by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (12:27 am ET) Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks in seven innings Saturday against the A's, but it wasn't enough to avoid his third loss. He struck out five in the 2-1 A's win.
Santana has gone at least six innings in each of his eight starts this year while compiling a 2.77 ERA. He'll face his former team, the Angels, Thursday.
Ervin Santana gives up two homers in loss
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (5/12/2013) Royals pitcher Ervin Santana had a hard time keeping the ball in the park as he suffered his second loss of the season during Sunday's series finale against the Yankees.
Santana (3-2) allowed a two-run home run to Robinson Cano and a solo shot to Vernon Wells in the third. He was charged with four runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-2 loss. He struck out four and did not issue a walk in 102 pitches, 71 for strikes.
Santana has allowed seven runs over his last 12 1/3 innings with four strike outs and a walk over that span. The right-hander is scheduled to start Saturday at Oakland. He is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in his last three starts at O.co Coliseum.
Ervin Santana settles for no-decision
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (5/7/2013) Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana turned in another decent performance but did not factor into the decision Tuesday night against the Orioles.
Santana, who made his sixth start of the season, surrendered a run-scoring single to Adam Jones and a two-run double to Matt Wieters in the opening frame for his only damage of the night. The right-hander was charged with three runs and seven hits over six innings of work in a 4-3 defeat.
Santana has allowed just five runs over his last 20 innings of work. He has not lost a decision since his season debut April 3. The 30-year-old veteran is scheduled to start Sunday at home against the Yankees. He went 0-1 and allowed 10 runs over 11 innings of work in two starts last season against New York as a member of the Angels.
Storm washes away Ervin Santana's strong start
by Chris Towers | CBSSports.com (5/2/2013) Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana was able to continue his strong start Thursday against the Rays, but a rain and snow storm wiped away his outing after just four innings.
Santana held the Rays scoreless over four innings, walking three and allowing a pair of hits. He struck out seven and threw 39 of his 66 pitches for strikes before the inclement weather rolled through.
The game was postponed, and a makeup date has not yet been announced. Since Santana only threw 66 pitches, the team might opt to have him start on short rest. It is not clear when his next start will take place.
Manager seeing lots of 'great stuff' from Ervin Santana
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/2/2013) Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana heads into Thursday's start against the Rays nearly untouchable in his last four starts. Santana is 3-0 in that span, with a 1.20 ERA and .239 opponents' batting average.
"I saw a lot of great stuff," Royals manager Ned Yost said after Santana struck out five over seven scoreless innings on Saturday against the Indians, per MLB.com. "But, for me, the key was his slider -- he had a lot of bite to it. Throwing good two-seamers, keeping the ball down in the zone. He just pitched a fantastic game."
Ervin Santana blanks Tribe for third win
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/27/2013) Royals pitcher Ervin Santana continued his strong start Saturday night against the Indians. He worked seven scoreless innings, giving up six hits and striking out five in the 3-2 win. The right-hander also did not allow a walk in earning his third win.
Santana threw 66 of his 97 pitches for strikes and lowered his ERA from 2.48 to 2.00. It was his fourth-straight quality start.
His next start is Thursday against the Rays.
Ervin Santana has start pushed back by rain
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (4/26/2013) The Indians and Royals were rained out Friday, and their game has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Sunday. Royals starter Ervin Santana will start Saturday's game, MLB.com reports.
Ervin Santana runs record to 2-1
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/21/2013) Royals pitcher Ervin Santana picked up his second win in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Red Sox. He allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings of work in a 4-2 victory.
The right-hander was tagged with a two-spot in the first before making it through his final six frames unscathed. He threw 67 of his 104 pitches for strikes.
Santana (2-1) also struck out seven and did not walk batter.
His next start is scheduled for Friday against the Indians. In three starts against Cleveland last season, Santana went 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA. He also threw a no-hitter against the Indians on July 27, 2011 as a member of the Angels.
Ervin Santana still struggling with the long-ball
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com (4/16/2013) After leading the majors with 39 home runs allowed last season, Royals starter Ervin Santana is still having trouble keeping the ball in the park.
While Santana's numbers have been better early this year, he's already surrendered four home runs in 22 innings. Over his career, Santana has been one of the most frustrating Fantasy pitchers out there. He has the ability to be a top-25 starter when he's on, but looks like a player who doesn't belong on rosters when things go poorly.
Santana remains a high-risk, high-reward pitcher. Even if things are going well, he's always just a home run or two away from blowing a good start.
Ervin Santana goes eight strong in no-decision
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/14/2013) Royals pitcher Ervin Santana turned in a solid outing in Sunday's series finale against the Blue Jays but did not see a ton of run support. He allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits over eight innings of work.
An error led to a run in the first before Santana made it through the next four frames unscathed. Then in the sixth, he surrendered a solo homer to Edwin Encarnacion.
The right-hander was done after throwing 109 pitches, 74 for strikes, and left with the game tied at 2-2.
Santana also struck out four and walked three in the no-decision.
His next start is scheduled for Saturday against the Red Sox. Santana allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings and won his lone outing against Boston last season.
Pros outweigh the cons with Ervin Santana
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (4/9/2013) So that's what happens when the Royals' Ervin Santana keeps the ball in the ballpark. He allows one run on eight innings and strikes out seven. I like it.
You know what else I like? During the seven starts in which he didn't allow a home run last year, he had a 1.60 ERA. So what, right? It was only seven starts. He's already had one now. He has, what, six more? You're really going to live with all the bad ones for the sake of six good ones?
But wait a second. In 2011, that number was 15, not seven. In 2010, it was 13.
Santana's 2012 was so exceptionally bad that he about doubled his career home run rate, allowing the fifth-most homers per nine innings of any pitcher with at least 150 innings in any season since 1900. That won't happen again. With a more normal rate, I'm expecting Santana to be as good as he was Monday about half the time, which is good enough for me to make sure he's not available in my leagues.
Ervin Santana with eight-inning gem for win
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/8/2013) Royals starter Ervin Santana got the ball for Monday's home opener and delighted the Kansas City faithful with a victory over the Twins. Santana evened his record at 1-1 with a gem.
The 30-year-old right-hander, who moves to 1-1 on the year with the win, went eight sharp innings allowing only one run on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven batters over his 104 pitches, 75 for strikes.
Santana, who managed to lower his ERA from 6.00 to 3.21 with the outing, showed a major improvement Monday after allowing four earned runs over six innings in his season debut. He's now recorded 15 strikeouts in his first 14 innings.
Santana will look to earn back-to-back victories when he next takes the mound for the Royals later this week on Sunday against Toronto.
More of the same from Ervin Santana
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (4/3/2013) So the White Sox hit three home runs Wednesday against Ervin Santana. Yeah, that's exactly what I hoped not to see.
Granted, it's unfortunate for any pitcher, but it happens sometimes. The difference for Santana is that it happened more than just a few times last year. Though always susceptible to home runs, he about doubled his career rate by allowing 2.0 per nine innings last year, the fifth-most ever for a pitcher with at least 150 innings.
I've been touting Santana as a bounce-back candidate this season, but this first start doesn't make an especially compelling case, even with the eight strikeouts. We'll see how the next one goes.
White Sox go deep off Ervin Santana
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/3/2013) Royals starter Ervin Santana couldn't keep the ball in the yard on Wednesday in his first start of the year at Chicago. The former Angels pitcher gave up three long balls over six innings.
Santana gave up a solo shot to Adam Dunn in the second inning, another solo shot to Tyler Flowers in the third and a two-run blast to Dayan Viciedo in the fourth inning. Those homers constituted all the runs Santana would give up in the game.
With Jake Peavy on his game, Santana suffered the loss in his first outing. He gave up four runs on five hits and a walk over his six frames. Santana struck out eight batters and threw 98 pitches, 66 going for strikes.
Santana gave up just two homers in all of spring training over 23 innings but led the majors with 39 round trippers given up last year. He'll look to rebound his next time out on Monday against Minnesota. Santana should be in line for two starts in the next scoring period.
Ervin Santana allows two runs in final start
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (3/28/2013) Royals pitcher Ervin Santana turned in a decent performance in Thursday's Cactus League contest against the Reds. Santana allowed a run-scoring double to Joey Votto in the first and a run-scoring single to Mat Latos in the second for his only damage of the afternoon.
He yielded two runs on seven hits in four innings of work. Santana also struck out three and walked one as he improved his ERA to 4.70 this spring.
Ervin Santana stretching out for Royals
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (3/23/2013) Royals pitcher Ervin Santana made his longest start of the Cactus League Saturday against the Diamondbacks. He allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits over six innings. The right-hander also struck out three and walked one.
Santana, who has been named the No. 2 starter for Kansas City, has a 4.74 ERA through five spring starts with 18 strikeouts in 19 innings.
"My location was very good," Santana said. "Every time when you have the ball down and locate it, it's going to be good results. I don't try to work on anything. I just go with the mentality to get people out. If I have a pitch working that day, I use it. If not, I use the other ones. That's my mentality."
Ervin Santana blasted by Rangers offense
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (3/18/2013) Royals starter Ervin Santana entered Monday night's Cactus League start against the Rangers having allowed just two earned runs over his first nine spring innings with 13 strikeouts. He certainly didn't fare as well this time around.
Santana served up a two-run home run to Ian Kinsler in the fourth inning and Kinsler went 3 for 3 as the Rangers scored six times against him in four innings. The projected No. 2 starter for Kansas City to open the season allowed six runs on 10 hits and a walk over his four frames. He struck out two batters and his Cactus ERA catapulted up to 5.54 from 2.00. On a positive note, Santana did get his pitch count up.
Ervin Santana: Fool's Gold?
by Nando Di Fino | Senior Fantasy Writer (3/14/2013)Ervin Santana is turning heads with a 2.00 ERA and 0.78 WHIP in spring training with the Royals, which is totally awesome guys, unless you look at his spring training stats from the last two seasons, when he had a 2.42 ERA (2011) and 2.08 ERA (2012). That isn't to say that Santana is a bad pitcher -- he put together a 3.65 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 2010 and 2011, respectively, before last year's disaster. Santana is simply erratic and unpredictable (three seasons with a 5.00-plus ERA in the last six years; three seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA in the same span) and has taken us down this road before. Look at Santana like the Dukes of Hazzard looked at a bridge being out while being chased by bad guys -- proceed with reckless abandon and just hope for the best. If it works out, you win; if it doesn't, well, there's always next time.
Santana back to 2008 form?
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (3/13/2013) Kansas City starter Ervin Santana looked sharp on Wednesday during a Cactus League start against the Mariners. The projected No. 2 starter for K.C. gave up just one earned run on two hits and no walks over four innings pitched as he threw 53 pitches. He was so economical that he was allowed to throw a simulated inning in the bullpen, reports the Kansas City Star. Santana, who struck out seven, was asked if he's a strikeout pitcher. "Do you remember what happened in 2008?" he responded. Santana struck out 214 batters over 219 innings that year.
Santana solid again
by Chris Towers | CBSSports.com (3/7/2013) Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana made his second appearance of the spring Thursday against the Mariners. Santana earned the start and tossed three solid innings, allowing one run on three hits. He walked no batters and struck out four, raising his Cactus League ERA to 1.80 over five innings.
Santana makes Royals debut
(3/1/2013) After being acquired from the Angels in the offseason, Ervin Santana made his debut for the Royals in Friday's Cactus League game against the Reds. He worked two scoreless innings, giving up one hit while striking out two. Santana also walked one. "Every time you go 1-2-3 in the first inning and then in the second inning you work a little bit, it's good," Santana said. "Everything was very good."
