The

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

' 2008 season began with the team searching for its 15th manager in franchise history.

Trey Hillman Thomas Brad "Trey" Hillman (born January 4, 1963) is an American professional baseball coach. He has also served as the manager of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League, the Kansas City Royals in the American League and the SK ...

, former minor league baseball and

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...

(

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

) manager, was hired as the team's skipper on October 19, 2007.Kaegel, Dick
Royals introduce Hillman as new manager
''MLB.com'', October 22, 2007. The team looked to improve upon its record of 69–93 from 2007. The team's payroll for the 2008 season was initially estimated to be around $57 million,Associated Press
Cabrera homers in Tiger's debut but Royals prevail in 11
''ESPN.com'', March 31, 2008. and wound up at $58 million (24th in the major leagues). Despite another last-place finish in 2007, the Royals sought a breakout season in 2008.Kaegel, Dick
KC hopes for Winter Meeting encore
''MLB.com'', November 28, 2007. Renovations to

Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhead ...

were ongoing throughout the 2008 season and it was completed in time for Opening Day in 2009. Following the team's 81st game, the mid-way point of the 2008 season, the Royals had a 37–44 record. The closest the team managed to crawl back to a .500 record after their 9–6 start to the season was within 6 games in mid-July. After compiling a 7–20 record in August, the Royals were eliminated from recording their first winning season since 2003. However, an 18–8 record in September let the Royals finish with a 75–87 record, their best since 2003.

Offseason

Coaching search

Buddy Bell announced his resignation at the end of the 2007 season after serving two and half seasons with the Royals. Early candidates to assume the manager's position included Royals bench coach Billy Doran,Dutton, Bob
Finding a manager tops Royals' offseason checklist
''Kansas City Star'', October 1, 2007. former Royals star Frank White, and Triple-A

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

manager Mike Jirschele. Former Major League managers such as

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. ...

Jim Fregosi James Louis Fregosi (April 4, 1942 – February 14, 2014) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , primarily for the Los Angeles / California Angels. He also played for th ...

Ken Macha Kenneth Edward Macha (; born September 29, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He managed the Oakland Athletics from 2003–2006, including American League Western Division championships in both his first and final ...

, and

Jimy Williams James Francis Williams (born October 4, 1943) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Santa Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as a seco ...

were also in consideration.

, who was considered a sleeper candidate, was chosen on October 19. Hillman was interviewed in 2007 by

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

. He was mentioned as a possible successor to

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

with

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Hillman had never played, coached or managed in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

prior to his hiring by the Royals.

Winter meetings

The Royals entered baseball's winter meetings in December 2007 with

José Guillén José Manuel Guillén (pronounced ; born May 17, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. Guillén played for ten Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in his career. Professional career Pittsburgh Pirates Guillén was signed b ...

and

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodg ...

atop their free-agent prospects list.

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 ...

was also considered by Kansas City before signing with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...

. The Royals signed Guillén to a three-year, $36 million contract, while Jones signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

. The acquisition of Guillén was the Royals' only major move at the winter meetings. Just before the meetings, the Royals had ministered to another need by signing reliever

Yasuhiko Yabuta is a Japanese former baseball pitcher. Yabuta made his professional debut with the Marines in 1996, and spent 12 years with the organization. He competed in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and struck out Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, and Derre ...

to a two-year deal with an option for 2010.Kaegel, Dick
Guillen deal spanned Winter Meetings
''MLB.com'', December 6, 2007. Yabuta, from the

league, was seen as the likely successor to

David Riske David Richard Riske ( ; born October 23, 1976) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Career Riske was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 56th round of the June amateur draft. In January , he was traded along with outfielder Coc ...

in a right-handed setup role. Riske left the Royals for a three-year, $13 million contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Hiroki Kuroda is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 1997 to 2007 before playing in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2008 to 2011 and ...

was on the Royals' radar, but several other teams were in pursuit as well,Kaegel, Dick
Royals join hunt for Kuroda
''MLB.com'', November 27, 2007. and the Dodgers signed him first. In the Rule 5 draft, the Royals picked up left-handed pitcher Ray Liotta from the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Roster moves

''Kansas City avoided

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ...

with all of its players for the 2008 season.'' * C John BuckKaegel, Dick
Three Royals exchange salary figures
''MLB.com'', January 18, 2008.Kaegel, Dick
Royals Winter Meeting checklist
''MLB.com'', November 28, 2007. * 1B Ross Gload * IF Estéban Germán * IF Jason Smith (released)Kaegel, Dick
Royals sign Duckworth, Smith
''MLB.com'', December 12, 2007.Kaegel, Dick
Royals cut ties with infielder Smith
''MLB.com'', January 4, 2008. * OF Mark TeahenKaegel, Dick
Royals sign pitcher Zack Greinke and outfielder Mark Teahen to one-year deals
''MLB.com'', February 7, 2008. * OF

Emil Brown Emil Quincy Brown (born December 29, 1974) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1997 to 2009 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and ...

(released) * LHP

Jorge de la Rosa Jorge Alberto de la Rosa Gonzalez (born April 5, 1981) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago ...

* RHP Zack Greinke * LHP

Jimmy Gobble Billy James Gobble (born July 19, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who last played in the Colorado Rockies organization. High school career Gobble attended John S. Battle High School in Bristol, Virginia and started four years on ...

* RHP Brandon Duckworth * RHP Román Colón * RHP

Luke Hudson Luke Stephen Hudson (born May 2, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Royals. Amateur career Hudson was born in Fountain Valley, California and graduated from Foun ...

Kaegel, Dick
Royals, Hudson agree on contract
''MLB.com'', January 8, 2008. *(x) = club option for 2008 *(m) = mutual option for 2008 *(y) = player option for 2008 Color Code Key

Trades

December 15—Traded RHP Billy Buckner to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

for IF

Alberto Callaspo Alberto José Callaspo Brito (, ; born April 19, 1983) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of ...

Return of the Powder Blues

After a lengthy absence, the Royals' powder blue uniforms returned in 2008. The new powder blue jerseys were unveiled to season-ticket holders on December 6, 2007, at a private event in

downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

.Kaegel, Dick
Royals to bring back powder blues
''MLB.com'', December 6, 2007. Royals players John Buck, Mark Teahen,

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professio ...

and

David DeJesus David Christopher DeJesus (; born December 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Ra ...

and manager

modeled the new power blue tops and white pants, which will be an alternate home jersey in 2008. The Royals previously wore powder-blue uniforms in away games from 1973 to 1991. The Royals debuted the jerseys on April 12 against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. The first 20,000 fans for the game received a replica powder blue No. 16 Billy Butler jersey.Kaegel, Dick
Powder blues popular in return
''MLB.com'', April 12, 2008. With that promotion, the game was a sellout. Manager

and seven players— Brian Bannister, Gil Meche,

Joey Gathright Joey Renard Gathright (born April 27, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Early life Gathright attended Bo ...

, Tony Peña Jr.,

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...

, Zack Greinke and Butler—helped hand out the free jerseys when the gates opened at 4 p.m. All 20,000 powder blue tops were handed out within 40 minutes after the gates opened.

Regular season

Suspensions

Outfielder

was to be suspended for 15 days (12 games) for violation of Major League Baseball's Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Kansas City signed Guillén knowing that he might have been suspended. Guillén was cited in the Mitchell Report when it was released on December 13, 2007. Guillén's suspension was put on hold for 10 days allowing him to play in the team's season and home openers.Associated Press
Gibbons, Guillén suspensions put on hold for 10 days
''ESPN.com'', March 29, 2008. The suspension was eventually upheld and Guillén never received any punishment.Kaegel, Dick
MLB commutes Guillen's suspension
''MLB.com'', April 11, 2008. Miguel Olivo faced a five-game suspension for fighting at

in the 2007 season while a member of the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

,Kaegel, Dick
Royals await appeals decisions
''MLB.com'', March 23, 2008. but the suspension was reduced to four games after an appeal.Kaegel, Dick
Guillen will play on Opening Day
''MLB.com'', March 28, 2008. He was eligible to begin playing on April 5 against the

Monthly summaries

March and April

On March 31, the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

hosted the Royals on Opening Day. Kansas City listed only 24 players on their active roster, as Miguel Olivo began serving his four-game suspension.Kaegel, Dick
Royals make final roster decisions
''MLB.com'', March 29, 2008. The roster listed 11 pitchers, 7 infielders, 4 outfielders, and 2 catchers. Gil Meche made his second consecutive Opening Day start for the Royals,Kaegel, Dick
Meche eyeing repeat performance
''MLB.com'', March 28, 2008. lasting six innings. The Royals won the game 5-4 in 11 innings, and went on to sweep the Tigers in the three-game series outscoring them 13-5. Kansas City hosted the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

for their home-opening series at

and won two of three games. Their 6–2 start was the franchise's best since

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

.Associated Press
Bannister, Royals drop A-Rod, Yanks for best start since 2003
''ESPN.com'', April 8, 2008. The Royals hosted the Twins from April 11–13, where game-time temperatures reached as low as 29 °F for the series.Associated Press
Liriano rocked by Royals in return as Bannister baffles Twins for win
''ESPN.com'', April 14, 2008. After losing the first two games and not scoring any runs, the Royals won the last game by a score of 5-1. Kansas City debuted their new alternate powder blue home jerseys to a sold-out crowd on April 12, with a replica jersey giveaway promotion.Associated Press
Cold weather rubs off on Royals as scoreless inning streak hits 26
''ESPN.com'', April 12, 2008. Brian Bannister threw a complete game and allowed only three hits on April 13 in a 5-1 win. The following night, Zack Greinke threw a complete game as well.Kaegel, Dick
Greinke, homers lift KC past Seattle
''MLB.com'', April 15, 2008. It was not until their 19th game of the season that the Royals fell under a .500 winning percentage in the middle of a seven-game losing streak after going 9–6 to start the season. When the streak was snapped they were 10–13. In 2007, the Royals lost their second game of the year and remained under .500 for the remainder of the season, finishing with a record of 69–93.

May

At the Royals' May 9 game against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, Kansas City-native

David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' * David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...

threw out the

ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...

and sang "

Take Me Out to the Ballgame "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song ...

" in the seventh inning stretch. At the time, Cook was a finalist on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

'', and he eventually won the competition.Associated Press
Hometown fans welcome back 'Idol' finalists
''MSNBC.com'', May 9, 2008. Brian Bannister threw a two-hitter on May 11 in a 4-0 win over

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

for the Royals' first victory over the Orioles after losing 12 consecutive games to the franchise. Through 40 games, Joakim Soria had a 0.00 ERA and ten saves, and the Royals signed him to a three-year contract extension through the 2011 season.Kaegel, Dick
Royals give contract extension to Soria
''MLB.com'', May 17, 2008. In early May, Kansas City completed their second series sweep against Detroit, advancing to 6-0 over the Tigers on the season.

Jon Lester Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. L ...

of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

against Kansas City on May 19.Kaegel, Dick
Royals victims of Lester's no-hitter
''MLB.com'', May 19, 2008. It was just the Royals' second game to register no hits against an opponent, and the first since May 15, 1973. The Royals endured a 12-game losing streak following the loss to Lester and the Red Sox, sending them 11 games under .500 and in last place of the

American League Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all lo ...

. The Royals started their May 31 game against

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

with the fewest runs, sacrifice flies, RBIs and walks in the major leagues, but beat reigning

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...

winner

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milw ...

4-2 to end their losing streak.Associated Press
Davies, Royals stop Sabathia, Indians to end 'miserable' 12-game slump
''ESPN.com'', May 31, 2008. The losing streak prompted

to criticize his team's performance with the media after a 9-8 loss to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

:Kaegel, Dick
Guillén, Royals frustrated after defeat
''MLB.com'', May 29, 2008. The Royals' losing streak was the longest in the majors since Kansas City and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

both had 13-game losing streaks in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

. While going almost two weeks without a win, Kansas City had allowed three grand slams, lost a five-run lead in the ninth inning of one game and scored three or fewer runs in nine others. It was the Royals' fourth time losing 12 consecutive games in franchise history, and all of the streaks have occurred since

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

.Kaegel, Dick
Royals reach Lee, but slide continues
''MLB.com'', May 31, 2008. The losing caused Kansas City to make roster changes by sending the struggling Billy Butler to Triple-A affiliate

. Mike Avilés was called up in exchange.Kaegel, Dick
Royals send Butler back to Triple-A
''MLB.com'', May 29, 2008.

June

Looking to rebound from their 12-game losing streak in May, the Royals started the month of June with 4 consecutive series wins over

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

opponents. Kansas City completed its first ever series sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis.Kaegel, Dick
Royals secure historic I-70 Series sweep
''MLB.com'', June 19, 2008. In 12 years of

Interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...

, the Cardinals still hold the I-70 Series lead, 26-22, but the Royals have done better in St. Louis, winning 11 of 21 games. On June 22, the Royals made an improbable comeback after trailing 6-0 and later 10-3 against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

. The Royals scored 8 unanswered runs and won the game and Joakim Soria recorded his 20th save of the season in 21 tries.Kaegel, Dick
Royals rally for win vs. Giants
''MLB.com'', June 22, 2008. Following a sweep of the defending National League champion

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

, the Royals boasted an MLB-best 12–3 record in Interleague play and won for the tenth time in 11 games.Kaegel, Dick
Royals run win streak to five in sweep
''MLB.com'', June 26, 2008. Following their 12-game skid ended in May, the Royals went 15–9, closed to within seven games of .500 and skipped out of last place of the

made controversial remarks about Royals fans following

booing Booing is an act of publicly showing displeasure for someone or something, such as an entertainer or an athlete, by loudly yelling "Boo!" and sustaining the "oo" sound by holding it out. People may also make hand signs such as the thumbs down sig ...

in the June 25 game against the Rockies which prompted him to apologize days later to the Royals fanbase and team management.Kaegel, Dick
Guillén apologizes to fans
''MLB.com'', June 28, 2008. Fans booed Guillén in the eighth inning of the Royals' 4-2 win. He grounded to

third baseman

Garrett Atkins Garrett Bernard Atkins (born December 12, 1979) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. Between 2003 and 2010, he played for the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles. Amateur career High school career Atkins attended Univer ...

and began a slow run toward first base. Atkins' throw was off target, forcing Todd Helton to leave the bag. If Guillén had been at full speed, he might have been safe.Kaegel, Dick
Guillén speaks out about fans boos
''MLB.com'', June 27, 2008. Guillén had been battling several injuries which had caused him to play easier in order to avoid the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. After defeating the Cardinals at

, the Royals boasted a six-game winning-streak, the team's best since their 9-0 start in the 2003 season. Billy Butler rejoined the team after

was involved in a

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

incident.Kaegel, Dick
Back from Minors, Butler rejoins Royals
''MLB.com'', June 28, 2008. At the Royals' home game against the Cardinals, the team inducted Art Stewart into the Royals Hall of Fame. Stewart became the first

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

to be inducted into any of

's franchise hall of fames, and the Royals' 23rd overall inductee.Kaegel, Dick
Stewart gets into Royals Hall of Fame
''MLB.com'', June 28, 2008. In the final game of the month, the Royals defeated the

after Miguel Olivo, on a 0-2 pitch, hit a game-tying home run into the left-field seats in the bottom of the 9th inning.

batted in the Royals' game-winning run and Joakim Soria closed out the game for his 22nd save.Kaegel, Dick
Olivo's heroics push Royals to victory
''MLB.com'', July 1, 2008. The Royals finished out the month of June with a 16–11 record.

July

Joakim Soria was selected to be the Royals' lone representative in the

2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadi ...

,Kaegel, Dick
Soria heading to All-Star Game
''MLB.com'', July 6, 2008. and

was named to the All-Star Final Vote ballot.Kaegel, Dick
Guillén trails slightly in Final Vote
''MLB.com'', July 7, 2008. Guillén was involved in a heated argument with pitching coach

Bob McClure Robert Craig McClure (born April 29, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1975 to 1993, most notably as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers with whom he ...

before the team's July 5 game against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

, but was not penalized for his actions.Kaegel, Dick
Guillén, pitching coach get into spat
''MLB.com'', July 6, 2007. At the All-Star break, the Royals boasted a record of 43–53, an improvement compared to their 38–50 record from 2007 and 31–56 record in 2006. On July 21, the Royals suffered their worst defeat of the season, and the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

registered their first victory over Kansas City in 2008 with a score of 19-4.Kaegel, Dick
Royals subjected to Tigers' revenge
''MLB.com'', July 22, 2008. By the seventh inning, it was 9-0 in favor of Detroit. The Tigers' 10-run eighth inning mostly came against

, who was charged with all 10 runs. At one point in the inning, Gobble allowed six straight hits, the last being a home run by

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played rig ...

. His ERA spiraled from 7.99 to 11.31. Gobble faced 12 hitters in the inning before Hillman finally called for Leo Núñez to substitute. The Royals, behind 19-0, finally broke through with four runs in their half of the eighth. They had five straight hits, including Billy Butler's two-run single. Manager

said following the game: Hillman decided to enlist shortstop Tony Peña Jr. to pitch the ninth inning for the Royals. Peña, who lost his starting shortstop job to Mike Avilés, pitched a one-two-three inning and registered 90 mph-plus on the radar gun. This was his first competitive pitching since high school in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. Peña was the first position player pressed into pitching service by the Royals since July 17, 1998, when infielder

Shane Halter Shane David Halter (born November 8, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball utility player. High school years Halter attended Hooks High School in Hooks, Texas and was a letterman in football, basketball, baseball, track, and golf. Halter pla ...

took a turn in an 18-5 loss at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

. On July 29,

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications ( ...

reported that

expressed his wish to be traded due to a bad relationship with manager

.Relationship with Hillman in tatters, Guillén wants out of K.C.
''ESPN.com'', July 29, 2008. When Guillén signed with Kansas City he knew the team wouldn't be a contender in 2008, but he was promised that moves would be made to build a winning team in 2009. Kansas City had not shown any interest in trading Guillén. The source said Guillén was ready to defer his salary for 2009 and 2010 if it were to help increase his value on the trading block. A "visibly upset" Guillén met with Hillman and denied the report.Kaegel, Dick
Guillén denies he wants out of KC
''MLB.com'', July 29, 2008. The trade deadline passed on July 31 and the Royals made no trades.Kaegel, Dick
Royals quiet on Thursday's trade front
''MLB.com'', July 31, 2008.

August

The Royals recorded a season-high 19 runs against the

on August 2 in a 9-7 win.Dent, Mark
Offensive onslaught paces Royals
''MLB.com'', August 2, 2008. The following day, Kansas City closed out the series against Chicago by winning 14-3.Kaegel, Dick
Royals rake early, tempers flare late
''MLB.com'', August 3, 2008. In two days, the Royals recorded 38 total hits for the first time in franchise history. The Royals finally fought back against the White Sox—who have dominated the Royals in years past—both literally and figuratively. Four players and both teams' managers were ejected from the game after confrontations over

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es. The Royals and White Sox played again in mid-August and on August 14 Kansas City allowed four consecutive home runs in the sixth inning to White Sox batters, tying the MLB record.Associated Press
Thome, Konerko, Ramirez, Uribe hit four straight homers in White Sox win
''ESPN.com'', August 14, 2008. Joel Peralta gave up the first three and Robinson Tejeda allowed the last home run after a pitching change.

had to be restrained from a heckling fan during the fourth inning of a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on August 26.Associated Press
Royals GM talks to Guillén about confrontation with fan
''ESPN.com'', August 27, 2008. Royals third base coach

Luis Silverio Luis Pascual (Delmonte) Silverio (born October 23, 1956) is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach, currently serving as the Senior Advisor to Latin American Operations for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

and others restrained Guillén, while security escorted to a new seat in

. Guillén met with Royals general manager Dayton Moore to discuss Guillén's public outburst, his fourth of the season. Royals manager

did not see the incident take place. "I was actually in the toilet, so I didn't see it", Hillman said. "Managers do have to use the restroom and I guess I picked a bad time to be in the restroom. I found out about it a half inning later. We talked about it briefly. There's no sense on commenting on it." Through 114 games, the Royals were just 7 games under .500, but winning only 7 out of 27 games in the month of August effectively assured Kansas City of another losing season.

September

Going into September, it seemed that the Royals' 7–20 record in August had doomed them to a last-place finish in the

,Falkoff, Robert
Royals hope to climb ranks in Central
''MLB.com'', September 20, 2008. but the team's best September since the 1977 season helped erase the losing record in the previous month. The Royals took control of fourth place in the division with another three-game sweep of Detroit.Kaegel, Dick
Royals sweep behind Bannister
''MLB.com'', September 25, 2008. The Royals tied their win total from the 2007 season (69) with a victory over the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

on September 18.Kaegel, Dick
Royals come out swinging in finale
''MLB.com'', September 18, 2008. The victory was the team's seventh consecutive victory. In their final series of the season, the Twins hosted the Royals.Kaegel, Dick
Royals getting a taste of pennant race
''MLB.com'', September 27, 2008. The Twins hold a ½ game lead in the

over the White Sox, and the Royals won two of three games, leading to a one-game playoff between the Twins and White Sox. The Royals finished the season with a 75–87 record, their best since 2003 thanks to an 18–8 mark in September.Twins close out season with win, turn attention to ChiSox-Tigers makeup
''ESPN.com'', September 28, 2008.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Game log

, - align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 1 , , March 31 , , @

, , 5 – 4 (11) , , Núñez (1-0) , , Bautista (0-1) , ,

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populati ...

(1) , , 44,934 , , 1-0 , - , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 2 , , April 2 , , @

, , 4 – 0 , , Bannister (1-0) , ,

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

(0-1) , , , , 32,348 , , 2-0 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 3 , , April 3 , , @

, , 4 – 1 , , Greinke (1-0) , , Bonderman (0-1) , ,

(2) , , 32,735 , , 3-0 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 4 , , April 4 , , @

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

, , 4 – 3 , ,

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Si ...

(1-0) , , Bale (0-1) , , Nathan (2) , , 21,847 , , 3-1 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 5 , , April 5 , , @

, , 6 – 4 , ,

Hernández Hernández is a widespread Spanish surname that became common around the 15th century. Originally a patronymic, it means son of Hernán, Hernando or Fernando—the Spanish version of Germanic Ferdinand. Fernández is a very common variant of the n ...

(2-0) , , Meche (0-1) , , Nathan (3) , , 21,262 , , 3-2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 6 , , April 6 , , @

, , 3 – 1 , , Tomko (1-0) , , Bonser (0-2) , ,

(3) , , 21,765 , , 4-2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 7 , , April 8 , ,

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

, , 5 – 2 , , Bannister (2-0) , ,

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

(0-1) , ,

(4) , , 37,296 , , 5-2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 8 , , April 9 , ,

, , 4 – 0 , , Greinke (2-0) , , Farnsworth (0-1) , , Gobble (1) , , 19,007 , , 6-2 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 9 , , April 10 , ,

, , 6 – 1 , , Pettitte (1-1) , , Bale (0-2) , , , , 16,143 , , 6-3 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 10 , , April 11 , ,

, , 5 – 0 , ,

(3-0) , , Meche (0-2) , , , , 16,691 , , 6-4 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 11 , , April 12 , ,

, , 2 – 0 , , Bonser (1-2) , , Tomko (1-1) , , Nathan (4) , , 36,300 , , 6-5 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 12 , , April 13 , ,

, , 5 – 1 , , Bannister (3-0) , , Liriano (0-1) , , , , 13,886 , , 7-5 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 13 , , April 14 , , @ Mariners , , 5 – 1 , , Greinke (3-0) , , Washburn (1-2) , , , , 16,751 , , 8-5 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 14 , , April 15 , , @ Mariners , , 11 – 6 , , Batista (1-2) , , Bale (0-3) , , , , 17,137 , , 8-6 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 15 , , April 16 , , @

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

, , 3 – 2 , , Meche (1-2) , , Weaver (1-3) , ,

(5) , , 41,336 , , 9-6 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 16 , , April 17 , , @

, , 5 – 3 , ,

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

(2-2) , , Tomko (1-2) , , Rodríguez (6) , , 40,021 , , 9-7 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 17 , , April 18 , , @

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, , 13 – 2 , , Gaudin (1-1) , , Bannister (3-1) , , , , 12,528 , , 9-8 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 18 , , April 19 , , @

, , 6 – 5 , , Devine (2-0) , , Peralta (0-1) , ,

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of di ...

(5) , , 20,390 , , 9-9 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 19 , , April 20 , , @

, , 7 – 1 , , Eveland (2-1) , , Hochevar (0-1) , , , , 18,645 , , 9-10 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 20 , , April 22 , , Indians , , 15 – 1 , , Sabathia (1-3) , , Meche (1-3) , , , , 16,165 , , 9-11 , - bgcolor=#bbbbbb , N/A , , April 23 , , Indians , , colspan=6, ''Postponed (rain)'' Rescheduled for April 24 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 21 , , rowspan="2" , April 24 , , rowspan="2" , Indians
(doubleheader) , , 9 – 6 , ,

Carmona Carmona may refer to: Places Angola * the former name of the town of Uíge Costa Rica * Carmona District, Nandayure, a district in Guanacaste Province India * Carmona, Goa, a village located in the Salcette district of South Goa, India ...

(3-1) , , Tomko (1-3) , , Betancourt (1) , , rowspan="2", 11,637 , , 9-12 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 22 , , 2 – 0 , ,

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

(4-0) , , Bannister (3-2) , , , , 9-13 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 23 , , April 25 , , Blue Jays , , 8 – 4 , , Núñez (2-0) , , Burnett (2-2) , , , , 22,561 , , 10-13 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 24 , , April 26 , , Blue Jays , , 2 – 1 , , Hochevar (1-1) , , Marcum (2-2) , ,

(6) , , 24,078 , , 11-13 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 25 , , April 27 , , Blue Jays , , 5 – 2 , , Litsch (3-1) , , Meche (1-4) , , Carlson (1) , , 13,998 , , 11-14 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 26 , , April 29 , , @ Rangers , , 9 – 5 , , Mahay (1-0) , , Jennings (0-5) , , , , 16,472 , , 12-14 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 27 , , April 30 , , @ Rangers , , 11 – 9 , , Millwood (2-2) , , Bannister (3-2) , , , , 17,705 , , 12-15 , - , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 28 , , May 1 , , @ Rangers , , 2 – 1 , , Ponson (1-0) , , Greinke (3-1) , ,

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

(6) , , 14,563 , , 12-16 , - bgcolor="#bbbbbb" , N/A , , May 2 , , @ Indians , , colspan=6, ''Postponed (rain)'' Rescheduled for September 13 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 29 , , May 3 , , @ Indians , , 4 – 2 , , Hochevar (2-1) , , Sabathia (1-5) , ,

(7) , , 27,272 , , 13-16 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 30 , , May 4 , , @ Indians , , 2 – 0 , , Meche (2-4) , , Laffey (0-2) , ,

(8) , , 27,836 , , 14-16 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 31 , , May 5 , ,

, , 4 – 0 , , Santana (6-0) , , R. Ramírez (0-1) , , , , 12,157 , , 14-17 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 32 , , May 6 , ,

, , 5 – 3 , , Oliver (2-1) , , Bannister (3-4) , , Rodríguez (14) , , 11,354 , , 14-18 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 33 , , May 7 , ,

, , 9 – 4 , , Greinke (4-1) , , Weaver (2-5) , , , , 11,084 , , 15-18 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 34 , , May 8 , ,

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

, , 4 – 1 , , Cabrera (3-1) , , Hochevar (2-2) , , , , 11,781 , , 15-19 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 35 , , May 9 , ,

, , 7 – 4 , , Trachsel (2-4) , , Meche (2-4) , , Sherrill (12) , , 21,873 , , 15-20 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 36 , , May 10 , ,

, , 6 – 5 , , Olson (1-0) , , Tomko (1-4) , , Sherrill (13) , , 15,808 , , 15-21 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 37 , , May 11 , ,

, , 4 – 0 , , Bannister (4-4) , , Burres (3-4) , , , , 18,635 , , 16-21 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 38 , , May 13 , ,

, , 3 – 2 , , Núñez (3-0) , , Cruceta (0-1) , ,

(9) , , 11,703 , , 17-21 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 39 , , May 14 , ,

, , 2 – 0 , , Hochevar (3-2) , , Verlander (1-7) , ,

(10) , , 14,053 , , 18-21 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 40 , , May 15 , ,

, , 8 – 4 , , Meche (3-5) , ,

(3-4) , , , , 34,734 , , 19-21 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 41 , , May 16 , , @ Marlins , , 7 – 6 , , Tomko (2-4) , ,

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

(3-3) , ,

(11) , , 14,825 , , 20-21 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 42 , , May 17 , , @ Marlins , , 7 – 3, , Kensing (3-0) , , Bannister (4-5) , , , , 16,214 , , 20-22 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 43 , , May 18 , , @ Marlins , , 9 – 3 , , Greinke (5-1) , , Badenhop (1-3) , , , , 10,617 , , 21-22 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 44 , , May 19 , , @

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, , 7 – 0 , , Lester (3-2) , , Hochevar (3-3) , , , , 37,746 , , 21-23 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 45 , , May 20 , , @

, , 2 – 1 , , Masterson (1-0) , , Meche (3-6) , , Papelbon (13) , , 37,486 , , 21-24 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 46 , , May 21 , , @

, , 6 – 3 , , Colón (1-0) , , Tomko (2-5) , , , , 37,674 , , 21-25 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 47 , , May 22 , , @

, , 11 – 8 , , Matsuzaka (8–0) , , Bannister (4–6) , , Papelbon (14) , , 37,613 , , 21-26 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 48 , , May 23 , , @ Blue Jays , , 7 – 1 , , Halladay (5-5) , , Greinke (5-2) , , , , 24,207 , , 21-27 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 49 , , May 24 , , @ Blue Jays , , 6 – 0 , , Litsch (6-1) , , Hochevar (3-4) , , , , 28,162 , , 21-28 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 50 , , May 25 , , @ Blue Jays , , 3 – 1 , , McGowan (3-4) , , Meche (3-7) , ,

Ryan Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elect ...

(11) , , 29,315 , , 21-29 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 51 , , May 26 , , @ Blue Jays , , 7 – 2 , , Marcum (5-3) , , Tomko (2-6) , , , , 23,157 , , 21-30 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 52 , , May 27 , ,

, , 4 – 3 (12) , , Crain (2-2) , , Núñez (3-1) , , Guerrier (1) , , 17,191 , , 21-31 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 53 , , May 28 , ,

, , 9 – 8 (10) , , Crain (3-2) , , Peralta (0-2) , , Nathan (14) , , 13,621 , , 21-32 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 54 , , May 29 , ,

, , 5 – 1 , , Slowey (2-4) , , Hochevar (3-5) , , , , 12,336 , , 21-33 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 55 , , May 30 , , Indians , , 5 – 4 , ,

(8-1) , , Tomko (2-7) , , Borowski (4) , , 25,243 , , 21-34 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 56 , , May 31 , , Indians , , 4 – 2 , , Davies (1-0) , , Sabathia (3-7) , ,

(12) , , 23,923 , , 22-34 , - , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 57 , , June 1 , , Indians , , 6 – 1 , , Bannister (5-6) , ,

Byrd Byrd commonly refers to: * William Byrd (c. 1540 – 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance * Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), an American naval officer and explorer Byrd or Byrds may also refer to: Other people * Byrd (surname), includin ...

(2-5) , , , , 22,345 , , 23-34 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 58 , , June 3 , , @

White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, , 9 – 5 , , Floyd (6-3) , , Greinke (5-3) , , , , 21,727 , , 23-35 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 59 , , June 4 , , @

, , 6 – 4 (15) , , Dotel (3-2) , , Gobble (0-1) , , , , 23,515 , , 23-36 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 60 , , June 5 , , @

, , 6 – 2 , , Contreras (6-3) , , Meche (3-8) , , , , 25,104 , , 23-37 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 61 , , June 6 , , @

, , 2 – 1 , , Davies (2-0) , , Rasner (3-3) , ,

(13) , , 52,187 , , 24-37 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 62 , , June 7 , , @

, , 12 – 11 , ,

Rivera Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a street away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of aro ...

(2-1) , ,

(0-1), , , , 53,611 , , 24-38 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 63 , , June 8 , , @

, , 6 – 3 , , Giese (1-1) , , Greinke (5-4) , ,

(16) , , 54,213 , , 24-39 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 64 , , June 9 , , @

, , 3 – 2 , , Yabuta (1-0) , ,

(2-2) , ,

(14) , , 53,633 , , 25-39 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 65 , , June 10 , , Rangers , , 6 – 5 , , Guardado (1-1) , , Yabuta (1-1) , ,

(12) , , 14,741 , , 25-40 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 66 , , June 11 , , Rangers , , 11 – 5 , , Padilla (8-3) , , Gobble (0-2) , , , , 20,840 , , 25-41 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 67 , , June 12 , , Rangers , , 6 – 5 , , Mahay (2-0) , ,

Francisco Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

(1-2) , ,

(15) , , 15,515 , , 26-41 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 68 , , June 13 , , @ Diamondbacks , , 1 – 0 (10) , , Buckner (1-0) , , Yabuta (1-2) , , , , 33,323 , , 26-42 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 69 , , June 14 , , @ Diamondbacks , , 12 – 3 , , Hochevar (4-5) , ,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

(4-4) , , , , 44,615 , , 27-42 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 70 , , June 15 , , @ Diamondbacks , , 8 – 3 , , Meche (4-8) , , Owings (6-5) , , , , 39,125 , , 28-42 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 71 , , June 17 , , @ Cardinals , , 2 – 1 , , Davies (3-0) , , Villone (1-2) , ,

(16) , , 43,793 , , 29-42 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 72 , , June 18 , , @ Cardinals , , 3 – 2 , , Bannister (6-6) , , McClellan (0-2) , ,

(17) , , 43,810 , , 30-42 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 73 , , June 19 , , @ Cardinals , , 4 – 1 , , Greinke (6-4) , ,

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada ...

(1-2) , ,

(18) , , 44,277 , , 31-42 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 74 , , June 20 , ,

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

, , 9 – 4 , ,

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He ...

(4-5) , , Yabuta (1-3) , , , , 34,588 , , 31-43 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 75 , , June 21 , ,

, , 5 – 3 , , Meche (5-8) , , Correia (1-5) , ,

(19) , , 28,903 , , 32-43 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 76 , , June 22 , ,

, , 11 – 10 , , Mahay (3-0) , , Hinshaw (1-1) , ,

(20) , , 20,499 , , 33-43 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 77 , , June 23 , , Rockies , , 8 – 4 , , Bannister (7-6) , ,

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

(3-7) , , , , 12,260 , , 34-43 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 78 , , June 24 , , Rockies , , 7 – 3 , , Greinke (7-4) , ,

de la Rosa De la Rosa is a Spanish surname, which means "of the rose". The name De la Rosa (or variants of the name) may refer to: People with the name De la Rosa *Dane De La Rosa (born 1983), American baseball player * Domingo Vega de la Rosa (born 1953), ...

(2-4) , , , , 19,169 , , 35-43 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 79 , , June 25 , , Rockies , , 4 – 2 , , Hochevar (5-5) , ,

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

(10-5) , ,

(21) , , 16,615 , , 36-43 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 80 , , June 27 , , Cardinals , , 7 – 2 , , Meche (6-8) , , Piñeiro (2-4) , , , , 36,360 , , 37-43 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 81 , , June 28 , , Cardinals , , 5 – 1 , ,

Boggs Boggs may refer to: Places * Boggs Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania * Boggs Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania * Boggs Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania * Boggs, West Virginia * Boggs Island, on the Ohio River, West Virginia * ...

(3-0) , , Davies (3-1) , , , , 37,537 , , 37-44 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 82 , , June 29 , , Cardinals , , 9 – 6 , , Pérez (2-0) , , Bannister (7-7) , , Franklin (11) , , 31,803 , , 37-45 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 83 , , June 30 , , @

, , 6 – 5 (11) , , Mahay (4-0) , ,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

(3-3) , ,

(22) , , 15,289 , , 38-45 , - , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 84 , , July 1 , , @

, , 7 – 5 , , Liz (3-0) , , Hochevar (5-6) , , Sherrill (27) , , 19,756 , , 38-46 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 85 , , July 2 , , @

, , 5 – 2 , , Cabrera (6-4) , , Meche (6-9) , , , , 17,909 , , 38-47 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 86 , , July 3 , , @

, , 10 – 7 , , Peralta (1-2) , , Loewen (0-2) , ,

(23) , , 16,782 , , 39-47 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 87 , , July 4 , , @ Rays , , 11 – 2 , ,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

(5-6) , , Bannister (7-8) , , , , 16,830 , , 39-48 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 88 , , July 5 , , @ Rays , , 3 – 0 , , Sonnanstine (10-3) , , Greinke (7-5) , , Balfour (3) , , 30,418 , , 39-49 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 89 , , July 6 , , @ Rays , , 9 – 2 , , Shields (7-5) , , Hochevar (6-5) , , , , 20,587 , , 39-50 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 90 , , July 7 , , @ Rays , , 7 – 4 , ,

(1-1) , ,

Wheeler Wheeler may refer to: Places United States * Wheeler, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, California, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, Illinois, a village * Wheeler, Indiana, a ...

(2-4) , , , , 16,293 , , 40-50 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 91 , , July 8 , ,

, , 8 – 7 (13) , ,

Masset Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Col ...

(1-0) , ,

Tejeda Tejeda is a village and a municipality in the mountainous central part of the island of Gran Canaria in the province of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Location The village of Tejeda is situated north-west of the Pico de las Nieves and s ...

(0-1) , , , , 13,614 , , 40-51 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 92 , , July 9 , ,

, , 7-6 , , Russell (3-0) , ,

(0-2) , , Dotel (1) , , 16,502 , , 40-52 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 93 , , July 10 , ,

, , 4 – 1 , , Mahay (5-0) , , Buehrle (6-8) , ,

(24) , , 14,547 , , 41-52 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 94 , , July 11 , , Mariners , , 3 – 1 , , Hochevar (6-7) , ,

(6-6) , ,

(25) , , 25,345 , , 42-52 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 95 , , July 12 , , Mariners , , 5 – 4 , , H. Ramírez (1-0) , , Morrow (1-2) , , , , 23,792 , , 43-52 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 96 , , July 13 , , Mariners , , 4 – 3 , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

(2-2) , ,

(1-2) , , Morrow (9) , , 21,421 , , 43-53 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 97 , , July 18 , , @

, , 9 – 5 , , Buehrle (7-8) , , Greinke (7-6) , , , , 36,291 , , 43-54 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 98 , , July 19 , , @

, , 9 – 1 , , Meche (7-9) , , Floyd (10-6) , , , , 36,566 , , 44-54 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 99 , , July 20 , , @

, , 8 – 7 , , R. Ramírez (1-1) , , Thornton (4-2) , ,

(26) , , 32,269 , , 45-54 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 100 , , July 21 , ,

, , 19 – 4 , ,

Miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting ...

(4-3) , , Hochevar (6-8) , , , , 14,137 , , 45-55 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 101 , , July 22 , ,

, , 7 – 1 , ,

(8-6) , , Davies (3-2) , , , , 22,074 , , 45-56 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 102 , , July 23 , ,

, , 7 – 1 , , Galarraga (8-4) , , Greinke (7-7) , , , , 16,594 , , 45-57 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 103 , , July 24 , , Rays , , 4 – 2 , , Meche (8-9) , , Garza (8-6) , ,

(27) , , 25,900 , , 46-57 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 104 , , July 25 , , Rays , , 5 – 3 , ,

(6-7) , , Bannister (7-9) , ,

Percival Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Gr ...

(21) , , 31,535 , , 46-58 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 105 , , July 26 , , Rays , , 5 – 3 , , Reyes (2-2) , , H. Ramírez (1-1) , ,

(22) , , 24,322 , , 46-59 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 106 , , July 27 , , Rays , , 6 – 1 , , Davies (4-2) , , Sonnanstine (10-6) , , , , 13,779 , , 47-59 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 107 , , July 28 , , @

, , 4 – 2 , , Greinke (8-7) , , Braden (2-1) , ,

(28) , , 12,464 , , 48-59 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 108 , , July 29 , , @

, , 5 – 2 , , Meche (9-9) , , Smith (5-10) , ,

(29) , , 12,182 , , 49-59 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 109 , , July 30 , , @

, , 4 – 3 (10) , , R. Ramírez (2-1) , ,

(2-4) , ,

(30) , , 26,272 , , 50-59 , - , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 110 , , August 1 , ,

, , 4 – 2 , , Vázquez (8-9) , , Hochevar (6-9) , , Jenks (22) , , 21,291 , , 50-60 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 111 , , August 2 , ,

, , 9 – 7 , , Davies (5-2) , , Buehrle (8-10) , ,

(31) , , 21,866 , , 51-60 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 112 , , August 3 , ,

, , 14 – 3 , , Greinke (9-7) , ,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

(0-2) , , , , 15,268 , , 52-60 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 113 , , August 4 , ,

, , 4 – 3 , , Meche (10-9) , , Buchholz (2-7) , ,

(32) , , 24,378 , , 53-60 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 114 , , August 5 , ,

, , 8 – 2 , , Beckett (10-8) , , Bannister (7-10) , , , , 22,069 , , 53-61 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 115 , , August 6 , ,

, , 8 – 2 , ,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

(7-8) , , Hochevar (6-10) , , , , 24,294 , , 53-62 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 116 , , August 8 , ,

, , 4 – 1 , , Slowey (8-8) , , Davies (5-3) , , Nathan (31) , , 33,653 , , 53-63 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 117 , , August 9 , ,

, , 7 – 3 , , Liriano (2-3) , , Greinke (9-8) , , , , 27,960 , , 53-64 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 118 , , August 10 , ,

, , 5 – 4 (12) , ,

(1-2) , , Breslow (0-1) , , , , 27,960 , , 54-64 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 119 , , August 12 , , @

, , 9 – 0 , , Vázquez (9-10) , , Bannister (7-11) , , , , 31,099 , , 54-65 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 120 , , August 13 , , @

, , 4 – 0 , , Buehrle (10-10) , , Hochevar (6-11) , , , , 37,838 , , 54-66 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 121 , , August 14 , , @

, , 9 – 2 , ,

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

(1-0) , , Davies (5-4) , , , , 32,788 , , 54-67 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 122 , , August 15 , , @

, , 4 – 3 , , Núñez (4-1) , ,

(4-5) , ,

(33) , , 53,067 , , 55-67 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 123 , , August 16 , , @

, , 3 – 2 (13) , ,

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Place ...

(3-0) , , Fulchino (0-1) , , , , 54,180 , , 55-68 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 124 , , August 17 , , @

, , 15 – 6 , , Mussina (16-7) , , Bannister (7-12) , , , , 54,114 , , 55-69 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 125 , , August 19 , , @ Indians , , 9 – 4 , , Reyes (2-1) , , Hochevar (6-12) , , , , 18,946 , , 55-70 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 126 , , August 20 , , @ Indians , , 8 – 5 , , Rincón (3-3) , ,

(1-3) , ,

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

(4) , , 23,920 , , 55-71 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 127 , , August 21 , , @ Indians , , 10 – 3 , ,

(18-2) , , Greinke (9-9) , , , , 21,391 , , 55-72 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 128 , , August 22 , ,

, , 4 – 3 , , Verlander (10-13) , , Bannister (7-13) , , Rodney (6) , , 18,361 , , 55-73 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 129 , , August 23 , ,

, , 4 – 0 , ,

(7-4) , , Davies (5-5) , , , , 27,346 , , 55-74 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 130 , , August 24 , ,

, , 7 – 3 , ,

Duckworth Duckworth may refer to: * Duckworth (surname), people with the surname ''Duckworth'' * Duckworth (''DuckTales''), fictional butler from the television series ''DuckTales'' * Duckworth Books, a British publishing house * , a frigate * Duckworth, W ...

(1-0) , ,

(9-11) , , , , 16,663 , , 56-74 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 131 , , August 25 , , Rangers , , 9 – 4 , ,

Feldman Feldman is a German and Ashkenazi Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: Academics * Arthur Feldman (born 1949), American cardiologist * David B. Feldman, American psychologist * David Feldman (historian), American historian ...

(5-5) , , Meche (10-10) , , , , 12,399 , , 56-75 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 132 , , August 26 , , Rangers , , 2 – 1 , , Millwood (8-7) , , R. Ramírez (2-2) , , , , 17,004 , , 56-76 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 133 , , August 27 , , Rangers , , 3 – 2 , ,

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

(6-3) , , Bannister (7-14) , ,

(1) , , 12,662 , , 56-77 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 134 , , August 29 , , @

, , 6 – 3 , ,

(8-4) , , Davies (5-6) , , , , 40,206 , , 56-78 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 135 , , August 30 , , @

, , 13 – 3 , ,

(2-0) , ,

(9-12) , , , , 40,623 , , 57-78 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 136 , , August 31 , , @

, , 4 – 2 , , Glover (2-3) , , Wells (0-1) , , Rodney (7) , , 39,782 , , 57-79 , - , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 137 , , September 2 , ,

, , 5 – 2 , , Greinke (10-9) , , Gonzalez (1-3) , ,

(34) , , 11,143 , , 58-79 , - bgcolor="bbbbbb" , N/A , , September 3 , ,

, , colspan=6, ''Postponed (rain)'' Rescheduled for September 4 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 138 , , rowspan="2" , September 4 , , rowspan="2" ,

(doubleheader) , , 5 – 4 (10) , ,

(2-3) , , Devine (4-1) , , , , rowspan="2", 12,791 , , 59-79 , -bgcolor="bbffbb" , 139 , , 9 – 6 , , Davies (6-6) , , Meyer (0-4) , , R. Ramírez (1) , , 60-79 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 140 , , September 5 , , Indians , , 9 – 3 , , Mujica (2-1) , ,

(2-1) , , , , 21,107 , , 60-80 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 141 , , September 6 , , Indians , , 3 – 1 , , Meche (11-10) , ,

(0-2) , ,

(35) , , 18,795 , , 61-80 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 142 , , September 7 , , Indians , , 3 – 1 , ,

(21-2) , , Greinke (10-10) , ,

(8) , , 15,023 , , 61-81 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 143 , , September 9 , , @

, , 7 – 2 , ,

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

(10-8) , , Bannister (7-15) , , , , 17,015 , , 61-82 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 144 , , September 10 , , @

, , 7 – 1 , , Slowey (12-9) , , Davies (6-7) , , , , 20,421 , , 61-83 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 145 , , September 11 , , @

, , 3 – 2 (10) , , R. Ramírez (3-2) , , Guerrier (6-8) , ,

(36) , , 20,138 , , 62-83 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 146 , , September 12 , , @ Indians , , 12 – 5 , ,

(22-2) , , Meche (11-11) , , , , 32,843 , , 62-84 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 147 , , rowspan="2" , September 13 , , rowspan="2" , @ Indians
(doubleheader) , , 8 – 3 , , Greinke (11-10) , ,

(8-7) , , , , rowspan="2", 25,783 , , 63-84 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 148 , , 8 – 4 , ,

(2-2) , , Bullington (0-1) , ,

(37) , , 64-84 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 149 , , September 14 , , @ Indians , , 13 – 3 , , Bannister (8-15) , , Mujica (2-2) , , , , 29,530 , , 65-84 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 150 , , September 15 , , Mariners , , 3 – 0 , , Davies (7-7) , , Silva (4-15) , ,

(38) , , 10,307 , , 66-84 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 151 , , September 16 , , Mariners , , 6 – 3 , ,

(3-1) , , Morrow (2-4) , ,

(39) , , 19,135 , , 67-84 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 152 , , September 17 , , Mariners , , 5 – 2 , , Meche (12-11) , , Corcoran (5-2) , ,

(40) , , 13,382 , , 68-84 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 153 , , September 18 , , Mariners , , 12 – 0 , , Greinke (12-10) , , Feierabend (1-4) , , , , 14,144 , , 69-84 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 154 , , September 19 , ,

, , 9 – 4 , , Buehrle (14-11) , , Bannister (8-14) , , , , 26,049 , , 69-85 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 155 , , September 20 , ,

, , 5 – 2 , , Davies (8-7) , , Floyd (16-8) , ,

(40) , , 23,754 , , 70-85 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 156 , , September 21 , ,

, , 3 – 0 , , Danks (11-8) , ,

(3-2) , , Jenks (29) , , 16,920 , , 70-86 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 157 , , September 22 , ,

, , 6 – 2 , , Meche (13-11) , ,

(8-5) , , , , 36,428 , , 71-86 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 158 , , September 23 , ,

, , 5 – 0 , , Greinke (13-10) , , García (1-1) , , , , 35,121 , , 72-86 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 159 , , September 24 , ,

, , 10 – 4 , , Bannister (9-16) , ,

(7-11) , , , , 35,899 , , 73-86 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 160 , , September 26 , , @

, , 8 – 1 , , Davies (9-7) , , Liriano (6-4) , , , , 30,674 , , 74-86 , - bgcolor="bbffbb" , 161 , , September 27 , , @

, , 4 – 2 , , Meche (14-11) , , Guerrier (6-9) , ,

(42) , , 38,072 , , 75-86 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 162 , , September 28 , , @

, , 6 – 0 , ,

(11-5) , ,

(3-3) , , , , 42,942 , , 75-87 , -

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''

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; K = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

Player of the Week

April 7–13: Brian Bannister, shared with

Raúl Ibañez Raúl Javier Ibañez (; born June 2, 1972) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) now serving as Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations for MLB. He played 11 of his 19 big league seaso ...

(

).Ghiroli, Brittany
Honors for Bannister, Ibanez
''MLB.com'', April 14, 2008.
May 12–18:

.Ghiroli, Brittany
Sizzling Guillen wins AL weekly honors
''MLB.com'', May 19, 2008.
July 28 – August 3: Mike Avilés, shared with

Xavier Nady Xavier Clifford Nady VI (; born November 14, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. Nady played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Ari ...

(

).Nystrom, Thor
Newcomers Nady, Aviles split AL honor
''MLB.com'', August 4, 2008.

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Burlington (Midwest)

References

External links

2008 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Kansas City Royals Season Kansas City Royals seasons Kansas City Royals season

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...