Kansas City Royals

Royals starter Luis Mendoza, pitching with balky knee, was flirting with a no-hitter over his first four innings Wednesday in Cleveland. The first hit he allowed left the ballpark. 

Mendoza surrendered a solo homer to Michael Brantley in the fifth inning and went on to give up three more runs in the sixth before leaving without recording an out in the frame. He gave up four earned runs on four hits and three walks over five innings and took the loss to fall to 2-4 on the year. 

The starter, who struck out three Wednesday, has an ERA of 4.30 on the year. He won his last time out and had given up just two runs over 13 innings in his previous two outings before the Indians beat him. 

Mendoza doesn't yet have his next scheduled start set in stone, though it appears likely to come Wednesday against Atlanta as the Royals have a few off days in between. 

As an Angel, Ervin Santana didn't take advantage of his pitcher-friendly home park, as he gave up home runs at high rates at home as well as on the road. In his first season with the Royals, Santana's splits have gotten truly zany, as I noted on Fantasy Baseball Today. So far, 11 of the 14 homers he has allowed have come at Kauffman Stadium, which is another tough venue for hitters to knock the ball out of.

That doesn't mean Fantasy owners should bench Santana in his home starts. Nine of the 11 homers he's allowed at Kauffman have come in just three starts, and each of his four other home outings have been quality starts. Also, all three of Santana's road homers came in a single start (vs. the White Sox) and his other six times out on the road have produced quality starts.

Santana gave up home runs in bunches last season, too, but as many as he allowed -- 39 in all -- he went through a couple of stretches where he wasn't all that homer-prone. Because he is walking so few batters, Santana can help with ERA and WHIP, so he should be started most weeks. He's put up nice stats so far this year, but just don't be surprised if he continues to be something of an adventure in Fantasy.

Royals starter Ervin Santana was outstanding Tuesday night at Cleveland. Santana held a lead all night after the Royals plated two runs for him in the third inning. And then he left the game.

Santana settled for a no-decision, as Kelvin Herrera replaced him in the eighth inning and promptly gave up three runs in the frame to give Cleveland the lead. Santana allowed just one run on three hits and two walks over seven sharp innings. He threw 106 pitches and struck out six.

Santana, 30, had won his last two decisions and has been lights out during a four-start stretch in which he's allowed just three runs over 28 2/3 innings with 20 Ks. Santana doesn't yet have his next outing scheduled, though it is likely to come Tuesday to open a series against Atlanta.

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is starting his fourth straight game Tuesday against the Indians. 

Moustakas has seen his playing time come into question lately, as Miguel Tejada has seen more games at third. Moustakas has scuffled this year, hitting just .183/.249/.279 in 197 at-bats. He'll have an opportunity to get things going against Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez.

Royals closer Greg Holland turned another save opportunity into a win for Kansas City Monday night in Cleveland. Holland earned his 15th save as he closed out the 2-1 victory. 

The reliever gave up a hit in the ninth, but struck out a batter and needed 19 pitches to get out of the inning. His ERA is 2.08. 

Holland has saves in five of his last six appearances with a win mixed in between. He rebounded after allowing a run in a save in his last outing at Tampa Bay Sunday.