James

McArthur

McArthur went on the injured list with a right elbow strain last week. While the chance of him returning was already slim, he didn’t progress enough in the last week for there to be any chance for him to return now.

McArthur left Monday night’s game against the Tigers with right elbow tightness. He appeared to be injured on a play where he covered first base and left after Salvador Perez called for the training staff during the next at-bat. It’s unclear how severe the injury might be. McArthur will miss the rest of the regular season and potentially the playoffs.

This is normally a pitching-type injury, but it appeared McArthur got hurt on a play at first base. If he requires an IL stint, as seems likely, he’ll miss the rest of the regular season.

McArthur was hurt while covering first base, but he did stay in to face one more batter. Angel Zerpa replaced him against the Tigers.

McArthur entered a tie game to begin the bottom of the ninth and gave up a single and a game-winning double with two outs. It would have been a scoreless inning in most ballparks, but not in Houston with its Crawford Boxes. McArthur figures to be the favorite for saves in Kansas City for however long Lucas Erceg is out.

This was an absolutely horrible play for the Royals, since after the ball bounced away from Erceg, his late throw to first base resulted in a collision at first and an apparent wrist or arm injury for Vinnie Pasquantino. Plus, the Royals didn’t get any outs in a tie game in the eighth, when they almost surely would have gotten one if Erceg hadn’t touched the ball at all. At least Erceg’s injury didn’t look overly serious. James McArthur will likely be the favorite for saves if Erceg misses any time.

McArthur did deserve to lose the closer’s gig to Lucas Erceg, but he’s been stellar since that happened, pitching 9 2/3 scoreless innings with a 13/1 K/BB in 9 2/3 innings over his last nine appearances. It’s lowered his ERA from 5.32 to 4.36.

A double play and a strikeout bailed him out of the inning. Still, it’s telling that McArthur was used in the sixth tonight. Lucas Erceg is clearly the favorite for saves in the Kansas City pen right now, so McArthur isn’t worth rostering in mixed leagues.

Harvey was summoned in the ninth inning to close out the game with a two-run lead for his first save chance with Kansas City. He gave up a solo homer to Bligh Madris, then surrendered the game-tying run on a pair of doubles before getting out of the inning. James McArthur blew a save chance later and took the loss in the 11th.

McArthur took advantage of the aggressive — and bad — Chicago lineup and needed just 10 pitches to get the save. That’s the 18th save of the season for the right-hander, but the 27-year-old still has a less-than-respectable 5.40 ERA on the campaign.