With valuable starter Cole Ragans sidelined with a rotator cuff problem and their playoff hopes essentially reduced to a possible Wild Card berth, the Kansas City Royals can ill afford any bad pitching news. After all, it's the Royals' rotation and bullpen that have kept them anywhere close to contention this season.
Unfortunately, though, that dreaded bad pitching news is precisely what struck Kansas City Monday. Just days after he shut out Arizona for seven innings to earn his fifth victory of the season, Michael Lorenzen landed on the Injured List with what the Royals announced is a left oblique strain.