Major League Baseball team season
The Kansas City Royals ' season of 2011 Dayton Moore as general manager. The team was managed by Ned Yost in his first full season with the Royals. It was the 26th straight year of the Royals missing the playoffs.
Offseason
On November 10, 2010, the Royals traded outfielder David DeJesus for the right-handed, starting pitcher Vin Mazzaro from the Oakland Athletics and minor league pitcher Justin Marks. Mazzaro was 10–17 with a 4.72 ERA in 41 career Major League appearances, including 35 starts, for the Athletics in 2009 and 2010.[ 1]
Pitching
Bruce Chen began the year with a 4–1 record and 3.59 ERA in seven starts for the Royals. Chen was placed on the 15-day Disabled List on May 11 (retroactive to May 6), with a strain, and right-handed pitcher Vin Mazzaro was recalled from the Omaha Storm Chasers .[ 1] [ 1] 2+ 1 ⁄3 innings of relief, a team record for runs given up by one pitcher in a game, and the worst performance of a pitcher in the Major Leagues since the first half of the 20th century,– Mazzaro was optioned to Omaha, and left-hand relief pitcher Everett Teaford was called up to replace him.[ 2] 6+ 1 ⁄3 innings with a 22.74 ERA in his two appearances.
Regular season
The Royals opened the season at home on Thursday, March 31, in a four-game weekend series versus the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim . It was their first Opening Day meeting since 1975 when the Angels hosted the Royals. Luke Hochevar , who was the first-round draft pick of the Royals in 2006, was chosen to pitch in his first Opening Day start. He gave up four runs, including two sole home runs, in 5+ 2 ⁄3 innings for the loss. The opposing starter Jered Weaver pitched 6+ 1 ⁄3 scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season with Fernando Rodney closing the game in the ninth inning for his first save as the Angels defeated the Royals, 4–2. The attendance for the game was 40,055, (currently) the highest of any home game during the season. This game also saw the major league debut of three Royals rookie pitchers: Aaron Crow , Tim Collins , and Nathan Adcock .
After two games versus the Chicago White Sox , the Royals finished their home opening series with a 4–2 record and ½ game lead in their division. It was the best home opening series since 2004 when they also began the season at home by winning 4 out of 6 games. This season's series was notable because three of their wins came on their final at-bat, and the last three games each extended into extra innings.
Although the team was successful during the first half of April–occupying first place on eight of those days while winning 10 of 14 games–the latter half of the month saw the team lose nine games as they fell 4+ 1 ⁄2 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Indians . During a six-game losing streak while on the road, Royals pitchers gave up 17 home runs and had an ERA of 7.88. It included three games at Cleveland where the Indians were in the midst of a 14-home-game winning streak. With a 14–13 record, it was only the third time in 22 years that the Royals ended the month with more wins than losses; the last time was in 2009 .
The team's worst loss came at home on May 16 in a 19–1 rout by the Cleveland Indians. After giving up three walks to load the bases in the first inning, starting pitcher Kyle Davies left the game with an injury. Nathan Adcock replaced him and allowed two of the base runners to score–giving Davies his sixth loss of the season. Vin Mazzaro , who had been scheduled to start the next day, entered the game in the third inning and gave up 14 earned runs on 11 hits in just 2+ 1 ⁄3 innings. Three of the ten runs scored in the fourth inning came on a 3-run home run by Michael Brantley . The 18-run deficit matched the worst margin of defeat in the team's history which has occurred twice before, the most recent being the previous season on July 26 when the Minnesota Twins also won 19–1.[ 2]
Because of the Twins' plague of injuries, the Royals came out fourth place. During a stretch of games from September 11 to 17, the Royals won seven straight, giving them their longest winning record since the 2006 season. However, the Royals were no-hit to the fifth/sixth inning twice in a row (the first, a perfect game). During the last week of the season, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Louis Coleman were all struck by the flu, giving Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain a chance in the big leagues.
Season standings
American League Central
American League Wild Card
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Legend
Royals Win
Royals Loss
Game Postponed
2011 Game Log
#
Date
Opponent
Score
Win
Loss
Save
Attendance
Record
1
March 31
Los Angeles Angels L 2–4Weaver (1–0)Hochevar Rodney (1)40,055
0–1
2
April 1
Los Angeles Angels W 2–1Soria Kohn (0–1)13,302
1–1
3
April 2
Los Angeles Angels W 5–4Crow Jepsen (0–1)Soria 17,328
2–1
4
April 3
Los Angeles Angels W 12–9 (13) Collins Bulger (0–1)14,085
3–1
5
April 5
Chicago White Sox W 7–6 (12) Jeffress Peña (0–1)12,641
4–1
6
April 6
Chicago White Sox L 7–10 (12) Sale (1–0)O'Sullivan 13,360
4–2
7
April 8
@ Detroit Tigers
L 2–5Scherzer (2–0)Davies Valverde (2)44,799
4–3
8
April 9
@ Detroit Tigers
W 3–1Chen Coke (0–2)Soria 33,810
5–3
9
April 10
@ Detroit Tigers
W 9–5Hochevar Porcello (0–2)Soria 28,984
6–3
10
April 12
@ Minnesota Twins
L 3–4 (10) Hughes (1–0)Tejeda 38,154
6–4
11
April 13
@ Minnesota Twins
W 10–5Davies Liriano (0–3)Jeffress 36,286
7–4
12
April 14
Seattle Mariners W 5–1 (8) Chen Fister (0–3)8,811
8–4
13
April 15
Seattle Mariners W 6–5Hochevar Bédard (0–3)Soria 13,686
9–4
14
April 16
Seattle Mariners W 7–0O'Sullivan Hernández (1–2)22,364
10–4
15
April 17
Seattle Mariners L 2–3Pineda (2–1)Francis League (3)19,424
10–5
16
April 18
Cleveland Indians L 3–7 (10) Smith (1–0)Collins 12,214
10–6
17
April 19
Cleveland Indians W 5–4Chen Gómez (0–1)Soria 10,506
11–6
18
April 20
Cleveland Indians L 5–7Masterson (4–0)Hochevar (2–2)Perez (6)10,080
11–7
19
April 21
Cleveland Indians W 3–2Crow Perez (0–1)9,279
12–7
20
April 22
@ Texas Rangers
L 6–11Holland (3–1)Francis 45,769
12–8
21
April 23
@ Texas Rangers
L 1–3Ogando (3–0)Davies Oliver (1)45,506
12–9
22
April 24
@ Texas Rangers
L 8–7Wilson (3–0)Chen Rhodes (1)28,284
12–10
23
April 26
@ Cleveland Indians
L 4–9Masterson (5–0)Hochevar 9,650
12–11
24
April 27
@ Cleveland Indians
L 2–7Tomlin (4–0)Francis 9,722
12–12
25
April 28
@ Cleveland Indians
L 2–8Carmona (2–3)Davies 9,076
12–13
26
April 29
Minnesota Twins W 4–3Wood Burnett (0–1)Soria 31,407
13–13
27
April 30
Minnesota Twins W 11–2Adcock Duensing (2–1)22,099
14–13
#
Date
Opponent
Score
Win
Loss
Save
Attendance
Record
28
May 1
Minnesota Twins W 10–3Hochevar Pavano (2–3)18,108
15–13
29
May 3
Baltimore Orioles W 6–5 (10) Collins Berken (0–2)11,986
16–13
30
May 4
Baltimore Orioles L 2–3Arrieta (4–1)Davies Gregg (6)11,130
16–14
31
May 5
Baltimore Orioles W 9–1Chen Tillman (1–3)29,927
17–14
32
May 6
Oakland Athletics L 2–3Gonzalez (4–2)O'Sullivan Fuentes (8)30,690
17–15
33
May 7
Oakland Athletics W 4–3Soria McCarthy (1–3)25,828
18–15
34
May 8
Oakland Athletics L 2–5Ross (2–2)Francis Fuentes (9)22,435
18–16
35
May 10
@ New York Yankees
L 1–3García (2–2)Davies Rivera (13)41,275
18–17
36
May 11
@ New York Yankees
W 4–3 (11) Soria Carlyle (0–1)Coleman 40,164
19–17
37
May 12
@ New York Yankees
W 11–5O'Sullivan Nova (3–3)41,790
20–17
38
May 13
@ Detroit Tigers
L 1–3Verlander (4–3)Hochevar Valverde (9)33,641
20–18
39
May 14
@ Detroit Tigers
L 0–3Penny (4–3)Francis Valverde (10)37,647
20–19
–
May 15
@ Detroit Tigers
-
–
–
–
–
-
40
May 16
Cleveland Indians L 1–19Tomlin (5–1)Davies 12,242
20–20
41
May 17
Cleveland Indians L 3–7Carrasco (2–2)O'Sullivan 17,712
20–21
42
May 18
Texas Rangers L 4–5 (11) Rhodes (2–2)Jeffress Lowe (1)13,789
20–22
43
May 19
Texas Rangers W 2–1 (10) Holland Oliver (1–5)12,355
21–22
44
May 20
St. Louis Cardinals W 3–0Francis Carpenter (1–4)Soria 26,816
22–22
45
May 21
St. Louis Cardinals L 0–3Westbrook (4–3)Collins Salas (6)32,229
22–23
46
May 22
St. Louis Cardinals L 8–9 (10) Motte (2–1)Coleman Salas (7)28,195
22–24
47
May 24
@ Baltimore Orioles
L 3–5Simón (1–0)Soria 14,077
22–25
48
May 25
@ Baltimore Orioles
L 2–9Arrieta (6–2)Hochevar 15,740
22–26
49
May 26
@ Baltimore Orioles
L 5–6(12) Accardo (3–1)Coleman 22,720
22–27
50
May 27
@ Texas Rangers
W 12–7 (14) Wood Bush (0–1)39,390
23–27
51
May 28
@ Texas Rangers
L 1–10Harrison (5–4)O'Sullivan Tateyama (1)40,240
23–28
52
May 29
@ Texas Rangers
L 6–7Rhodes (3–2)Soria 45,011
23–29
53
May 30
Los Angeles Angels L 8–10Jepsen (1–2)Soria Rodney (3)24,406
23–30
54
May 31
Los Angeles Angels W 7–3Francis Piñeiro (2–2)14,174
24–30
#
Date
Opponent
Score
Win
Loss
Save
Attendance
Record
55
June 1
Los Angeles Angels W 2–0Collins Downs (3–2)12,022
25–30
56
June 2
Minnesota Twins L 2–8Swarzak (1–2)O'Sullivan 14,584
25–31
57
June 3
Minnesota Twins L 2–5Pavano (3–5)Duffy 32,443
25–32
58
June 4
Minnesota Twins L 2–7Blackburn (5–4)Hochevar 27,861
25–33
59
June 5
Minnesota Twins L 0–6Duensing (3–5)Francis 21,704
25–34
60
June 6
Toronto Blue Jays W 3–2 (11) Soria Francisco (1–3)12,194
26–34
61
June 7
Toronto Blue Jays L 5–8Drabek (4–4)Mazzaro Rauch (7)16,539
26–35
62
June 8
Toronto Blue Jays L 8–9Villanueva (4–0)Duffy Janssen (1)12,152
26–36
63
June 9
Toronto Blue Jays W 3–2Hochevar Romero (5–6)Soria 13,941
27–36
64
June 10
@ Los Angeles Angels
W 4–2Francis Santana (3–6)Soria 38,254
28–36
65
June 11
@ Los Angeles Angels
L 5–7Downs (4–2)Collins Walden (14)38,911
28–37
66
June 12
@ Los Angeles Angels
W 9–0Mazzaro Chatwood (3–4)39,114
29–37
67
June 14
@ Oakland Athletics
W 7–4Duffy Cahill (6–5)Soria 11,439
30–37
68
June 15
@ Oakland Athletics
L 1–2Outman (2–1)Hochevar Bailey (2)16,392
30–38
69
June 16
@ Oakland Athletics
L 4–8Gonzalez (6–5)Francis 11,775
30–39
70
June 17
@ St. Louis Cardinals
W 5–4Wood Carpenter (1–7)Soria 40,674
31–39
71
June 18
@ St. Louis Cardinals
L 4–5Motte (3–1)Holland Salas (12)43,102
31–40
72
June 19
@ St. Louis Cardinals
L 4–5Salas (4–1)Collins 41,660
31–41
73
June 21
Arizona Diamondbacks L 2–7Saunders (4–7)Hochevar 19,305
31–42
74
June 22
Arizona Diamondbacks L 2–3Kennedy (8–2)Francis Putz (19)14,265
31–43
75
June 23
Arizona Diamondbacks L 3–5Hudson (9–5)Paulino Putz (20)23,610
31–44
76
June 24
Chicago Cubs L 4–6Marshall (4–2)Crow Mármol (16)32,921
31–45
77
June 25
Chicago Cubs W 3–2Holland Samardzija (5–4)Soria 38,744
32–45
78
June 26
Chicago Cubs W 6–3Hochevar Wells (1–2)Soria 28,401
33–45
79
June 27
@ San Diego Padres
L 3–4Latos (5–8)Francis Bell (21)23,635
33–46
80
June 28
@ San Diego Padres
L 2–4Richard (4–9)Paulino Bell (22)20,250
33–47
81
June 29
@ San Diego Padres
L 1–4Stauffer (4–5)Chen Bell (23)24,461
33–48
#
Date
Opponent
Score
Win
Loss
Save
Attendance
Record
82
July 1
@ Colorado Rockies
L 0–9Nicasio (3–1)Duffy 48,282
33–49
83
July 2
@ Colorado Rockies
L 6–9G. Reynolds (3–0)Davies Street (24)49,227
33–50
84
July 3
@ Colorado Rockies
W 16–8Wood Hammel (4–8)40,269
34–50
85
July 4
@ Chicago White Sox
L 4–5Santos (3–3)Crow 31,077
34–51
86
July 5
@ Chicago White Sox
W 5–3Paulino Peavy (4–2)Soria 20,695
35–51
87
July 6
@ Chicago White Sox
W 4–1Chen Jackson (5–7)Soria 27,233
36–51
88
July 7
Detroit Tigers L 1–3Scherzer (10–4)Duffy Valverde (22)16,355
36–52
89
July 8
Detroit Tigers L 4–6Porcello (8–6)Davies Valverde (23)34,563
36–53
90
July 9
Detroit Tigers W 13–6Holland Furbush (1–3)Teaford 25,941
37–53
91
July 10
Detroit Tigers L 1–2Verlander (12–4)Francis Valverde (24)18,373
37–54
92
July 14
@ Minnesota Twins
L 4–8Liriano (6–7)Chen 39,584
37–55
93
July 15
@ Minnesota Twins
W 2–1Collins Capps (2–5)Soria 39,177
38–55
94
July 16
@ Minnesota Twins
L 3–4Perkins (1–1)Francis Nathan (4)41,295
38–56
95
July 17
@ Minnesota Twins
L 3–4Duensing (7–7)Paulino Nathan (5)38,786
38–57
96
July 18
Chicago White Sox L 2–5Buehrle (7–5)Davies 17,190
38–58
97
July 19
Chicago White Sox W 4–2Duffy Peavy (4–4)Soria 20,126
39–58
98
July 20
Chicago White Sox W 2–1 (11) Crow Sale (2–1)13,831
40–58
99
July 22
Tampa Bay Rays W 10–4Hochevar Davis (7–7)27,824
41–58
100
July 23
Tampa Bay Rays W 5–4 (10) Soria Gomes (0–1)27,643
42–58
101
July 24
Tampa Bay Rays L 0–5Cobb (3–0)Paulino 23,735
42–59
102
July 25
@ Boston Red Sox
W 3–1 (14) Coleman Williams (0–1)Soria 37,727
43–59
103
July 26
@ Boston Red Sox
L 9–13Aceves (6–1)Adcock 37,460
43–60
104
July 27
@ Boston Red Sox
L 5–12Lackey (9–8)Chen 38,329
43–61
105
July 28
@ Boston Red Sox
W 4–3Hochevar Beckett (9–4)Soria 37,822
44–61
106
July 29
@ Cleveland Indians
W 12–0Francis Carrasco (8–9)35,390
45–61
107
July 30
@ Cleveland Indians
L 2–5Sipp (6–2)Soria 31,436
45–62
108
July 31
@ Cleveland Indians
W 5–3Duffy Carmona (5–11)Soria 21,101
46–62
#
Date
Opponent
Score
Win
Loss
Save
Attendance
Record
109
August 2
Baltimore Orioles L 2–8Simón (3–4)Chen 17,116
46–63
110
August 3
Baltimore Orioles W 6–2Hochevar Guthrie (5–15)Holland 14,187
47–53
111
August 4
Baltimore Orioles W 9–4Wood Britton (6–9)–
12,161
48–53
112
August 5
Detroit Tigers L 3–4 (10) Schlereth (1–1)Crow Valverde (31)28,565
48–64
113
August 6
Detroit Tigers L 3–4Verlander (16–5)Duffy Valverde (32)25,818
48–65
114
August 7
Detroit Tigers W 4–3Chen Scherzer (11–7)Soria 20,132
49–65
115
August 8
@ Tampa Bay Rays
L 1–2Farnsworth (4–1)Wood –
10,742
49–66
116
August 9
@ Tampa Bay Rays
L 0–4Shields (11–9)Francis –
10,124
49–67
117
August 10
@ Tampa Bay Rays
L 7–8McGee (1–1)Soria –
11,706
49–68
118
August 11
@ Tampa Bay Rays
L 1–4Niemann (7–4)Duffy Farnsworth (21)13,942
49–69
119
August 12
@ Chicago White Sox
W 5–1Chen Stewart (1–2)Holland 23,130
50–69
120
August 13
@ Chicago White Sox
L 4–5Crain (7–3)Hochevar Sale (4)24,854
50–70
121
August 14
@ Chicago White Sox
L 2–6Danks (5–9)Francis –
25,517
50–71
122
August 15
New York Yankees L 4–7Burnett (9–9)Paulino Rivera (31)24,879
50–72
123
August 16
New York Yankees L 7–9Nova (12–4)Duffy Rivera (32)22,258
50–73
124
August 17
New York Yankees W 5–4Chen Colón (8–7)Soria 22,435
51–73
125
August 18
Boston Red Sox L 3–4Beckett (10–5)Hochevar Papelbon (29)20,547
51–74
126
August 19
Boston Red Sox L 1–7Miller (5–1)Francis Aceves (2)21,262
51–75
127
August 20
Boston Red Sox W 9–4Paulino Albers (4–4)28,588
52–75
128
August 21
Boston Red Sox L 1–6Lester (13–6)Duffy 25,723
52–76
129
August 23
@ Toronto Blue Jays
W 6–4Chen Morrow (9–8)Soria 20,009
53–76
130
August 24
@ Toronto Blue Jays
L 3–4Litsch (5–3)Coleman Francisco (11)18,292
53–77
131
August 25
@ Toronto Blue Jays
W 9–6Francis Cecil (4–7)17,355
54–77
132
August 26
@ Cleveland Indians
L 1–2Jiménez (8–10)Paulino C. Perez (28)41,337
54–78
133
August 27
@ Cleveland Indians
L 7–8Smith (3–3)Coleman C. Perez (29)35,370
54–79
134
August 28
@ Cleveland Indians
W 2–1Chen Masterson (10–8)Soria 27,908
55–79
135
August 29
@ Detroit Tigers
W 9–5Hochevar Scherzer (13–8)Wood 32,423
56–79
136
August 30
@ Detroit Tigers
L 1–2 (10) Benoit (4–3)Crow 34,866
56–80
137
August 31
@ Detroit Tigers
L 4–5Schlereth (2–1)Wood Valverde (40)33,572
56–81
#
Date
Opponent
Score
Win
Loss
Save
Attendance
Record
138
September 1
@ Detroit Tigers
W 11–8Crow Coke (2–9)Soria 39,084
57–81
139
September 2
Cleveland Indians L 4–5Masterson (11–8)Chen Perez (31)27,251
57–82
140
September 3
Cleveland Indians W 5–1Hochevar Huff (2–3)27,126
58–82
141
September 4
Cleveland Indians L 6–9Gómez (2–2)Francis Perez (32)34,015
58–83
142
September 5
@ Oakland Athletics
W 11–6Holland Bailey (0–4)14,577
59–83
143
September 6
@ Oakland Athletics
W 7–4Duffy Gonzalez (12–12)Soria 12,064
60–83
144
September 7
@ Oakland Athletics
L 0–7Moscoso (8–8)Chen 13,132
60–84
145
September 8
@ Seattle Mariners
L 1–4Vargas (8–13)Hochevar League (34)14,377
60–85
146
September 9
@ Seattle Mariners
L 3–7Beavan (4–5)Francis 14,805
60–86
147
September 10
@ Seattle Mariners
W 4–2Paulino Pineda (9–10)Soria 17,884
61–86
148
September 11
@ Seattle Mariners
W 2–1Teaford Vasquez (1–3)Soria 20,951
62–86
149
September 13
Minnesota Twins W 4–0Chen Pavano (8–12)25,253
63–86
150
September 14
Minnesota Twins W 7–3Hochevar Hendriks (0–2)Holland 19,076
64–86
151
September 15
Chicago White Sox W 7–2Francis Buehrle (11–9)17,737
65–86
152
September 16
Chicago White Sox W 7–6Holland Thornton (1–5)24,918
66–86
153
September 17
Chicago White Sox W 10–3Teaford Stewart (2–5)Adcock 31,264
67–86
154
September 18
Chicago White Sox L 5–10Danks (7–12)Chen 29,480
67–87
155
September 20
Detroit Tigers W 10–2Mendoza Penny (10–11)26,953
68–87
156
September 21
Detroit Tigers L 3–6Fister (10–13)Herrera Valverde (47)28,776
68–88
157
September 23
@ Chicago White Sox
W 11–1Chen Stewart (2–6)21,744
69–88
158
September 24
@ Chicago White Sox
L 3–6Danks (8–12)Teaford 26,249
69–89
159
September 25
@ Chicago White Sox
W 2–1Mendoza Floyd (12–13)Holland 22,018
70–89
160
September 26
@ Minnesota Twins
W 7–3Paulino Slowey (0–8)34,847
71–89
161
September 27
@ Minnesota Twins
L 4–7Swarzak (4–7)O'Sullivan 34,228
71–90
162
September 28
@ Minnesota Twins
L 0–1Pavano (9–13)Wood 36,488
71–91
Roster
2011 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Manager
Coaches
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
Stats through September 28, 2011
Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
Stats through September 28, 2011.
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Omaha
References
External links
Franchise Ballparks Culture Lore Team Hall of Fame Minor league Key personnel World Series American League Division titles
Seasons (57)
1960s
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