The Kansas City Royals traded infielder Nicky Lopez of Naperville, Illinois to the Atlanta Braves for left-handed pitcher Taylor Hearn of Royse City, Texas on Sunday. Lopez played the last five seasons with the Royals and played 478 games in the middle infield. He was at shortstop for 242 games and second base at 236 games. Hearn has been dreadful in five appearances this season for the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves, and it is no surprise that the Royals sent him down to Omaha of the International League. He has an earned run average of 14.73.
Nicky Lopez in 2023
Lopez batted .213 this season with zero home runs and 13 runs batted in. During 68 games, 160 at bats and 190 plate appearances, he has scored 19 runs, and had 34 hits, five doubles, and three triples, four stolen bases, 21 walks, 45 total bases, and four sacrifice hits, an on base percentage of .323, and a slugging percentage of .281.
Four hit game
Lopez had a season-high four hits in a 7-0 Royals win over the St. Louis Cardinals on May 29. All four of the hits were singles. It was the second time in Lopez’s career that he had four singles in a game. The first came on July 3, 2022 in a 7-4 Royals win over the Detroit Tigers.
Recognized for Sacrifices
Twice Lopez has led the American League in sacrifice bunts. He had 12 sacrifice bunts while with the Royals in 2021 and 10 sacrifice bunts while with the Royals in 2022. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright of Brunswick. Georgia actually led the Majors with 14 sacrifice bunts in 2021. Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Geraldo Perdomo of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and New York Mets catcher Tomas Nido of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico led the Majors with 12 sacrifice bunts in 2022.
Best record in Baseball
The Braves are at 67 wins and 36 losses and have the comfortable lead in the National League East. They lead the second place Miami Marlins by a whopping 10.5 games.
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