ramon Santiago delivered a game-ending homer in the 10th inning.

“People wonder why I play so many different lineups, but that’s what you have to do when you want to win a division,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “You don’t win unless you get contributions from everyone, and you have to play them so that they are ready to make a play when you need them.”

Austin Jackson went 4 for 4 and scored three times for the AL Central-leading Tigers, who have won seven of 10. Cabrera added two hits and Jose Valverde worked the ninth for his 40th save in 40 chances.

“Austin had a great game for us — that’s exactly what we want from him at the top of the order,” Leyland said. “When he’s hitting, it is a really big tonic for our offense.”

Eric Hosmer had a pair of solo homers for Kansas City, which has dropped four of six.

Jackson sparked the winning rally with a leadoff triple against Blake Wood (5-2). Ramon Santiago followed with a sacrifice fly that trimmed Kansas City’s lead to 4-3.

With one out and Delmon Young on first, Victor Martinez hit an RBI double into left-center. Alex Gordon made a diving attempt on the ball but couldn’t haul it in.

“Alex made the dive, and I couldn’t tell if he got it or not until I saw Melky (Cabrera) running after the ball,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He covered a lot of ground to even get close to that.”

Alex Avila was intentionally walked before Betemit hit a liner into the right-field corner to drive in pinch runner Brennan Boesch. Jeff Francoeur cut down Avila at the plate to end the inning.

“I haven’t been swinging the bat well in the last couple games, but this was a big situation,” said Betemit, who was acquired from the Royals on July 20. “I know Blake throws hard, so I was looking for something I could hit. He threw me a slider, and I put a great swing on it.”

Daniel Schlereth (2-1) pitched an inning to get the victory and Valverde got Alcides Escobar to fly out with runners on first and second to end the game.

Hosmer connected in the second and the fourth, hitting a drive to right on a 1-2 pitch each time, and Kansas City added two more runs in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead.

Gordon hit a leadoff single and scored on Melky Cabrera’s double. Cabrera then scored when Young couldn’t handle Billy Butler’s drive to left and misplayed it again when trying to pick it up.

“I thought I was pitching well until the sixth — other than the two homers, obviously,” Tigers starter Rick Porcello said. “Things got away from me a little in the sixth, but I was still pleased that I kept us close enough to get the win.”

Jackson scored each of Detroit’s first two runs, on Young’s sacrifice fly in the first and Nate Adcock’s wild pitch in the third.

Kansas City helped itself on defense. Rookie Johnny Giavotella made four highlight-reel plays at second base, and Gordon robbed Avila of extra bases with a leaping catch as he crashed into the fence in left.

“We played great defense, but every time you lose a one-run game, you hate it,” Yost said. “We had a two-run lead and we couldn’t hold it in the eighth.”

— Associated Press —

Westbrook powers St. Louis past Milwaukee

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Jake Westbrook only hoped his drive would stay fair. Turns out, Westbrook’s big hit is keeping things interesting in the NL Central.

Westbrook hit his first major league homer — a grand slam — to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

“It’s pretty special,” Westbrook said. “To go back and say you hit a grand slam in the big leagues, it’s a lot of fun. … I’m still not that great of a hitter.”

Rafael Furcal and Albert Pujols added solo homers as the Cardinals won their fifth in six games to cut the first-place Brewers’ lead to 8½ games in the NL Central.

“Our team needs to generate a lot of wins,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “If we win a lot of games, a couple of weeks from now, we can get excited.”

The Cardinals’ victory guaranteed Milwaukee will lose its first series at home since the Arizona Diamondbacks took two of three July 4-6 at Miller Park. The Brewers haven’t been swept at home this season.

“We still have to win games once they leave. We still have to play other teams. It’s not too dramatic as far as they sweep us,” Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder said. “It’s not good for us. (But) it’s not the end of the world.”

Furcal led off the game with a homer and Pujols followed two batters later with his NL-leading 32nd. Westbrook (11-7) tossed five innings, and his slam in the fourth gave St. Louis a 6-2 lead.

Of the last four pitchers to hit grand slams in the major leagues, three have been Cardinals.

Milwaukee has the best home record in the majors at 50-18, but the Brewers have been sloppy each of the last two games and failed in their second and final chance to set a new franchise record for wins in any month at 22.

“The hotness is still over there,” La Russa said. “They’re legit, their record, they’ve earned and they’ll be tough to catch.”

Brewers starter Randy Wolf (11-9) couldn’t escape trouble in the fourth with the game tied at 2 after hitting the first two batters of the inning.

Yadier Molina followed with a sharp fly ball that hit the right-field wall.

David Freese stopped at third and Lance Berkman couldn’t advance past second, leaving Molina momentarily hung up on the bases, but the Cardinals catcher scrambled back to first just ahead of Fielder’s tag to load the bases.

“I did the right thing throwing it to home,” second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. said. “It just so happens you don’t expect a guy going back to first on a sure double.

“It’s a weird play and it just worked out in their favor. Prince was right where he was supposed to be. Everybody was where they were supposed to be. You don’t expect a guy hit a ball off the wall to have to go back to first,” he said.

After Ryan Theriot’s fielder’s choice cut down Freese at the plate, Westbrook hit a drive down the left-field line for his first career home run. Pinch-hitter Corey Patterson’s RBI double and Furcal’s run-scoring single off Marco Estrada in the sixth gave St. Louis an 8-3 lead.

“We’ve got to go out there and win ball games, that’s the attitude we’re taking,” Westbrook said. “It was another good win for us and we need to do what we can to get on a good streak and keep it going.”

Corey Hart homered to start the game for Milwaukee, but Ryan Braun fell halfway down the third-base line on what would have been an inside-the-park homer in the third.

With Nyjer Morgan on first, Braun appeared to have an inside-the-park home run when center fielder Allen Craig awkwardly dived at the wall and the ball caromed away.

Braun rounded third base but lost his balance down the line and fell flat. By the time he got back on his feet, Molina had the relay throw and began a rundown that ended when Freese tagged him out at third.

Braun received a standing ovation from the crowd of 38,073 and a few chuckles in the dugout for his RBI triple, but the play only tied the score at 2 instead of giving the Brewers the lead.

“It’s unfortunate,” Fielder said. “It was gravity.”

Westbrook followed with his big hit before Hairston’s single in the fourth cut St. Louis’ lead to 6-3, but the Brewers never got closer.

“We’ve established we’re going to tough out the season,” La Russa said. “This month, there were a couple of periods there it was discouraging because Milwaukee couldn’t lose and we were mugging games.”

— Associated Press —

Royals trade Matt Treanor back to Rangers for cash

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The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has traded catcher Matt Treanor to the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations.  With the trade, the Royals 40-man roster stands at 39 players.

Treanor, 35, has missed the last 29 games after suffering a concussion on July 30 in Cleveland.  He has played seven games in a rehab assignment for Double-A Northwest Arkansas, batting .263 with five RBI.  Acquired by the Royals from the Rangers on March 28, 2011, the catcher hit .226 with six doubles, three home runs, 21 RBI and 24 runs scored in 65 games for Kansas City.

— Royals Media Relations —

Royals lose to Detroit on walk-off home run in the 10th inning

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Ramon Santiago is one of the smallest players on the Detroit Tigers — a smooth fielder and fast runner, but nobody’s idea of a slugger.

For the second time in less than three months, the 5-foot-11 backup infielder gave the Tigers a victory with a big hit in extra innings. Santiago’s solo homer in the bottom of the 10th on Tuesday night lifted Detroit to a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.

On June 13, Santiago hit an RBI triple in the 10th to give the Tigers a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay in a game he’d entered as a defensive replacement. He came in as a pinch-runner in the eighth on Tuesday but made his biggest contribution two innings later.

“I knew I hit it hard, but I was running as fast as I could because I wasn’t sure where it was going to end up,” Santiago said. “Once I saw it go out, I wanted to enjoy it, because you don’t get to do that very often.”

Santiago’s homer off Aaron Crow (3-4) was only his fourth of the year. It enabled the first-place Tigers to stay five games ahead of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

Joaquin Benoit (4-3) pitched two innings for the Tigers, matching his longest outing of the season. Crow struck out Wilson Betemit with the bases loaded to end the ninth, but he got only one out in the 10th before allowing Santiago’s surprising homer over the right-field wall.

“You like to see someone like Santi get a turn in front of the cameras. He’s the underdog on a team with guys like (Miguel) Cabrera and (Victor) Martinez,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “He ran into a fastball and he hit it well. That wasn’t a paint scraper.”

Detroit starter Doug Fister retired the first 18 hitters he faced. He ended up allowing a run and four hits over 7 2/3 innings and struck out six.

Kansas City’s Jeff Francis allowed two hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings in an impressive duel between the two starters.

“I felt like every time I sat down, I was right back up, the way he was throwing,” Francis said.

Fister was traded from Seattle to Detroit on July 30 as the Tigers tried to bolster their rotation for the stretch run. He entered Tuesday’s game receiving only 2.63 runs of support per nine innings, and he settled for a no-decision after taking a perfect game into the seventh.

Alex Gordon ended Fister’s bid with a double. Billy Butler eventually drove him in with a sacrifice fly to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.

“I knew it, but it never crossed my mind to think about (the perfect game),” Fister said. “It doesn’t change how the hitters are going to approach me, and it doesn’t change how I’m going to approach the hitters, so it isn’t something that is in my mind.”

Francis was pulled with two on in the seventh, and reliever Greg Holland retired Martinez and Alex Avila to end the threat.

Holland has allowed only one of his 29 inherited runners to score this season, but he stayed in the game for the eighth inning and the Tigers managed to tie it. With men on first and third and two outs, Magglio Ordonez singled up the middle to make it 1-1.

The Royals had missed a chance to pad their lead in the top of the eighth when they put men on second and third with one out. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta fielded Alcides Escobar’s grounder and threw home to catch Mike Moustakas trying to score. Phil Coke then relieved Fister and struck out Gordon.

Detroit nearly won it in the ninth when Louis Coleman allowed three straight two-out walks, but Crow came in and got out of the jam.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals win series opener at Milwaukee

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Earlier this month, the Milwaukee Brewers roughed up St. Louis starter Edwin Jackson for 10 runs in seven innings.

What a difference 27 days makes.

Jackson pitched seven solid innings and singled home the go-ahead run to help the Cardinals beat the Brewers 2-1 on Tuesday night.

“That’s a great team,” Jackson said of Milwaukee. “They have a lot of guys who can put the ball out of the ballpark. The game plan today was just come in and be aggressive. If I got hurt, you know, get hurt being aggressive around the plate.”

The assertiveness paid off. Jackson was sharp for the sixth time in seven starts since being obtained in a July 27 trade, striking out three without walking a batter.

“Edwin Jackson was outstanding,” Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. “That was as good as I’ve seen him throw.”

Despite the win, the Cardinals still are 9½ games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and have 27 games remaining.

“You don’t see anybody celebrating,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

Jackson (4-2) scattered six hits and kept Milwaukee scoreless until Corey Hart and Nyjer Morgan hit consecutive doubles to open the sixth, pulling the Brewers within 2-1. Morgan was stranded, though, as the right-hander retired Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee in order.

“It was really impressive,” La Russa said.

Jackson’s outing was in stark contrast to the last time he faced Milwaukee, giving up 10 runs in seven innings in the Brewers 10-5 win over the Cardinals on Aug. 3.

Marc Rzepczynski walked Fielder to open the ninth, and Fernando Salas replaced him and walked McGehee. Salas, though, recorded the final three outs for his 23rd save in 28 chances.

“They scared the hell out of us every inning, just about,” La Russa said.

Milwaukee starter Shaun Marcum (11-5) lost his second consecutive start despite not allowing an earned run. The right-hander went seven innings, allowing only two unearned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four.

“They pitched well against us and we didn’t do very much,” La Russa said. “But, we pitched well, too, and defended well.”

Defense was the difference for the Cardinals. Albert Pujols made three nice plays, charging a bunt and catching it on the fly in the first, making a running catch to snag a foul pop in the second and firing to third to get a force out for the first out in the ninth.

“To win a game like this, 2-1, you obviously have to play some good defense,” Pujols said. “That’s what we did today.”

The Cardinals scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth. Skip Schumaker’s hard grounder went through Fielder’s legs at first base for an error to open the inning. Rafael Furcal then hit a grounder to second, but Jerry Hairston Jr. bobbled it for another error.

“That happens,” Marcum said. “That’s baseball. It has happened to every pitcher in this game. There is nothing you can do about it. I just kept going out there pitching and doing my job.”

Yadier Molina singled to load the bases and Jackson singled to right, scoring Schumaker to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead. Jon Jay followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Furcal for a 2-0 Cardinals lead.

This three-game series appeared to be key in the pennant stretch when St. Louis beat Milwaukee on Aug. 11 to pull within four games of first place, but the Brewers went 14-3 and the Cardinals went 7-9 in between the two series.

Morgan had three hits — two singles and a double — and a stolen base for Milwaukee.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Marco Estrada got Ryan Theriot to ground out to end the inning.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs release K Todd Carter and place T Ryan O’Callaghan on IR

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The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has waived K Todd Carter. The team also placed T Ryan O’Callaghan on injured reserve.

Carter (6-1, 190) has played in one game with Carolina (2010). He entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Carolina in 2010. Carter converted 27 of 41 field goal attempts and 173 of 189 PATs for 254 points during his collegiate career at Grand Valley State.

O’Callaghan (6-7, 330) has played in 51 regular season games (20 starts) with New England (2006-08) and Kansas City (2009-10). He has also seen action in four postseason contests. He appeared in 11 games with one start for the Chiefs a year ago. He played in 14 contests with 12 starts for Kansas City in 2009 after being acquired off waivers from the Patriots.

The Susanville, California native entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick (136th overall) of New England in 2006. O’Callaghan played in 47 games (35 starts) at California after prepping at Enterprise High School in Redding, California.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Royals name Pitchers, Players of the Year for eight Minor League affiliates

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The Kansas City Royals have named their Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Year for their respective affiliates.  The Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year and George Brett Hitter of the Year will be named this Friday, September 2.

A majority of the players are expected to be at Kauffman Stadium for Futures Night on Friday, September 16, where they will take part in an autograph session at Gate A from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., as well as be honored in an on-field presentation prior to the Royals game against the White Sox.

OMAHA (AAA)

Right-handed pitcher Luis Mendoza has been named the Omaha Pitcher of the Year.  The 27-year-old has dominated Pacific Coast League hitters all season, posting an 11-5 record with a league-leading 2.15 ERA in 32 games (17 starts).  Named to the 12-member All-PCL Team yesterday, Mendoza originally recorded his second career no-hitter on July 18 at Memphis, before a reviewed ruling overturned a ninth-inning error to a double.  Mendoza was acquired from the Texas Rangers on April 2, 2010.

Johnny Giavotella was named the Omaha Player of the Year.  The 24-year-old was batting .338 with a minor league-leading 153 hits for Triple-A Omaha at the time of his call-up to the Royals on August 5.  The second baseman had 34 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 72 RBI and 67 runs scored in 110 games for the Storm Chasers.  Giavotella was a starter on the Pacific Coast League All-Star team as well as a member of the 12-member All-PCL Team.  The University of New Orleans alum was the Royals’ second-round selection in the 2008 Draft.

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (AA)

Left-handed pitcher Will Smith, 22, has been named the Northwest Arkansas Pitcher of the Year.  The six-foot-five southpaw is 12-9 with a 4.02 ERA in 26 starts for the Naturals.  Smith is 8-3 with a 3.44 ERA in the second half and has helped lead the Naturals to the brink of the second-half division title.

28-year-old Anthony Seratelli is the Northwest Arkansas Player of the Year.  The versatile performer and Texas League All-Star selection is hitting .283 with 12 doubles, six triples, nine home runs, 61 RBI and 89 runs scored in 123 games.  Signed by the Royals from the Independent Frontier League on February 27, 2007, Seratelli has appeared at first base, second base, shortstop, left field and right field this season with the Naturals.

WILMINGTON (A-ADVANCED)

Right-handed starter Jake Odorizzi was named Wilmington Pitcher of the Year.  The 21-year-old, acquired as part of the six-player trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on December 19, 2010, went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 15 starts for the Blue Rocks before a midseason promotion to Northwest Arkansas.  The 6-foot-2 righty has combined for 151 strikeouts in 140.0 innings this season.

Rey Navarro, who will turn 22 on December 22, is the Wilmington Player of the Year.  The right-handed hitting infielder batted .285 with 17 doubles, seven triples, eight home runs, 41 RBI and 34 runs scored in 72 games for Wilmington before a promotion to Double-A.  Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Navarro, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 1, 2010.

KANE COUNTY (A)

21-year-old Greg Billo was named the Kane County Pitcher of the Year.  The six-foot-four right-hander is 9-5 with a Midwest League-leading 1.94 ERA in 26 games, 17 starts, for the Cougars.  In 130.0 innings, the Royals’ 28th round pick from the 2008 Draft out of Orland Park, Ill., has allowed 111 hits while striking out 118 against just 25 walks.

22-year-old outfielder Brian Fletcher was named the Kane County Player of the Year.  The former Auburn University slugger is batting .336 (107-for-318) with 30 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, 57 RBI and 50 runs scored in 85 games for Kane County.  The right-handed hitter and son of former big leaguer Scott Fletcher was the Royals’ 18th-round selection in 2010.

IDAHO FALLS (ROOKIE-ADVANCED)

Right-handed pitcher Edwin Carl, signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent on July 20, 2010 out of the University of New Mexico, is the Idaho Falls Pitcher of the Year.  Carl, 22, has been nearly untouchable in the Pioneer League, posting an astounding 71 strikeouts and just three walks in 33.0 innings for the Chukars.  He is 3-1 with five saves and a 1.36 ERA in 21 relief appearances.  He was recently promoted to Kane County.

Outfielder Runey Davis, 22, has been named the Idaho Falls Player of the Year.  Signed as a minor league free agent on March 9, 2011, the 2009 Chicago Cubs 12th-round selection is hitting .325 with 14 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 36 RBI and 37 runs scored in 50 games for Idaho Falls.

BURLINGTON-NC (ROOKIE)

23-year-old right-handed pitcher Nick Graffeo has been named the Burlington Pitcher of the Year.  Selected out of the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Raytown (Mo.) High in the 38th round in 2010, the six-foot hurler is 4-2 with a 2.04 ERA in 17 games, including six starts.  The stepson of current Royals hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has struck out 53 and walked 16 in 53.0 innings of work while holding opponents to a .192 average.

Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio, the 2010 Dominican Royals Player of the Year, is the Burlington Royals Player of the Year in 2011.  Bonifacio, 18, is hitting .284 with 20 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 30 RBI and 26 runs in 62 games.  A resident of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Bonifacio was signed as a non-drafted free agent on December 9, 2009.

SURPRISE (ROOKIE)

Andrew Stueve, a 21-year-old right-hander, has been named the Surprise Royals Pitcher of the Year.  The six-foot-one hurler was 1-3 with a 2.14 ERA in 21 appearances, including one start, before a promotion to Wilmington.  Stueve signed with the Royals as an undrafted free agent on June 11 out of Stanislaus State University.

Shortstop Nick DelGuidice has been named the Surprise Royals Player of the Year.  The 21-year-old right-handed hitter batted .408 (51-for-125) with 16 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 24 RBI and 32 runs in 34 games for Surprise before he was promoted to Idaho Falls.  DelGuidice was signed by the Royals as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic University on June 12.

DOMINICAN ROYALS (ROOKIE)

Right-handed pitcher Yender Caramo is the Dominican Royals Pitcher of the Year.  The just-turned 20-year-old (his birthday was August 25) is 10-3 with a 1.26 ERA in 13 games, including 12 starts.  His 10 wins were tied for the league-lead while his ERA was second in the 33-team league.  Signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent on November 22, 2010, Caramo is from San Felix, Bolivar, Venezuela.

Infielder Ramon Torres, signed by Kansas City as a non-drafted free agent on July 13, 2009, is the Dominican Royals Player of the Year.  The 18-year-old hit .260 with 16 doubles, three triples, two home runs, 24 RBI, 35 runs and 14 stolen bases in 60 games.  Torres, a switch hitter, resides in Santiago Rodriguez, Dominican Republic.

— Royals Media Relations —

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