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2009 Kansas City Royals season

The 2009 Kansas City Royals season was the 41st season for the franchise, and their 39th at Kauffman Stadium. The season began on April 7 with a game against the Chicago White Sox at U. S. Cellular Field, which Chicago won.[1] On April 10, the Royals hosted the New York Yankees in the first game at the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium for the Royals' home opener.[2] Interleague opponents included the St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates.[2]

2009 Kansas City Royals
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record65–97 (.401)
Divisional placetied for 4th
Other information
Owner(s)David Glass
General manager(s)Dayton Moore
Manager(s)Trey Hillman
Local televisionFox Sports Kansas City
(Ryan Lefebvre, Bob Davis, Paul Splittorff, Frank White)
Local radioKCSP 610 AM
(Denny Matthews, Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Stewart, Bob Davis)
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The Royals looked to improve on their 2008 record of 75–87 and sought their first playoff appearance since 1985, as manager Trey Hillman returned for his second season with Kansas City. The Royals' payroll for the 2009 season was $70.5 million, approximately 25 percent higher than their 2008 payroll (and 21st in the major leagues).[3][4][5]

There was much optimism for the Royals heading into the season, with some experts saying they had the potential reach the postseason.[6][7] After a strong start and 18–11 record, the Royals suffered several losing streaks and fell back to a losing record, finishing with a dismal 65-97 record.

Off-season

Coaching staff changes

Following the 2008 season, third base coach Luis Silverio and hitting coach Mike Barnett were not retained on Trey Hillman's coaching staff.[8] In October 2008, the Royals hired Kevin Seitzer as the team's new hitting coach and John Gibbons as bench coach.[8] Seitzer served as the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008, and Gibbons was the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays for five seasons.[8] Both were dismissed from their respective teams before the 2007 season was completed.[8] Dave Owen, the team's bench coach from 2008, will be the third base coach.[8] Bob McClure (pitching), Rusty Kuntz (first base), and John Mizerock (bullpen) were all retained to complete the six-man staff.[8]

Winter meetings

After the acquisitions of Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp, the Royals entered the Winter Meetings not seeking to add another big free agent acquisition like in years past (Gil Meche in 2007 and José Guillén in 2008).[9] Through trades, Kansas City sought to acquire relief pitching, a middle infielder, and a starting pitcher.[10][11] The Royals pursued both RHP Kyle Farnsworth and RHP Brandon Lyon,[12] and signed Farnsworth to a two-year contract.[13] The Royals also signed LHP Horacio Ramírez, who was previously with the team in 2008,[13] and RHP Doug Waechter.[13]

The Royals were also one of the final four teams that were in talks with SS Rafael Furcal.[14] The acquisition of Furcal would have resulted in the Royals moving SS Mike Avilés to second base.[14] Furcal played with the Atlanta Braves, where Royals general manager Dayton Moore worked prior to joining the Royals' front office.[14] Reports said that Kansas City was maneuvering to clear payroll so that they could sign Furcal, or sign Orlando Cabrera, who was in the Royals' backup plan.[15] Kansas City bowed out of talks with Furcal after they could not work around their payroll.[3]

The Boston Globe reported that the Royals had "serious discussions" concerning a trade of RHP Zack Greinke to the Atlanta Braves for OF Jeff Francoeur.[16] Reports about Kansas City's purported interest in Francoeur also surfaced weeks before the Winter Meetings but there had been no concrete evidence that the Royals pursued such a deal.[16] Dayton Moore quickly denied the report.[16] Moore showed a reluctance to trade Greinke or outfielders Mark Teahen and David DeJesus, all of whom were attached to rumors throughout the off-season.[16]

Roster moves

Royals players eligible for arbitration

Kansas City entered the 2008–2009 off-season with 15 players eligible for arbitration.

In October, the Royals acquired 1B Mike Jacobs from the Florida Marlins in exchange for SP Leo Núñez.[24]

In November, the Royals acquired CF Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for RP Ramón Ramírez.[25]

In December, the Royals did not tender contracts to OF Joey Gathright, LHP John Bale, RHP Jairo Cuevas, and 2B Jason Smith.[20] Bale was later re-signed on a one-year deal,[17]

In January, the Royals agreed to a four-year, $38 million contract with RHP Zack Greinke.[22]

Regular season

Season standings

AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
Minnesota Twins 87 76 0.534 49–33 38–43
Detroit Tigers 86 77 0.528 1 51–30 35–47
Chicago White Sox 79 83 0.488 43–38 36–45
Cleveland Indians 65 97 0.401 21½ 35–46 30–51
Kansas City Royals 65 97 0.401 21½ 33–48 32–49


Record vs. opponents

Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore 2–16 5–4 2–5 3–5 4–4 2–8 3–2 5–13 1–5 4–5 8–10 5–5 9–9 11–7
Boston 16–2 4–4 7–2 6–1 5–3 4–5 4–2 9–9 5–5 2–4 9–9 2–7 11–7 11–7
Chicago 4–5 4−4 10–8 9–9 9–9 5–4 6−12 3–4 4–5 4–5 6–2 2–4 1–6 12–6
Cleveland 5–2 2–7 8–10 4–14 10–8 2–4 8–10 3–5 2–5 6–4 5–3 1–8 4–4 5–13
Detroit 5–3 1–6 9–9 14–4 9–9 5–4 7–12 1–5 5–4 5–4 5–2 7–2 3–5 10–8
Kansas City 4–4 3–5 9–9 8–10 9–9 1–9 6–12 2–4 2–6 5–4 1–9 3–3 4–3 8–10
Los Angeles 8–2 5–4 4–5 4–2 4–5 9–1 6–4 5–5 12–7 10–9 4–2 8–11 4–4 14–4
Minnesota 2–3 2–4 12–6 10–8 12–7 12–6 4–6 0–7 4–6 5–5 3–3 6–4 3–5 12–6
New York 13–5 9–9 4–3 5–3 5–1 4–2 5–5 7–0 7–2 6–4 11–7 5–4 12–6 10–8
Oakland 5–1 5–5 5–4 5–2 4–5 6–2 7–12 6–4 2–7 5–14 6–4 11–8 3–6 5–13
Seattle 5–4 4–2 5–4 4–6 4–5 4–5 9–10 5–5 4–6 14–5 5–3 8–11 3–4 11–7
Tampa Bay 10–8 9–9 2–6 3–5 2–5 9–1 2–4 3–3 7–11 4–6 3–5 3–6 14–4 13–5
Texas 5–5 7–2 4–2 8–1 2–7 3–3 11–8 4–6 4–5 8–11 11–8 6–3 5–5 9–9
Toronto 9–9 7–11 6–1 4–4 5–3 3–4 4–4 5–3 6–12 6–3 4–3 4–14 5–5 7–11
  • Source: MLB Standings Grid

Monthly summaries

April

 
Zack Greinke finished the month of April with a 5-0 record and 0.50 ERA. He won Pitcher of the Month honors and was featured on Sports Illustrated.

The Royals' season opener against the Chicago White Sox was originally scheduled for April 6 but was postponed due to snow forecasts in the Chicago area.[2][26] The game was rescheduled for April 7, which was originally an off-day for both teams.[1] The Royals lost the first game of the season after Kyle Farnsworth gave up a game-losing, three-run homer to Chicago's Jim Thome.[27] After losing the first game to Chicago, the Royals won two of three games against Chicago to open the series.[28] The Royals played the New York Yankees on April 10 at the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium for their home opener.[2] It was the first game of a three-game series. Kansas City lost the first two games and trailed late in the 8th inning of the third game before Brayan Peña scored a game-tying RBI double and then scored the go-ahead run on Alberto Callaspo's RBI single.[29] Peña is the team's third-string catcher and was listed as designated hitter for the day.[29] The Royals would hold on to the 6–4 lead for their third win on the season.[29]

On April 17 the Royals began a three-game series with the Texas Rangers and eventually won two of them. On that day, 3B Alex Gordon was placed on the disabled list and was ruled out for at least two months after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip.[30] Despite the bad news, the Royals beat the Rangers 12–3 in the opening game of the series.[31] In the second game against the Rangers (on April 18), RHP Zack Greinke recorded his first career shut-out and extended his scoreless inning streak to 34.[32] The streak dated back to the 2008 Kansas City Royals season.[33] This brought Greinke's statistics to three wins in three starts and an 0.00 ERA, the best in the American League at the time.[32] Texas' Kevin Millwood, who started for the Rangers, had the American League's second lowest ERA entering the game with a 0.64 ERA.[32] The Royals entered the third game of the series against Texas looking for their first series sweep of the season.[34] After trailing 5–3 in the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers tied the game at 5 by the ninth inning after Royals set up pitchers Ron Mahay and Jamie Wright allowed two runs.[34][35] Texas' Michael Young hit a game-winning leadoff home run off of reliever Kyle Farnsworth's second pitch of the inning.[34] The loss brought Kansas City down to a three-way tie for first place in the American League Central with Detroit and Chicago.[35] Royals manager Trey Hillman kept closer Joakim Soria in the bullpen for the entire series instead reasoning that he didn't want Soria to be used for more than one inning in the third game.[35] RHP Brian Bannister was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to pitch for Kansas City on April 22 and replaced both the injured Doug Waechter, who was placed on the DL, and the struggling Horacio Ramírez in the pitching rotation.[36] Bannister and Jamie Wright pitched eight shut-out innings before closer Joakim Soria returned from an eight-day hiatus to close out the 2–0 victory.[36] Soria battled injuries for most of the month.[37]

Zack Greinke's scoreless innings streak ended at 38 when an unearned run was scored after an errant throw by Mike Avilés in a 6–1 Royals victory over the Detroit Tigers.[38] The run was unearned so Greinke's ERA stayed at 0.00 and his record improved to 4-0 on the season.[38] The game was also Greinke's second complete game of the season.[38] Greinke was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated's May 4, 2009, issue (Volume 110, Issue 18) for a cover story by Joe Posnanski called "The Best Pitcher in Baseball."[39] Greinke is the first Royals player to appear on the magazine cover since pitcher David Cone on April 5, 1993, for the magazine's baseball preview.[39] The last Kansas City player to appear in an in-season cover was back on June 12, 1989, when SI featured outfielder Bo Jackson.[39]

The team won three of four games against the Toronto Blue Jays, who entered the series with baseball's best record.[40] On April 29 Zack Greinke was the first pitcher of the season to record his fifth win and allowed only two runs to the Blue Jays in an 11–3 victory.[41] This brought his ERA for the season from 0.00 to 0.50.[41] By finishing with a 12-10 record for the month, the Royals registered their first winning April since 2003 when they began the season with a 16-7 record.[40]

May

 
Twins pitcher Scott Baker held the Royals scoreless through six innings on May 3 but the Royals tallied seven runs once he left the game.

The Royals entered the month of May in sole-possession of first place in the American League Central.[40] They traveled to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to play the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series to start off the month. The series was hotly contested with the Royals scoring 22 runs and the Twins scoring 19 and several lead changes. The second game of the series was decided in 11 innings.[42] In the third game, the Royals were no-hit by Scott Baker through six innings before an offensive but then suddenly unleashed an offensive flurry in the seventh, scoring five runs to roar ahead and hold on for a stunning 7–5 victory.[43] Zack Greinke threw his third complete game in a 3–0 shutout of the White Sox on May 4 and improved his record to 6-0 on the year with a 0.40 ERA.[44] Greinke lost his first game of the season to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on May 9 in a 1–0 loss.[45] Greinke pitched a complete game and his ERA rose to 0.51.[45]

Joakim Soria continued to battle injuries to his shoulder and his appearances were limited in the early part of May.[37][46] He was placed on the disabled list and Sidney Ponson was sent to the bullpen in exchange for Luke Hochevar being called up from Triple-A Omaha.[47] In his first appearance of the season, Hochevar lasted only two innings and allowed eight runs in a 12–3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.[48] Entering the game, Kansas City's team ERA led the American League, but took a hit with Hochevar's performance.[48] By the beginning of the fifth inning, Oakland led the game 12–0 and the Royals never recovered and dropped their fourth consecutive game.[48] The Royals lost all five games of their road trip against the Angels and Athletics after sweeping their four-game homestand against the White Sox and Mariners.

Zack Greinke's eighth start of the season was delayed by two and half hours of rainfall, but the Royals still won the game 8–1 against the Baltimore Orioles.[49] The game was held at Kauffman Stadium and had a sell-out crowd of 38,353 along with many other games in the season selling out for Greinke's starts.[49][50] The Royals split their four-game home series against the Orioles.[51]

On May 19, Kansas City trailed Cleveland 5–2 entering the ninth inning but accomplished their biggest comeback victory of the season.[52] After two consecutive home runs by Mike Jacobs and Mark Teahen, the Royals rallied to a 6–5 victory after a sacrifice fly by Willie Bloomquist brought David DeJesus home for the winning run.[52]

Kansas City began Interleague play against their cross-state rival St. Louis Cardinals. After losing the first two games of the series by scores of 5–0,[53][54] the Royals fell to a 21-22 record and under the .500 mark for the first time since April 11 when they were 2-3.[54] After optioning three players (Mike Avilés, Luke Hochevar, and Robinson Tejeda) to the inactive roster,[55] Kansas City won the final game 3–2 and regained a .500 record on the season.

By the end of the month, the Royals began to slip from the top of their division standings in the American League Central, especially following a three-game sweep by the Chicago White Sox left the team with a 23–27 record. An 11–17 record in May dropped the Royals down to fourth place in the division.

June

Looking to rebound from a sub-par month of May, the Royals began June with a three-game series at Tampa Bay on June 2, but continued to flounder, dropping all three games. They lost their eighth game in a row on June 5 at Toronto, but broke the losing streak the next day thanks to a strong performance from Luke Hochevar. In the 2009 Major League Baseball draft held on June 9 the Royals selected RHP Aaron Crow with the 12th overall selection. Crow attended the University of Missouri, was born in nearby Topeka, Kansas, and was a longtime Royals fan prior to being selected with the team.[56] That same day, the Royals' defense and bullpen allowed eight unanswered runs to the Indians in an 8–4 loss.[57] The loss dropped the Royals to fifth place in the American League Central.

Roster

2009 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Game log

2009 game log
April (12–10)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
April 6 @ White Sox Postponed
1 April 7 @ White Sox 4–2 Dotel (1–0) Farnsworth (0–1) Jenks (1) 37,449 0–1
2 April 8 @ White Sox 2–0 Greinke (1–0) Floyd (0–1) Soria (1) 22,817 1–1
3 April 9 @ White Sox 2–1 Mahay (1–0) Jenks (0–1) Soria (2) 18,091 2–1
4 April 10 Yankees 4–1 Pettitte (1–0) Ponson (0–1) Rivera (1) 38,098 2–2
5 April 11 Yankees 6–1 Sabathia (1–1) Ramírez (0–1) 31,271 2–3
6 April 12 Yankees 6–4 Cruz (1–0) Coke (0–1) Soria (3) 17,629 3–3
7 April 13 Indians 4–2 Greinke (2–0) Carmona (0–2) Soria (4) 10,061 4–3
8 April 14 Indians 9–3 Davies (1–0) Pavano (0–2) 11,756 5–3
9 April 15 Indians 5–4 Lewis (1–0) Farnsworth (0–2) Wood (1) 13,589 5–4
10 April 17 @ Rangers 12–3 Meche (1–0) Harrison (0–2) 24,062 6–4
11 April 18 @ Rangers 2–0 Greinke (3–0) Millwood (1–1) 37,635 7–4
12 April 19 @ Rangers 6–5 Francisco (1–0) Farnsworth (0–3) 27,635 7–5
13 April 21 @ Indians 8–7 Laffey (1–0) Ponson (0–2) Wood (2) 11,408 7–6
14 April 22 @ Indians 2–0 Bannister (1–0) Lee (1–3) Soria (5) 13,509 8–6
15 April 23 @ Indians 5–2 Lewis (2–2) Meche (1–1) Wood (3) 12,852 8–7
16 April 24 Tigers 6–1 Greinke (4–0) Porcello (1–2) 36,363 9–7
17 April 25 Tigers 9–1 Miner (2–1) Davies (1–1) 37,647 9–8
18 April 26 Tigers 3–2 Galarraga (3–0) Ponson (0–3) Rodney (4) 13,520 9–9
19 April 27 Blue Jays 7–1 Bannister (2–0) Purcey (0–2) 9,685 10–9
20 April 28 Blue Jays 8–1 Richmond (3–0) Meche (1–2) 15,191 10–10
21 April 29 Blue Jays 11–3 Greinke (5–0) Tallet (1–1) 10,619 11–10
22 April 30 Blue Jays 8–6 Davies (2–1) Burres (0–2) Cruz (1) 11,896 12–10
May (11–17)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
23 May 1 @ Twins 7–5 Slowey (4–0) Ponson (0–4) Nathan (4) 24,727 12–11
24 May 2 @ Twins 10 – 7 (11) Soria (1–0) Breslow (0–1) 29,061 13–11
25 May 3 @ Twins 7–5 Meche (2–2) Baker (0–4) Soria (6) 31,845 14–11
26 May 4 White Sox 3–0 Greinke (6–0) Colón (2–2) 21,843 15–11
27 May 5 White Sox 8 – 7 (11) Cruz (2–0) Broadway (0–1) 13,419 16–11
28 May 6 Mariners 9–1 Ponson (1–4) Silva (1–3) 15,324 17–11
29 May 7 Mariners 3–1 Bannister (3–0) Washburn (3–2) Soria (7) 32,714 18–11
30 May 8 @ Angels 4–1 Palmer (3–0) Meche (2–3) Fuentes (8) 41,019 18–12
31 May 9 @ Angels 1–0 Saunders (5–1) Greinke (6–1) 39,776 18–13
32 May 10 @ Angels 4–3 Shields (1–2) Wright (0–1) Fuentes (9) 43,646 18–14
33 May 12 @ Athletics 12–3 Cahill (2–2) Hochevar (0–1) 10,156 18–15
34 May 13 @ Athletics 7–2 Outman (1–0) Bannister (3–1) 16,057 18–16
35 May 14 Orioles 9–5 Guthrie (3–3) Meche (2–4) 24,431 18–17
36 May 15 Orioles 8–1 Greinke (7–1) Eaton (2–4) 38,353 19–17
37 May 16 Orioles 3–2 Hill (1–0) Davies (2–2) Sherrill (7) 26,720 19–18
38 May 17 Orioles 7–4 Cruz (3–0) Johnson (2–2) 22,791 20–18
39 May 19 Indians 6–5 Farnsworth (1–3) Wood (1–2) 25,024 21–18
40 May 20 Indians 6–5 Laffey (3–0) Ponson (1–5) Wood (6) 19,652 21–19
41 May 21 Indians 8–3 Pavano (4–4) Ramírez (0–2) Betancourt (1) 23,095 21–20
42 May 22 @ Cardinals 5–0 Wellemeyer (4–4) Davies (2–3) 43,429 21–21
43 May 23 @ Cardinals 5–0 Lohse (4–3) Hochevar (0–2) 43,829 21–22
44 May 24 @ Cardinals 3–2 Bannister (4–1) Piñeiro (5–4) Cruz (2) 44,213 22–22
45 May 25 Tigers 13–1 Verlander (5–2) Meche (2–5) 34,524 22–23
46 May 26 Tigers 6–1 Greinke (8–1) Jackson (4–3) 16,366 23–23
47 May 27 Tigers 8–3 Porcello (6–3) Davies (2–4) 16,568 23–24
48 May 29 White Sox 11–2 Richard (2–0) Bannister (4–2) 26,495 23–25
49 May 30 White Sox 5–3 Linebrink (2–2) Cruz (3–1) Jenks (11) 37,894 23–26
50 May 31 White Sox 7–4 Thornton (2–1) Bale (0–1) Jenks (12) 19,855 23–27
June (10–16)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
51 June 2 @ Rays 6–2 Sonnanstine (4–5) Davies (2–5) 13,604 23–28
52 June 3 @ Rays 9–0 Niemann (5–4) Bannister (4–3) 15,256 23–29
53 June 4 @ Rays 3–2 Shields (5–4) Wright (0–2) Howell (2) 16,103 23–30
54 June 5 @ Blue Jays 9–3 Romero (3–2) Greinke (8–2) 15,435 23–31
55 June 6 @ Blue Jays 6–2 Hochevar (1–2) Richmond (4–3) 16,552 24–31
56 June 7 @ Blue Jays 4–0 Halladay (10–1) Davies (2–6) 21,071 24–32
57 June 9 @ Indians 8–4 Pérez (1–1) Cruz (3–2) 15,038 24–33
58 June 10 @ Indians 9–0 Meche (3–5) Pavano (6–5) 16,257 25–33
59 June 11 @ Indians 4 – 3 (10) Herges (2–0) Farnsworth (1–4) 14,342 25–34
60 June 12 Reds 4–1 Hochevar (2–2) Maloney (0–1) 32,959 26–34
61 June 13 Reds 7–4 Davies (3–6) Arroyo (7–5) 29,574 27–34
62 June 14 Reds 7–1 Bannister (5–3) Cueto (6–4) 24,525 28–34
63 June 16 Diamondbacks 5–0 Meche (4–5) Davis (3–8) 26,974 29–34
64 June 17 Diamondbacks 12–5 Scherzer (4–4) Greinke (8–3) 29,777 29–35
65 June 18 Diamondbacks 12–5 Haren (6–4) Hochevar (2–3) 14,129 29–36
66 June 19 Cardinals 10–5 Thompson (2–2) Davies (3–7) 37,660 29–37
67 June 20 Cardinals 7–1 Carpenter (5–1) Bannister (5–4) Franklin (17) 38,769 29–38
68 June 21 Cardinals 12–5 Wainwright (8–4) Meche (4–6) 33,805 29–39
69 June 23 @ Astros 2–1 Greinke (9–3) Ortiz (3–3) Soria (8) 30,049 30–39
70 June 24 @ Astros 4–3 Soria (2–0) Fulchino (2–3) Bale (1) 28,602 31–39
71 June 25 @ Astros 5–4 Wright (2–1) Bannister (5–5) Valverde (6) 32,048 31–40
72 June 26 @ Pirates 5–3 Vasquez (1–0) Meche (4–7) Capps (17) 18,458 31–41
73 June 27 @ Pirates 6–2 Maholm (5–4) Chen (0–1) 36,032 31–42
74 June 28 @ Pirates 3–2 Greinke (10–3) Morton (0–1) Soria (9) 25,888 32–42
75 June 29 Twins 4–2 Hochevar (3–3) Blackburn (6–4) Soria (10) 22,066 33–42
76 June 30 Twins 2–1 Baker (6–6) Bannister (5–6) Nathan (20) 19,310 33–43
July (7–19)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
77 July 1 Twins 5–1 Perkins (4–4) Meche (4–8) Nathan (21) 18,906 33–44
78 July 2 White Sox 4–1 Buehrle (8–2) Chen (0–2) Jenks (19) 17,964 33–45
79 July 3 White Sox 5–0 Danks (7–6) Greinke (10–4) Linebrink (2) 39,026 33–46
80 July 4 White Sox 6–4 Hochevar (4–3) Floyd (6–6) Soria (11) 18,182 34–46
81 July 5 White Sox 6–3 Bannister (6–6) Richard (3–2) Soria (12) 15,915 35–46
82 July 6 @ Tigers 4–3 Colón (1–0) Rodney (0–2) Soria (13) 32,134 36–46
83 July 7 @ Tigers 8–5 Verlander (9–4) Chen (0–3) Rodney (18) 29,751 36–47
84 July 8 @ Tigers 3–1 French (1–0) Greinke (10–5) Rodney (19) 29,104 36–48
85 July 9 @ Red Sox 8–4 Hochevar (5–3) Masterson (3–3) Soria (14) 38,189 37–48
86 July 10 @ Red Sox 1–0 Lester (8–6) Bannister (6–7) Papelbon (23) 38,116 37–49
87 July 11 @ Red Sox 15–9 Smoltz (1–2) Meche (4–9) 37,825 37–50
88 July 12 @ Red Sox 6–0 Beckett (11–3) Chen (0–4) 37,612 37–51
89 July 17 Rays 8–7 Nelson (3–0) Cruz (3–3) Howell (7) 33,568 37–52
90 July 18 Rays 4–2 Bradford (1–0) Cruz (3–4) 30,288 37–53
91 July 19 Rays 4–3 Balfour (4–1) Wright (0–3) Howell (9) 18,934 37–54
July 20 Angels Postponed (rain); Rescheduled for July 21
92 July 21 Angels 8–5 Santana (3–5) Ponson (1–6) Fuentes (29) N/A 37–55
93 July 21 Angels 10–2 O'Sullivan (3–0) Chen (0–5) 23,874 37–56
94 July 22 Angels 9–6 Speier (4–2) Colón (1–1) Fuentes (30) 18,078 37–57
95 July 24 Rangers 2–0 Feldman (9–3) Greinke (10–6) Wilson (10) 25,012 37–58
96 July 25 Rangers 6–3 Hochevar (6–3) Holland (3–6) Soria (15) 27,602 38–58
97 July 26 Rangers 7–2 Nippert (3–0) Mahay (1–1) 16,847 38–59
98 July 27 @ Orioles 5–3 Tejeda (1–0) Albers (1–4) Soria (16) 15,169 39–59
99 July 28 @ Orioles 4 – 3 (11) Wright (1–3) Báez (4–4) Soria (17) 21,545 40–59
100 July 29 @ Orioles 7–3 Albers (2–4) Tejeda (1–1) Johnson (2) 19,741 40–60
101 July 30 @ Orioles 7–3 Bergesen (7–5) Hochevar (6–4) 19,194 40–61
103 July 31 @ Rays 8–2 Price (4–4) Ponson (1–7) 26,596 40–62
August (10–19)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
103 August 1 @ Rays 7–1 Niemann (10–5) Chen (0–6) 36,973 40–63
104 August 2 @ Rays 4–1 Bannister (7–7) Shields (6–8) Soria (18) 27,930 41–63
105 August 3 @ Rays 10–4 Kazmir (6–6) Greinke (10–7) 24,219 41–64
106 August 4 Mariners 7–6 Kelley (3–1) Wright (1–4) Aardsma (26) 15,057 41–65
107 August 5 Mariners 11–6 French (2–2) Davies (3–8) 27,805 41–66
108 August 6 Mariners 8–2 Chen (1–6) Vargas (3–6) 15,103 42–66
109 August 7 Athletics 9–4 Mazzaro (3–8) Bannister(7–8) 21,918 42–67
110 August 8 Athletics 12–6 Greinke (11–7) Mortensen(0–1) 29,818 43–67
111 August 9 Athletics 6–3 Anderson (7–8) Hochevar (6–5) Bailey (16) 19,439 43–68
112 August 11 @ Twins 14–6 Davies (4–8) Blackburn (8–7) 32,121 44–68
113 August 12 @ Twins 7–1 Liriano (5–11) Bannister (7–9) 30,105 44–69
114 August 13 @ Twins 5–4 Meche (5–9) Pavano (10–9) Soria (19) 32,373 45–69
115 August 14 @ Tigers 1–0 Lyon (5–4) Colón (1–2) 34,799 45–70
116 August 15 @ Tigers 0–3 Jackson (6–6) Hochevar (9–5) 37,276 45–71
117 August 16 @ Tigers 3 – 2 (10) Soria (3–0) Rodney (2–3) 32,888 46–71
118 August 17 @ White Sox 8–7 Linebrink (3–5) Colón (1–3) Jenks (25) 36,703 46–72
119 August 18 @ White Sox 4–5 Meche (6–9) García (0–1) Soria (20) 28,812 47–72
120 August 19 @ White Sox 4–2 Contreras (5–11) Greinke (11–8) Jenks (26) 25,786 47–73
121 August 21 Twins 5–4 Nathan (2–1) Soria (3–1) 22,283 47–74
122 August 22 Twins 8–7 Duensing (1–1) Davies (4–9) Guerrier (1) 33,811 47–75
123 August 23 Twins 10–3 Pavano (11–9) Bannister (7–10) 18,680 47–76
124 August 24 Indians 10–6 Sowers (5–9) Soria (3–2) 11,101 47–77
125 August 25 Indians 6–2 Greinke (12–8) Masterson (4–5) 17,353 47–78
126 August 26 Indians 4–2 Huff (8–7) Hochevar (6–7) Wood (16) 10,751 48–78
127 August 27 @ Mariners 8–4 Davies (5–9) Fister (1–1) 19,345 49–78
128 August 28 @ Mariners 6–3 Hernández (13–5) Bannister (7–11) Aardsma (31) 26,714 49–79
129 August 29 @ Mariners 8–4 Snell (5–9) Meche (6–10) 26,457 49–80
130 August 30 @ Mariners 3–0 Greinke (13–8) Rowland-Smith (2–2) 30,286 50–80
131 August 31 @ Athletics 8–5 Breslow (6–7) Hochevar (6–8) Bailey (21) 10,376 50–81
September (14–11)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
132 September 1 @ Athletics 4–3 Davies (6–9) Marshall (0–2) Soria (21) 10,039 51–81
133 September 2 @ Athletics 10–4 Cahill (8–12) Bannister (7–12) 13,920 51–82
134 September 4 Angels 2–1 Weaver (14–5) Wright (1–5) Fuentes (38) 17,447 51–83
135 September 5 Angels 2 – 1 (11) Jepsen (5–3) Yabuta (0–1) Fuentes (39) 22,628 51–84
136 September 6 Angels 7–2 Saunders (12–7) Hochevar (6–9) 16,745 51–85
137 September 7 Angels 6–3 Davies (7–9) Santana (7–8) Soria (22) 18,453 52–85
137 September 8 Tigers 7–5 Yabuta (1–1) Seay (5–3) Soria (23) 12,032 53–85
138 September 9 Tigers 5–1 Tejeda (2–1) Verlander (16–8) Soria (24) 10,584 54–85
139 September 10 Tigers 7–4 Colón (2–3) Miner (6–5) Rosa (1) 12,029 55–85
141 September 11 @ Indians 2–1 Wright (2–5) Veras (4–3) Soria (25) 26,006 56–85
142 September 12 @ Indians 13–6 Huff (10–7) Hochevar (6–10) 24,842 56–86
143 September 13 @ Indians 7–0 Davies (8–9) Carrasco (0–2) 21,153 57–86
144 September 15 @ Tigers 11–1 Tejeda (3–1) Washburn (9–9) 20,422 58–86
145 September 16 @ Tigers 4–3 Miner (7–5) DiNardo (0–1) Rodney (33) 25,400 58–87
146 September 17 @ Tigers 9–2 Greinke (14–8) Jackson (12–7) 26,457 59–87
147 September 18 @ White Sox 11–0 Hochevar (7–10) Buehrle (12–9) 29,179 62–87
148 September 19 @ White Sox 13–3 Peavy (1–0) Hughes (0–1) 28,329 60–88
149 September 20 @ White Sox 2–1 Tejeda (4–1) García (2–3) Soria (26) 22,798 61–88
150 September 21 Red Sox 12–9 Yabuta (2–1) Bard (2–2) Soria (27) 16,770 62–88
151 September 22 Red Sox 5–1 Greinke (15–8) Byrd (1–2) Soria (28) 21,228 63–88
152 September 23 Red Sox 9–2 Beckett (16–6) Hochevar (7–11) 18,989 63–89
153 September 24 Red Sox 10–3 Buchholz (7–3) Lerew (0–1) 20,807 63–90
154 September 25 Twins 9–4 Pavano (13–11) Tejeda (4–2) 23,307 63–91
155 September 26 Twins 11–6 Baker (14–9) DiNardo (0–2) 30,690 63–92
156 September 27 Twins 4–1 Greinke (16–8) Liriano (5–13) Soria (29) 28,721 64–92
157 September 28 @ Yankees 8–2 Gaudin (2–0) Hochevar (7–12) 45,348 64–93
158 September 29 @ Yankees 4–3 Bruney (5–0) Farnsworth (1–5) 44,794 64–94
159 September 30 @ Yankees 4–3 Wright (3–5) Marte (1–3) Soria (30) 46,956 65–94
October (0–3)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
160 October 2 @ Twins 10–7 Manship (1–1) DiNardo (0–3) Nathan (46) 40,223 65–95
161 October 3 @ Twins 5–4 Rauch (5–1) Hughes (0–2) Nathan (47) 48,644 65–96
162 October 4 @ Twins 13–4 Pavano (14–12) Hochevar (7–13) 51,155 65–97

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB
(C) Miguel Olivo 114 390 51 97 15 5 23 65 .249 5
(1B) Billy Butler 159 608 78 183 51 1 21 93 .301 1
(2B) Alberto Callaspo 155 576 79 173 41 8 11 73 .300 2
(SS) Yuniesky Betancourt 71 246 25 59 10 5 4 27 .240 0
(3B) Mark Teahen 144 524 69 142 34 1 12 50 .271 8
(LF) David DeJesus 144 558 74 157 28 9 13 71 .281 4
(CF) Mitch Maier 127 341 42 83 15 3 3 31 .243 9
(RF) José Guillén 81 281 30 68 8 0 9 40 .242 1
(DH) Mike Jacobs 128 434 46 99 16 1 19 61 .228 0
(UT) Willie Bloomquist 125 434 52 115 11 8 4 29 .265 25
(CF) Coco Crisp 49 180 30 41 8 5 3 14 .228 13
(C) John Buck 59 186 16 46 12 4 8 36 .247 1
(3B) Alex Gordon 49 164 28 38 6 0 6 22 .232 5
(C) Brayan Peña 64 165 17 45 10 0 6 18 .273 0
(SS) Mike Avilés 36 120 10 22 3 1 1 8 .183 1
(CF) Josh Anderson 44 118 20 28 3 0 1 8 .237 12
(SS) Luis Hernández 37 73 4 15 1 0 0 4 .205 1
(SS) Tony Peña Jr. 40 51 3 5 1 0 0 2 .098 0
(OF) Ryan Freel 18 45 8 11 2 0 0 3 .244 0
(UT) Tug Hulett 15 18 4 2 0 0 0 1 .111 0

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER BB SO
(SP) Zack Greinke 16 8 2.16 33 33 0 229.1 195 64 65 51 242
(SP) Brian Bannister 7 12 4.73 26 26 0 154.0 161 94 81 50 98
(SP) Luke Hochevar 7 13 6.55 25 25 0 143.0 167 109 104 46 106
(SP) Gil Meche 6 10 5.09 23 23 0 129.0 144 81 73 58 95
(SP) Kyle Davies 8 9 5.27 22 22 0 123.0 122 76 72 66 86
(CL) Joakim Soria 3 2 2.21 47 0 30 53.0 44 14 13 16 69
(RP) Jamey Wright 3 5 4.33 65 0 0 79.0 73 51 38 44 60
(RP) Juan Cruz 3 4 5.72 46 0 2 50.1 46 34 32 29 38
(RP) Román Colón 2 3 4.83 43 0 0 50.1 50 27 27 22 29
(RP) John Bale 0 1 5.72 43 0 1 28.1 34 19 18 18 24
Robinson Tejeda 4 2 3.54 35 6 0 73.2 43 30 29 50 87
Bruce Chen 1 6 5.78 17 9 0 62.1 74 42 40 25 32
Sidney Ponson 1 7 7.36 14 9 0 58.2 79 50 48 25 32
Ron Mahay 1 1 4.79 41 0 0 41.1 55 26 22 19 34
Kyle Farnsworth 1 5 4.58 41 0 0 37.1 43 22 19 14 42
Horacio Ramírez 0 2 5.96 19 1 0 22.2 27 16 15 11 13
Lenny DiNardo 0 3 10.13 5 5 0 21.1 41 28 24 15 8
Dusty Hughes 0 2 5.14 8 1 0 14.0 13 9 8 8 15
Yasuhiko Yabuta 2 1 13.50 12 0 0 14.0 29 21 21 7 9
Anthony Lerew 0 1 4.05 3 2 0 13.1 14 8 6 8 7
Víctor Marte 0 0 8.25 8 0 0 12.0 13 12 11 12 7
Carlos Rosa 0 0 3.38 7 0 1 10.2 10 4 4 3 4
Doug Waechter 0 0 8.44 5 0 0 5.1 9 5 5 3 3

Awards and honors

Player of the week

April 13–19: Zack Greinke, shared with Ian Kinsler (Texas Rangers).[33]

Pitcher of the month

April: Zack Greinke.[58]

Pepsi clutch performer of the month

April: Zack Greinke.[59]

Farm system

References

  • Kansas City Royals: Official web site
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External links

  • 2009 Kansas City Royals official site
  • 2009 KC Royals at Baseball Reference
  • 2009 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference

2009, kansas, city, royals, season, 41st, season, franchise, their, 39th, kauffman, stadium, season, began, april, with, game, against, chicago, white, cellular, field, which, chicago, april, royals, hosted, york, yankees, first, game, newly, renovated, kauffm. The 2009 Kansas City Royals season was the 41st season for the franchise and their 39th at Kauffman Stadium The season began on April 7 with a game against the Chicago White Sox at U S Cellular Field which Chicago won 1 On April 10 the Royals hosted the New York Yankees in the first game at the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium for the Royals home opener 2 Interleague opponents included the St Louis Cardinals Arizona Diamondbacks Cincinnati Reds Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates 2 2009 Kansas City RoyalsMajor League affiliationsAmerican League since 1969 Central Division since 1994 LocationKauffman Stadium since 1973 Kansas City Missouri since 1969 ResultsRecord65 97 401 Divisional placetied for 4thOther informationOwner s David GlassGeneral manager s Dayton MooreManager s Trey HillmanLocal televisionFox Sports Kansas City Ryan Lefebvre Bob Davis Paul Splittorff Frank White Local radioKCSP 610 AM Denny Matthews Ryan Lefebvre Steve Stewart Bob Davis lt Previous season Next season gt The Royals looked to improve on their 2008 record of 75 87 and sought their first playoff appearance since 1985 as manager Trey Hillman returned for his second season with Kansas City The Royals payroll for the 2009 season was 70 5 million approximately 25 percent higher than their 2008 payroll and 21st in the major leagues 3 4 5 There was much optimism for the Royals heading into the season with some experts saying they had the potential reach the postseason 6 7 After a strong start and 18 11 record the Royals suffered several losing streaks and fell back to a losing record finishing with a dismal 65 97 record Contents 1 Off season 1 1 Coaching staff changes 1 2 Winter meetings 1 3 Roster moves 2 Regular season 2 1 Season standings 2 2 Record vs opponents 3 Monthly summaries 3 1 April 3 2 May 3 3 June 3 4 Roster 3 5 Game log 4 Player stats 4 1 Batting 4 2 Pitching 5 Awards and honors 5 1 Player of the week 5 2 Pitcher of the month 5 3 Pepsi clutch performer of the month 6 Farm system 7 References 8 External linksOff season EditCoaching staff changes Edit Following the 2008 season third base coach Luis Silverio and hitting coach Mike Barnett were not retained on Trey Hillman s coaching staff 8 In October 2008 the Royals hired Kevin Seitzer as the team s new hitting coach and John Gibbons as bench coach 8 Seitzer served as the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008 and Gibbons was the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays for five seasons 8 Both were dismissed from their respective teams before the 2007 season was completed 8 Dave Owen the team s bench coach from 2008 will be the third base coach 8 Bob McClure pitching Rusty Kuntz first base and John Mizerock bullpen were all retained to complete the six man staff 8 Winter meetings Edit After the acquisitions of Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp the Royals entered the Winter Meetings not seeking to add another big free agent acquisition like in years past Gil Meche in 2007 and Jose Guillen in 2008 9 Through trades Kansas City sought to acquire relief pitching a middle infielder and a starting pitcher 10 11 The Royals pursued both RHP Kyle Farnsworth and RHP Brandon Lyon 12 and signed Farnsworth to a two year contract 13 The Royals also signed LHP Horacio Ramirez who was previously with the team in 2008 13 and RHP Doug Waechter 13 The Royals were also one of the final four teams that were in talks with SS Rafael Furcal 14 The acquisition of Furcal would have resulted in the Royals moving SS Mike Aviles to second base 14 Furcal played with the Atlanta Braves where Royals general manager Dayton Moore worked prior to joining the Royals front office 14 Reports said that Kansas City was maneuvering to clear payroll so that they could sign Furcal or sign Orlando Cabrera who was in the Royals backup plan 15 Kansas City bowed out of talks with Furcal after they could not work around their payroll 3 The Boston Globe reported that the Royals had serious discussions concerning a trade of RHP Zack Greinke to the Atlanta Braves for OF Jeff Francoeur 16 Reports about Kansas City s purported interest in Francoeur also surfaced weeks before the Winter Meetings but there had been no concrete evidence that the Royals pursued such a deal 16 Dayton Moore quickly denied the report 16 Moore showed a reluctance to trade Greinke or outfielders Mark Teahen and David DeJesus all of whom were attached to rumors throughout the off season 16 Roster moves Edit Royals players eligible for arbitrationKansas City entered the 2008 2009 off season with 15 players eligible for arbitration LHP John Bale 10 re signed 17 RHP Brian Bannister 10 18 C John Buck 10 19 RHP Kyle Davies 10 RHP Brandon Duckworth 10 OF Joey Gathright 10 released 20 IF OF Esteban German 10 LHP Jimmy Gobble 10 21 RHP Zack Greinke 10 22 2B Mark Grudzielanek declined 23 1B Mike Jacobs 10 C Miguel Olivo 10 RHP Joel Peralta 10 19 IF Jason Smith 10 IF OF Mark Teahen 10 In October the Royals acquired 1B Mike Jacobs from the Florida Marlins in exchange for SP Leo Nunez 24 In November the Royals acquired CF Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for RP Ramon Ramirez 25 In December the Royals did not tender contracts to OF Joey Gathright LHP John Bale RHP Jairo Cuevas and 2B Jason Smith 20 Bale was later re signed on a one year deal 17 In January the Royals agreed to a four year 38 million contract with RHP Zack Greinke 22 Regular season EditSeason standings Edit vteAL Central W L Pct GB Home RoadMinnesota Twins 87 76 0 534 49 33 38 43Detroit Tigers 86 77 0 528 1 51 30 35 47Chicago White Sox 79 83 0 488 7 43 38 36 45Cleveland Indians 65 97 0 401 21 35 46 30 51Kansas City Royals 65 97 0 401 21 33 48 32 49 Record vs opponents Edit Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NLBaltimore 2 16 5 4 2 5 3 5 4 4 2 8 3 2 5 13 1 5 4 5 8 10 5 5 9 9 11 7Boston 16 2 4 4 7 2 6 1 5 3 4 5 4 2 9 9 5 5 2 4 9 9 2 7 11 7 11 7Chicago 4 5 4 4 10 8 9 9 9 9 5 4 6 12 3 4 4 5 4 5 6 2 2 4 1 6 12 6Cleveland 5 2 2 7 8 10 4 14 10 8 2 4 8 10 3 5 2 5 6 4 5 3 1 8 4 4 5 13Detroit 5 3 1 6 9 9 14 4 9 9 5 4 7 12 1 5 5 4 5 4 5 2 7 2 3 5 10 8Kansas City 4 4 3 5 9 9 8 10 9 9 1 9 6 12 2 4 2 6 5 4 1 9 3 3 4 3 8 10Los Angeles 8 2 5 4 4 5 4 2 4 5 9 1 6 4 5 5 12 7 10 9 4 2 8 11 4 4 14 4Minnesota 2 3 2 4 12 6 10 8 12 7 12 6 4 6 0 7 4 6 5 5 3 3 6 4 3 5 12 6New York 13 5 9 9 4 3 5 3 5 1 4 2 5 5 7 0 7 2 6 4 11 7 5 4 12 6 10 8Oakland 5 1 5 5 5 4 5 2 4 5 6 2 7 12 6 4 2 7 5 14 6 4 11 8 3 6 5 13Seattle 5 4 4 2 5 4 4 6 4 5 4 5 9 10 5 5 4 6 14 5 5 3 8 11 3 4 11 7Tampa Bay 10 8 9 9 2 6 3 5 2 5 9 1 2 4 3 3 7 11 4 6 3 5 3 6 14 4 13 5Texas 5 5 7 2 4 2 8 1 2 7 3 3 11 8 4 6 4 5 8 11 11 8 6 3 5 5 9 9Toronto 9 9 7 11 6 1 4 4 5 3 3 4 4 4 5 3 6 12 6 3 4 3 4 14 5 5 7 11This box viewtalkedit Source MLB Standings GridMonthly summaries EditApril Edit Zack Greinke finished the month of April with a 5 0 record and 0 50 ERA He won Pitcher of the Month honors and was featured on Sports Illustrated The Royals season opener against the Chicago White Sox was originally scheduled for April 6 but was postponed due to snow forecasts in the Chicago area 2 26 The game was rescheduled for April 7 which was originally an off day for both teams 1 The Royals lost the first game of the season after Kyle Farnsworth gave up a game losing three run homer to Chicago s Jim Thome 27 After losing the first game to Chicago the Royals won two of three games against Chicago to open the series 28 The Royals played the New York Yankees on April 10 at the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium for their home opener 2 It was the first game of a three game series Kansas City lost the first two games and trailed late in the 8th inning of the third game before Brayan Pena scored a game tying RBI double and then scored the go ahead run on Alberto Callaspo s RBI single 29 Pena is the team s third string catcher and was listed as designated hitter for the day 29 The Royals would hold on to the 6 4 lead for their third win on the season 29 On April 17 the Royals began a three game series with the Texas Rangers and eventually won two of them On that day 3B Alex Gordon was placed on the disabled list and was ruled out for at least two months after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip 30 Despite the bad news the Royals beat the Rangers 12 3 in the opening game of the series 31 In the second game against the Rangers on April 18 RHP Zack Greinke recorded his first career shut out and extended his scoreless inning streak to 34 32 The streak dated back to the 2008 Kansas City Royals season 33 This brought Greinke s statistics to three wins in three starts and an 0 00 ERA the best in the American League at the time 32 Texas Kevin Millwood who started for the Rangers had the American League s second lowest ERA entering the game with a 0 64 ERA 32 The Royals entered the third game of the series against Texas looking for their first series sweep of the season 34 After trailing 5 3 in the bottom of the eighth the Rangers tied the game at 5 by the ninth inning after Royals set up pitchers Ron Mahay and Jamie Wright allowed two runs 34 35 Texas Michael Young hit a game winning leadoff home run off of reliever Kyle Farnsworth s second pitch of the inning 34 The loss brought Kansas City down to a three way tie for first place in the American League Central with Detroit and Chicago 35 Royals manager Trey Hillman kept closer Joakim Soria in the bullpen for the entire series instead reasoning that he didn t want Soria to be used for more than one inning in the third game 35 RHP Brian Bannister was recalled from Triple A Omaha to pitch for Kansas City on April 22 and replaced both the injured Doug Waechter who was placed on the DL and the struggling Horacio Ramirez in the pitching rotation 36 Bannister and Jamie Wright pitched eight shut out innings before closer Joakim Soria returned from an eight day hiatus to close out the 2 0 victory 36 Soria battled injuries for most of the month 37 Zack Greinke s scoreless innings streak ended at 38 when an unearned run was scored after an errant throw by Mike Aviles in a 6 1 Royals victory over the Detroit Tigers 38 The run was unearned so Greinke s ERA stayed at 0 00 and his record improved to 4 0 on the season 38 The game was also Greinke s second complete game of the season 38 Greinke was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated s May 4 2009 issue Volume 110 Issue 18 for a cover story by Joe Posnanski called The Best Pitcher in Baseball 39 Greinke is the first Royals player to appear on the magazine cover since pitcher David Cone on April 5 1993 for the magazine s baseball preview 39 The last Kansas City player to appear in an in season cover was back on June 12 1989 when SI featured outfielder Bo Jackson 39 The team won three of four games against the Toronto Blue Jays who entered the series with baseball s best record 40 On April 29 Zack Greinke was the first pitcher of the season to record his fifth win and allowed only two runs to the Blue Jays in an 11 3 victory 41 This brought his ERA for the season from 0 00 to 0 50 41 By finishing with a 12 10 record for the month the Royals registered their first winning April since 2003 when they began the season with a 16 7 record 40 May Edit Twins pitcher Scott Baker held the Royals scoreless through six innings on May 3 but the Royals tallied seven runs once he left the game The Royals entered the month of May in sole possession of first place in the American League Central 40 They traveled to the Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome to play the Minnesota Twins in a three game series to start off the month The series was hotly contested with the Royals scoring 22 runs and the Twins scoring 19 and several lead changes The second game of the series was decided in 11 innings 42 In the third game the Royals were no hit by Scott Baker through six innings before an offensive but then suddenly unleashed an offensive flurry in the seventh scoring five runs to roar ahead and hold on for a stunning 7 5 victory 43 Zack Greinke threw his third complete game in a 3 0 shutout of the White Sox on May 4 and improved his record to 6 0 on the year with a 0 40 ERA 44 Greinke lost his first game of the season to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on May 9 in a 1 0 loss 45 Greinke pitched a complete game and his ERA rose to 0 51 45 Joakim Soria continued to battle injuries to his shoulder and his appearances were limited in the early part of May 37 46 He was placed on the disabled list and Sidney Ponson was sent to the bullpen in exchange for Luke Hochevar being called up from Triple A Omaha 47 In his first appearance of the season Hochevar lasted only two innings and allowed eight runs in a 12 3 loss to the Oakland Athletics 48 Entering the game Kansas City s team ERA led the American League but took a hit with Hochevar s performance 48 By the beginning of the fifth inning Oakland led the game 12 0 and the Royals never recovered and dropped their fourth consecutive game 48 The Royals lost all five games of their road trip against the Angels and Athletics after sweeping their four game homestand against the White Sox and Mariners Zack Greinke s eighth start of the season was delayed by two and half hours of rainfall but the Royals still won the game 8 1 against the Baltimore Orioles 49 The game was held at Kauffman Stadium and had a sell out crowd of 38 353 along with many other games in the season selling out for Greinke s starts 49 50 The Royals split their four game home series against the Orioles 51 On May 19 Kansas City trailed Cleveland 5 2 entering the ninth inning but accomplished their biggest comeback victory of the season 52 After two consecutive home runs by Mike Jacobs and Mark Teahen the Royals rallied to a 6 5 victory after a sacrifice fly by Willie Bloomquist brought David DeJesus home for the winning run 52 Kansas City began Interleague play against their cross state rival St Louis Cardinals After losing the first two games of the series by scores of 5 0 53 54 the Royals fell to a 21 22 record and under the 500 mark for the first time since April 11 when they were 2 3 54 After optioning three players Mike Aviles Luke Hochevar and Robinson Tejeda to the inactive roster 55 Kansas City won the final game 3 2 and regained a 500 record on the season By the end of the month the Royals began to slip from the top of their division standings in the American League Central especially following a three game sweep by the Chicago White Sox left the team with a 23 27 record An 11 17 record in May dropped the Royals down to fourth place in the division June Edit Looking to rebound from a sub par month of May the Royals began June with a three game series at Tampa Bay on June 2 but continued to flounder dropping all three games They lost their eighth game in a row on June 5 at Toronto but broke the losing streak the next day thanks to a strong performance from Luke Hochevar In the 2009 Major League Baseball draft held on June 9 the Royals selected RHP Aaron Crow with the 12th overall selection Crow attended the University of Missouri was born in nearby Topeka Kansas and was a longtime Royals fan prior to being selected with the team 56 That same day the Royals defense and bullpen allowed eight unanswered runs to the Indians in an 8 4 loss 57 The loss dropped the Royals to fifth place in the American League Central Roster Edit 2009 Kansas City RoyalsRosterPitchers 49 John Bale 19 Brian Bannister 52 Bruce Chen 56 Roman Colon 37 Juan Cruz 28 Kyle Davies 41 Lenny DiNardo 40 Kyle Farnsworth 23 Zack Greinke 44 Luke Hochevar 31 Dusty Hughes 54 Anthony Lerew 32 Ron Mahay 47 Victor Marte 55 Gil Meche 47 Sidney Ponson 52 Horacio Ramirez 53 Carlos Rosa 48 Joakim Soria 51 Robinson Tejeda 45 Doug Waechter 34 Jamey Wright 57 Yasuhiko Yabuta Catchers 14 John Buck 21 Miguel Olivo 27 Brayan PenaInfielders 30 Mike Aviles 3 Yuniesky Betancourt 16 Billy Butler 13 Alberto Callaspo 4 Alex Gordon 46 Luis Hernandez 7 Tug Hulett 17 Mike Jacobs 1 Tony Pena Jr 24 Mark TeahenOutfielders 1 Josh Anderson 8 Willie Bloomquist 2 Coco Crisp 9 David DeJesus 26 Ryan Freel 11 Jose Guillen 35 Mitch Maier Manager 22 Trey HillmanCoaches 12 John Gibbons bench 18 Rusty Kuntz first base 33 Bob McClure pitching 50 John Mizerock bullpen 6 Dave Owen third base 36 Kevin Seitzer hitting Game log Edit 2009 game logApril 12 10 Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance RecordApril 6 White Sox Postponed1 April 7 White Sox 4 2 Dotel 1 0 Farnsworth 0 1 Jenks 1 37 449 0 12 April 8 White Sox 2 0 Greinke 1 0 Floyd 0 1 Soria 1 22 817 1 13 April 9 White Sox 2 1 Mahay 1 0 Jenks 0 1 Soria 2 18 091 2 14 April 10 Yankees 4 1 Pettitte 1 0 Ponson 0 1 Rivera 1 38 098 2 25 April 11 Yankees 6 1 Sabathia 1 1 Ramirez 0 1 31 271 2 36 April 12 Yankees 6 4 Cruz 1 0 Coke 0 1 Soria 3 17 629 3 37 April 13 Indians 4 2 Greinke 2 0 Carmona 0 2 Soria 4 10 061 4 38 April 14 Indians 9 3 Davies 1 0 Pavano 0 2 11 756 5 39 April 15 Indians 5 4 Lewis 1 0 Farnsworth 0 2 Wood 1 13 589 5 410 April 17 Rangers 12 3 Meche 1 0 Harrison 0 2 24 062 6 411 April 18 Rangers 2 0 Greinke 3 0 Millwood 1 1 37 635 7 412 April 19 Rangers 6 5 Francisco 1 0 Farnsworth 0 3 27 635 7 513 April 21 Indians 8 7 Laffey 1 0 Ponson 0 2 Wood 2 11 408 7 614 April 22 Indians 2 0 Bannister 1 0 Lee 1 3 Soria 5 13 509 8 615 April 23 Indians 5 2 Lewis 2 2 Meche 1 1 Wood 3 12 852 8 716 April 24 Tigers 6 1 Greinke 4 0 Porcello 1 2 36 363 9 717 April 25 Tigers 9 1 Miner 2 1 Davies 1 1 37 647 9 818 April 26 Tigers 3 2 Galarraga 3 0 Ponson 0 3 Rodney 4 13 520 9 919 April 27 Blue Jays 7 1 Bannister 2 0 Purcey 0 2 9 685 10 920 April 28 Blue Jays 8 1 Richmond 3 0 Meche 1 2 15 191 10 1021 April 29 Blue Jays 11 3 Greinke 5 0 Tallet 1 1 10 619 11 1022 April 30 Blue Jays 8 6 Davies 2 1 Burres 0 2 Cruz 1 11 896 12 10May 11 17 Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record23 May 1 Twins 7 5 Slowey 4 0 Ponson 0 4 Nathan 4 24 727 12 1124 May 2 Twins 10 7 11 Soria 1 0 Breslow 0 1 29 061 13 1125 May 3 Twins 7 5 Meche 2 2 Baker 0 4 Soria 6 31 845 14 1126 May 4 White Sox 3 0 Greinke 6 0 Colon 2 2 21 843 15 1127 May 5 White Sox 8 7 11 Cruz 2 0 Broadway 0 1 13 419 16 1128 May 6 Mariners 9 1 Ponson 1 4 Silva 1 3 15 324 17 1129 May 7 Mariners 3 1 Bannister 3 0 Washburn 3 2 Soria 7 32 714 18 1130 May 8 Angels 4 1 Palmer 3 0 Meche 2 3 Fuentes 8 41 019 18 1231 May 9 Angels 1 0 Saunders 5 1 Greinke 6 1 39 776 18 1332 May 10 Angels 4 3 Shields 1 2 Wright 0 1 Fuentes 9 43 646 18 1433 May 12 Athletics 12 3 Cahill 2 2 Hochevar 0 1 10 156 18 1534 May 13 Athletics 7 2 Outman 1 0 Bannister 3 1 16 057 18 1635 May 14 Orioles 9 5 Guthrie 3 3 Meche 2 4 24 431 18 1736 May 15 Orioles 8 1 Greinke 7 1 Eaton 2 4 38 353 19 1737 May 16 Orioles 3 2 Hill 1 0 Davies 2 2 Sherrill 7 26 720 19 1838 May 17 Orioles 7 4 Cruz 3 0 Johnson 2 2 22 791 20 1839 May 19 Indians 6 5 Farnsworth 1 3 Wood 1 2 25 024 21 1840 May 20 Indians 6 5 Laffey 3 0 Ponson 1 5 Wood 6 19 652 21 1941 May 21 Indians 8 3 Pavano 4 4 Ramirez 0 2 Betancourt 1 23 095 21 2042 May 22 Cardinals 5 0 Wellemeyer 4 4 Davies 2 3 43 429 21 2143 May 23 Cardinals 5 0 Lohse 4 3 Hochevar 0 2 43 829 21 2244 May 24 Cardinals 3 2 Bannister 4 1 Pineiro 5 4 Cruz 2 44 213 22 2245 May 25 Tigers 13 1 Verlander 5 2 Meche 2 5 34 524 22 2346 May 26 Tigers 6 1 Greinke 8 1 Jackson 4 3 16 366 23 2347 May 27 Tigers 8 3 Porcello 6 3 Davies 2 4 16 568 23 2448 May 29 White Sox 11 2 Richard 2 0 Bannister 4 2 26 495 23 2549 May 30 White Sox 5 3 Linebrink 2 2 Cruz 3 1 Jenks 11 37 894 23 2650 May 31 White Sox 7 4 Thornton 2 1 Bale 0 1 Jenks 12 19 855 23 27June 10 16 Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record51 June 2 Rays 6 2 Sonnanstine 4 5 Davies 2 5 13 604 23 2852 June 3 Rays 9 0 Niemann 5 4 Bannister 4 3 15 256 23 2953 June 4 Rays 3 2 Shields 5 4 Wright 0 2 Howell 2 16 103 23 3054 June 5 Blue Jays 9 3 Romero 3 2 Greinke 8 2 15 435 23 3155 June 6 Blue Jays 6 2 Hochevar 1 2 Richmond 4 3 16 552 24 3156 June 7 Blue Jays 4 0 Halladay 10 1 Davies 2 6 21 071 24 3257 June 9 Indians 8 4 Perez 1 1 Cruz 3 2 15 038 24 3358 June 10 Indians 9 0 Meche 3 5 Pavano 6 5 16 257 25 3359 June 11 Indians 4 3 10 Herges 2 0 Farnsworth 1 4 14 342 25 3460 June 12 Reds 4 1 Hochevar 2 2 Maloney 0 1 32 959 26 3461 June 13 Reds 7 4 Davies 3 6 Arroyo 7 5 29 574 27 3462 June 14 Reds 7 1 Bannister 5 3 Cueto 6 4 24 525 28 3463 June 16 Diamondbacks 5 0 Meche 4 5 Davis 3 8 26 974 29 3464 June 17 Diamondbacks 12 5 Scherzer 4 4 Greinke 8 3 29 777 29 3565 June 18 Diamondbacks 12 5 Haren 6 4 Hochevar 2 3 14 129 29 3666 June 19 Cardinals 10 5 Thompson 2 2 Davies 3 7 37 660 29 3767 June 20 Cardinals 7 1 Carpenter 5 1 Bannister 5 4 Franklin 17 38 769 29 3868 June 21 Cardinals 12 5 Wainwright 8 4 Meche 4 6 33 805 29 3969 June 23 Astros 2 1 Greinke 9 3 Ortiz 3 3 Soria 8 30 049 30 3970 June 24 Astros 4 3 Soria 2 0 Fulchino 2 3 Bale 1 28 602 31 3971 June 25 Astros 5 4 Wright 2 1 Bannister 5 5 Valverde 6 32 048 31 4072 June 26 Pirates 5 3 Vasquez 1 0 Meche 4 7 Capps 17 18 458 31 4173 June 27 Pirates 6 2 Maholm 5 4 Chen 0 1 36 032 31 4274 June 28 Pirates 3 2 Greinke 10 3 Morton 0 1 Soria 9 25 888 32 4275 June 29 Twins 4 2 Hochevar 3 3 Blackburn 6 4 Soria 10 22 066 33 4276 June 30 Twins 2 1 Baker 6 6 Bannister 5 6 Nathan 20 19 310 33 43July 7 19 Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record77 July 1 Twins 5 1 Perkins 4 4 Meche 4 8 Nathan 21 18 906 33 4478 July 2 White Sox 4 1 Buehrle 8 2 Chen 0 2 Jenks 19 17 964 33 4579 July 3 White Sox 5 0 Danks 7 6 Greinke 10 4 Linebrink 2 39 026 33 4680 July 4 White Sox 6 4 Hochevar 4 3 Floyd 6 6 Soria 11 18 182 34 4681 July 5 White Sox 6 3 Bannister 6 6 Richard 3 2 Soria 12 15 915 35 4682 July 6 Tigers 4 3 Colon 1 0 Rodney 0 2 Soria 13 32 134 36 4683 July 7 Tigers 8 5 Verlander 9 4 Chen 0 3 Rodney 18 29 751 36 4784 July 8 Tigers 3 1 French 1 0 Greinke 10 5 Rodney 19 29 104 36 4885 July 9 Red Sox 8 4 Hochevar 5 3 Masterson 3 3 Soria 14 38 189 37 4886 July 10 Red Sox 1 0 Lester 8 6 Bannister 6 7 Papelbon 23 38 116 37 4987 July 11 Red Sox 15 9 Smoltz 1 2 Meche 4 9 37 825 37 5088 July 12 Red Sox 6 0 Beckett 11 3 Chen 0 4 37 612 37 5189 July 17 Rays 8 7 Nelson 3 0 Cruz 3 3 Howell 7 33 568 37 5290 July 18 Rays 4 2 Bradford 1 0 Cruz 3 4 30 288 37 5391 July 19 Rays 4 3 Balfour 4 1 Wright 0 3 Howell 9 18 934 37 54July 20 Angels Postponed rain Rescheduled for July 2192 July 21 Angels 8 5 Santana 3 5 Ponson 1 6 Fuentes 29 N A 37 5593 July 21 Angels 10 2 O Sullivan 3 0 Chen 0 5 23 874 37 5694 July 22 Angels 9 6 Speier 4 2 Colon 1 1 Fuentes 30 18 078 37 5795 July 24 Rangers 2 0 Feldman 9 3 Greinke 10 6 Wilson 10 25 012 37 5896 July 25 Rangers 6 3 Hochevar 6 3 Holland 3 6 Soria 15 27 602 38 5897 July 26 Rangers 7 2 Nippert 3 0 Mahay 1 1 16 847 38 5998 July 27 Orioles 5 3 Tejeda 1 0 Albers 1 4 Soria 16 15 169 39 5999 July 28 Orioles 4 3 11 Wright 1 3 Baez 4 4 Soria 17 21 545 40 59100 July 29 Orioles 7 3 Albers 2 4 Tejeda 1 1 Johnson 2 19 741 40 60101 July 30 Orioles 7 3 Bergesen 7 5 Hochevar 6 4 19 194 40 61103 July 31 Rays 8 2 Price 4 4 Ponson 1 7 26 596 40 62August 10 19 Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record103 August 1 Rays 7 1 Niemann 10 5 Chen 0 6 36 973 40 63104 August 2 Rays 4 1 Bannister 7 7 Shields 6 8 Soria 18 27 930 41 63105 August 3 Rays 10 4 Kazmir 6 6 Greinke 10 7 24 219 41 64106 August 4 Mariners 7 6 Kelley 3 1 Wright 1 4 Aardsma 26 15 057 41 65107 August 5 Mariners 11 6 French 2 2 Davies 3 8 27 805 41 66108 August 6 Mariners 8 2 Chen 1 6 Vargas 3 6 15 103 42 66109 August 7 Athletics 9 4 Mazzaro 3 8 Bannister 7 8 21 918 42 67110 August 8 Athletics 12 6 Greinke 11 7 Mortensen 0 1 29 818 43 67111 August 9 Athletics 6 3 Anderson 7 8 Hochevar 6 5 Bailey 16 19 439 43 68112 August 11 Twins 14 6 Davies 4 8 Blackburn 8 7 32 121 44 68113 August 12 Twins 7 1 Liriano 5 11 Bannister 7 9 30 105 44 69114 August 13 Twins 5 4 Meche 5 9 Pavano 10 9 Soria 19 32 373 45 69115 August 14 Tigers 1 0 Lyon 5 4 Colon 1 2 34 799 45 70116 August 15 Tigers 0 3 Jackson 6 6 Hochevar 9 5 37 276 45 71117 August 16 Tigers 3 2 10 Soria 3 0 Rodney 2 3 32 888 46 71118 August 17 White Sox 8 7 Linebrink 3 5 Colon 1 3 Jenks 25 36 703 46 72119 August 18 White Sox 4 5 Meche 6 9 Garcia 0 1 Soria 20 28 812 47 72120 August 19 White Sox 4 2 Contreras 5 11 Greinke 11 8 Jenks 26 25 786 47 73121 August 21 Twins 5 4 Nathan 2 1 Soria 3 1 22 283 47 74122 August 22 Twins 8 7 Duensing 1 1 Davies 4 9 Guerrier 1 33 811 47 75123 August 23 Twins 10 3 Pavano 11 9 Bannister 7 10 18 680 47 76124 August 24 Indians 10 6 Sowers 5 9 Soria 3 2 11 101 47 77125 August 25 Indians 6 2 Greinke 12 8 Masterson 4 5 17 353 47 78126 August 26 Indians 4 2 Huff 8 7 Hochevar 6 7 Wood 16 10 751 48 78127 August 27 Mariners 8 4 Davies 5 9 Fister 1 1 19 345 49 78128 August 28 Mariners 6 3 Hernandez 13 5 Bannister 7 11 Aardsma 31 26 714 49 79129 August 29 Mariners 8 4 Snell 5 9 Meche 6 10 26 457 49 80130 August 30 Mariners 3 0 Greinke 13 8 Rowland Smith 2 2 30 286 50 80131 August 31 Athletics 8 5 Breslow 6 7 Hochevar 6 8 Bailey 21 10 376 50 81September 14 11 Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record132 September 1 Athletics 4 3 Davies 6 9 Marshall 0 2 Soria 21 10 039 51 81133 September 2 Athletics 10 4 Cahill 8 12 Bannister 7 12 13 920 51 82134 September 4 Angels 2 1 Weaver 14 5 Wright 1 5 Fuentes 38 17 447 51 83135 September 5 Angels 2 1 11 Jepsen 5 3 Yabuta 0 1 Fuentes 39 22 628 51 84136 September 6 Angels 7 2 Saunders 12 7 Hochevar 6 9 16 745 51 85137 September 7 Angels 6 3 Davies 7 9 Santana 7 8 Soria 22 18 453 52 85137 September 8 Tigers 7 5 Yabuta 1 1 Seay 5 3 Soria 23 12 032 53 85138 September 9 Tigers 5 1 Tejeda 2 1 Verlander 16 8 Soria 24 10 584 54 85139 September 10 Tigers 7 4 Colon 2 3 Miner 6 5 Rosa 1 12 029 55 85141 September 11 Indians 2 1 Wright 2 5 Veras 4 3 Soria 25 26 006 56 85142 September 12 Indians 13 6 Huff 10 7 Hochevar 6 10 24 842 56 86143 September 13 Indians 7 0 Davies 8 9 Carrasco 0 2 21 153 57 86144 September 15 Tigers 11 1 Tejeda 3 1 Washburn 9 9 20 422 58 86145 September 16 Tigers 4 3 Miner 7 5 DiNardo 0 1 Rodney 33 25 400 58 87146 September 17 Tigers 9 2 Greinke 14 8 Jackson 12 7 26 457 59 87147 September 18 White Sox 11 0 Hochevar 7 10 Buehrle 12 9 29 179 62 87148 September 19 White Sox 13 3 Peavy 1 0 Hughes 0 1 28 329 60 88149 September 20 White Sox 2 1 Tejeda 4 1 Garcia 2 3 Soria 26 22 798 61 88150 September 21 Red Sox 12 9 Yabuta 2 1 Bard 2 2 Soria 27 16 770 62 88151 September 22 Red Sox 5 1 Greinke 15 8 Byrd 1 2 Soria 28 21 228 63 88152 September 23 Red Sox 9 2 Beckett 16 6 Hochevar 7 11 18 989 63 89153 September 24 Red Sox 10 3 Buchholz 7 3 Lerew 0 1 20 807 63 90154 September 25 Twins 9 4 Pavano 13 11 Tejeda 4 2 23 307 63 91155 September 26 Twins 11 6 Baker 14 9 DiNardo 0 2 30 690 63 92156 September 27 Twins 4 1 Greinke 16 8 Liriano 5 13 Soria 29 28 721 64 92157 September 28 Yankees 8 2 Gaudin 2 0 Hochevar 7 12 45 348 64 93158 September 29 Yankees 4 3 Bruney 5 0 Farnsworth 1 5 44 794 64 94159 September 30 Yankees 4 3 Wright 3 5 Marte 1 3 Soria 30 46 956 65 94October 0 3 Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record160 October 2 Twins 10 7 Manship 1 1 DiNardo 0 3 Nathan 46 40 223 65 95161 October 3 Twins 5 4 Rauch 5 1 Hughes 0 2 Nathan 47 48 644 65 96162 October 4 Twins 13 4 Pavano 14 12 Hochevar 7 13 51 155 65 97Player stats EditBatting Edit Note G Games played AB At bats R Runs scored H Hits 2B Doubles 3B Triples HR Home runs RBI Runs batted in AVG Batting average SB Stolen bases Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB C Miguel Olivo 114 390 51 97 15 5 23 65 249 5 1B Billy Butler 159 608 78 183 51 1 21 93 301 1 2B Alberto Callaspo 155 576 79 173 41 8 11 73 300 2 SS Yuniesky Betancourt 71 246 25 59 10 5 4 27 240 0 3B Mark Teahen 144 524 69 142 34 1 12 50 271 8 LF David DeJesus 144 558 74 157 28 9 13 71 281 4 CF Mitch Maier 127 341 42 83 15 3 3 31 243 9 RF Jose Guillen 81 281 30 68 8 0 9 40 242 1 DH Mike Jacobs 128 434 46 99 16 1 19 61 228 0 UT Willie Bloomquist 125 434 52 115 11 8 4 29 265 25 CF Coco Crisp 49 180 30 41 8 5 3 14 228 13 C John Buck 59 186 16 46 12 4 8 36 247 1 3B Alex Gordon 49 164 28 38 6 0 6 22 232 5 C Brayan Pena 64 165 17 45 10 0 6 18 273 0 SS Mike Aviles 36 120 10 22 3 1 1 8 183 1 CF Josh Anderson 44 118 20 28 3 0 1 8 237 12 SS Luis Hernandez 37 73 4 15 1 0 0 4 205 1 SS Tony Pena Jr 40 51 3 5 1 0 0 2 098 0 OF Ryan Freel 18 45 8 11 2 0 0 3 244 0 UT Tug Hulett 15 18 4 2 0 0 0 1 111 0Pitching Edit Note W Wins L Losses ERA Earned run average G Games pitched GS Games started SV Saves IP Innings pitched H Hits allowed R Runs allowed ER Earned runs BB Walks SO Strikeouts Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER BB SO SP Zack Greinke 16 8 2 16 33 33 0 229 1 195 64 65 51 242 SP Brian Bannister 7 12 4 73 26 26 0 154 0 161 94 81 50 98 SP Luke Hochevar 7 13 6 55 25 25 0 143 0 167 109 104 46 106 SP Gil Meche 6 10 5 09 23 23 0 129 0 144 81 73 58 95 SP Kyle Davies 8 9 5 27 22 22 0 123 0 122 76 72 66 86 CL Joakim Soria 3 2 2 21 47 0 30 53 0 44 14 13 16 69 RP Jamey Wright 3 5 4 33 65 0 0 79 0 73 51 38 44 60 RP Juan Cruz 3 4 5 72 46 0 2 50 1 46 34 32 29 38 RP Roman Colon 2 3 4 83 43 0 0 50 1 50 27 27 22 29 RP John Bale 0 1 5 72 43 0 1 28 1 34 19 18 18 24Robinson Tejeda 4 2 3 54 35 6 0 73 2 43 30 29 50 87Bruce Chen 1 6 5 78 17 9 0 62 1 74 42 40 25 32Sidney Ponson 1 7 7 36 14 9 0 58 2 79 50 48 25 32Ron Mahay 1 1 4 79 41 0 0 41 1 55 26 22 19 34Kyle Farnsworth 1 5 4 58 41 0 0 37 1 43 22 19 14 42Horacio Ramirez 0 2 5 96 19 1 0 22 2 27 16 15 11 13Lenny DiNardo 0 3 10 13 5 5 0 21 1 41 28 24 15 8Dusty Hughes 0 2 5 14 8 1 0 14 0 13 9 8 8 15Yasuhiko Yabuta 2 1 13 50 12 0 0 14 0 29 21 21 7 9Anthony Lerew 0 1 4 05 3 2 0 13 1 14 8 6 8 7Victor Marte 0 0 8 25 8 0 0 12 0 13 12 11 12 7Carlos Rosa 0 0 3 38 7 0 1 10 2 10 4 4 3 4Doug Waechter 0 0 8 44 5 0 0 5 1 9 5 5 3 3Awards and honors EditPlayer of the week Edit April 13 19 Zack Greinke shared with Ian Kinsler Texas Rangers 33 Pitcher of the month Edit April Zack Greinke 58 Pepsi clutch performer of the month Edit April Zack Greinke 59 Farm system EditSee also Minor League Baseball Level Team League ManagerAAA Omaha Royals Pacific Coast League Mike JirscheleAA Northwest Arkansas Naturals Texas League Brian PoldbergA Wilmington Blue Rocks Carolina League Brian RuppA Burlington Bees Midwest League Jim GabellaRookie Burlington Royals Appalachian League Nelson LirianoRookie AZL Royals Arizona League Julio BrunoRookie Idaho Falls Chukars Pioneer League Darryl KennedyReferences EditKansas City Royals Official web site a b Kaegel Dick April 5 2009 KC looks to carry hot hitting into opener MLB com Archived from the original on April 10 2009 Retrieved April 6 2009 a b c d Kaegel Dick September 17 2008 KC to open 09 season in Chicago MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved September 28 2008 a b Leach Matthew December 16 2008 Royals bow out of Furcal bidding MLB com Archived from the original on December 17 2008 Retrieved December 19 2008 Dutton Bob April 4 2010 Royals to Open 2010 Season With 70 1 million Payroll Kansas City Star Archived from the original on April 9 2010 Retrieved April 5 2010 USA Today Salaries Database USA Today October 24 2007 Retrieved April 5 2010 DeMarco Tony April 2 2009 Royals as contenders and other predictions NBC Sports at MSNBC com Archived from the original on April 5 2009 Retrieved April 6 2009 Celizic Mike April 6 2009 Opening Day brings a world of possibilities NBC Sports at MSNBC com Archived from the original on April 6 2009 Retrieved April 6 2009 a b c d e f Kaegel Dick October 13 2008 Seitzer Gibbons complete Royals staff MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved October 17 2008 Kaegel Dick November 10 2008 Free agent splash unlikely for Royals MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved December 10 2008 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kaegel Dick December 4 2008 Royals looking ahead to meetings MLB com Archived from the original on December 8 2008 Retrieved December 5 2008 Kaegel Dick December 2 2008 Relief will be KC s likely meetings focus MLB com Archived from the original on December 8 2008 Retrieved December 5 2008 Kaegel Dick December 8 2008 KC agenda includes beefing up pen MLB com Archived from the original on December 12 2008 Retrieved December 10 2008 a b c Kaegel Dick December 11 2008 Royals solidify bullpen at Meetings MLB com Archived from the original on December 14 2008 Retrieved December 12 2008 a b c Kaegel Dick December 9 2008 Furcal s final four includes Royals MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved December 10 2008 Passan Jeff December 10 2008 Royals are fourth team to bid on Furcal Yahoo Sports Archived from the original on December 13 2008 Retrieved December 10 2008 a b c d Kaegel Dick December 9 2008 Moore dismisses Francoeur rumor MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved December 10 2008 a b Kaegel Dick December 16 2008 Bale signs one year deal MLB com Archived from the original on December 18 2008 Retrieved December 19 2008 Kaegel Dick February 4 2009 KC Bannister agree on one year deal MLB com Archived from the original on February 9 2009 Retrieved February 6 2009 a b Kaegel Dick January 20 2009 Buck Peralta agree to one year deals MLB com Archived from the original on February 10 2009 Retrieved February 6 2009 a b Kaegel Dick December 13 2008 Four players non tendered by Royals MLB com Archived from the original on December 19 2008 Retrieved December 19 2008 Kaegel Dick January 19 2009 Royals Gobble avoid arbitration MLB com Archived from the original on January 25 2009 Retrieved February 6 2009 a b Beck Jason January 26 2009 Greinke inks four year deal with Royals MLB com Archived from the original on January 29 2009 Retrieved February 6 2009 Kaegel Dick December 8 2008 Grudzielanek declines arbitration offer MLB com Archived from the original on March 14 2012 Retrieved December 10 2008 Kaegel Dick October 30 2008 KC acquires power hitting Jacobs MLB com Archived from the original on November 2 2008 Retrieved October 30 2008 Kansas City Royals press release November 19 2008 Royals acquire Coco Crisp from Red Sox for Ramon Ramirez MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved November 19 2008 Postponed by weather Red Sox Rays White Sox Royals SI com Associated Press April 6 2009 Retrieved April 6 2009 Kaegel Dick April 8 2009 Farnsworth s setup role not in danger MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved April 22 2009 Kaegel Dick April 9 2009 Davies dominant Crisp seals it MLB com Archived from the original on April 12 2009 Retrieved April 9 2009 a b c Kaegel Dick April 12 2009 Late KC rally KOs Yanks sweep plans MLB com Archived from the original on April 15 2009 Retrieved April 12 2009 Gordon out at least 10 12 weeks Sports Illustrated Associated Press April 17 2009 Retrieved April 21 2009 Wills Todd April 18 2009 Royals back up Meche in rout of Rangers MLB com Archived from the original on April 23 2009 Retrieved April 21 2009 a b c Greinke records first career shutout extends scoreless innings streak to 34 ESPN com Associated Press April 18 2009 Archived from the original on April 22 2009 Retrieved April 20 2009 a b Sanchez Jamie April 20 2009 Greinke Kinsler AL Co Players of the Week MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved April 20 2009 a b c Young s homer the final blow as Texas rallies from two run deficit for victory ESPN com Associated Press April 19 2009 Archived from the original on April 22 2009 Retrieved April 20 2009 a b c Wills Todd April 19 2009 Pen defense keep KC from sweep MLB com Archived from the original on May 2 2009 Retrieved April 20 2009 a b Kaegel Dick April 22 2009 Bannister dominates Tribe in return MLB com Archived from the original on April 28 2009 Retrieved April 22 2009 a b Kaegel Dick April 30 2009 Royals ready to welcome back Soria MLB com Archived from the original on May 4 2009 Retrieved May 1 2009 a b c Kaegel Dick April 24 2009 Completely dominant Greinke dazzles MLB com Archived from the original on April 28 2009 Retrieved April 24 2009 a b c Gonzalez Alden April 28 2009 Greinke to don SI cover MLB com Archived from the original on March 14 2012 Retrieved April 28 2009 a b c Kaegel Dick April 30 2009 Buck s big day puts Royals alone in first MLB com Archived from the original on May 4 2009 Retrieved May 1 2009 a b Kaegel Dick April 29 2009 Greinke first in Majors to win five games Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved May 1 2009 Nystrom Thor May 3 2009 Soria s return a success as Royals win MLB com Archived from the original on May 6 2009 Retrieved May 4 2009 Nystrom Thor May 3 2009 Patience pays off in Royals win MLB com Archived from the original on June 7 2009 Retrieved May 4 2009 Kaegel Dick May 5 2009 Greinke shuts out Sox for win No 6 MLB com Archived from the original on May 13 2009 Retrieved May 5 2009 a b Kaegel Dick May 10 2009 Despite dominance Greinke given loss MLB com Archived from the original on May 13 2009 Retrieved May 10 2009 Kaegel Dick May 9 2009 Soria s shoulder status uncertain MLB com Archived from the original on May 13 2009 Retrieved May 10 2009 Kaegel Dick May 10 2009 Closer Soria place on disabled list MLB com Archived from the original on May 14 2009 Retrieved May 10 2009 a b c Eymer Rick May 13 2009 Hochevar blasted in loss to A s MLB com Archived from the original on May 16 2009 Retrieved May 13 2009 a b Kaegel Dick May 16 2009 Greinke storms to seventh victory MLB com Archived from the original on May 19 2009 Retrieved May 19 2009 Kaegel Dick May 18 2009 Greinke effect boosting KC s fortunes MLB com Archived from the original on May 23 2009 Retrieved May 19 2009 Kaegel Dick May 17 2009 Buck breaks tie brings home win for KC MLB com Archived from the original on May 23 2009 Retrieved May 19 2009 a b Kaegel Dick May 19 2009 Royals stun Tribe with four run ninth MLB com Archived from the original on May 23 2009 Retrieved May 19 2009 Kaegel Dick May 23 2009 Royals can t find big hit in I 70 opener MLB com Archived from the original on May 25 2009 Retrieved May 23 2009 a b Kaegel Dick May 23 2009 Royals bats remain silent in St Louis MLB com Archived from the original on May 26 2009 Retrieved May 23 2009 Kaegel Dick May 24 2009 Royals execute myriad player moves MLB com Archived from the original on May 28 2009 Retrieved May 24 2009 Kaegel Dick June 9 2009 KC brings Crow home in Round 1 MLB com Archived from the original on June 13 2009 Retrieved June 9 2009 Ellsesser Stephen June 9 2009 Royals cough up late lead to Indians MLB com Archived from the original on January 20 2010 Retrieved June 9 2009 Kaegel Dick May 5 2009 Greinke tops among AL hurlers in April MLB com Archived from the original on June 5 2009 Retrieved May 5 2009 Kaegel Dick May 7 2009 Greinke voted April s Pepsi Cluth winner MLB com Archived from the original on May 11 2009 Retrieved May 10 2009 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2009 Kansas City Royals season 2009 Kansas City Royals official site 2009 KC Royals at Baseball Reference 2009 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2009 Kansas City Royals season amp oldid 1100003310, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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