KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals shook up their coaching staff Thursday in an attempt to jumpstart their failing offence, making Dale Sveum the hitting coach and Mike Jirschele their third base coach. Pedro Grifol, who took over as hitting coach last season, will now instruct catchers. The moves were announced after the Royals finished off a disastrous homestand that included a sweep at the hands of Houston, and before they opened a four-game series in Toronto. Sveum said the Royals havent done a good enough job this season of hitting pitches in the upper half of the strike zone. "The bottom line is weve struggled with elevation and weve swung at pitches down in the zone probably way too much," he said. "From thigh high to the top of the strike zone, were not doing enough damage." The Royals began the day last in the majors with 21 homers, putting them on pace to match the 1976 club for the fewest in franchise history for a non-strike-shortened season. Theyre also last in the American League in runs and slugging percentage. "There is not one man in the lineup thats hitting the ball well," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said Wednesday. "Were just cold." Yost said "a different voice can make a difference," to struggling batters, but the Royals have heard plenty of voices about hitting: Sveum is Kansas Citys fifth hitting coach in less than three seasons. The Royals let go of Kevin Seitzer two years ago in the hope that somebody else would help the club generate more power. Seitzer was eventually hired by the Blue Jays, who currently lead the majors with 76 homers -- more than Kansas City is on pace for all season. Jack Maloof and Andre David were hired before last season, but they only made it a couple of months before they were reassigned within the franchise. It was at that point that the Royals hired Grifol and Hall of Famer George Brett on an interim basis. The Royals showed signs of life once that duo was in charge, slowly climbing into playoff contention. Grifol was given the job on a full-time basis after Brett stepped down in July, but lasted less than a year in the role. "Hes the one that pulled us out of our trouble last year," Yost said of Grifol Thursday. "A year later, we find ourselves in the exact same spot." Sveum, a former Brewers and Cubs manager, had been serving as the Royals third base coach. But he also has plenty of experience as a hitting coach, helping Milwaukee finish in the top three of the National League in homers in each of his three seasons. "Hes got experience, he studies hitting," Yost said. "Hes got a lot of knowledge. He helped Prince Fielder get, in my opinion, to the next level as an offensive performer."
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White Womens Lonzo Ball Jersey . -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years. RALEIGH, N.C. -- Marek Zidlickys shot hit a teammate, then the post. It spun in front of the net, and took a left turn across the goal line. A few more breaks like that, and these New Jersey Devils might follow a similar, meandering path to a playoff berth. Dainius Zubrus scored two goals and the short-handed Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Saturday night. Travis Zajac scored the go-ahead goal on his deflection of Zidlickys second-period shot to help the Devils earn a point in their seventh straight game. "Weve been so close to these kind of wins all throughout the year and just somehow havent racked them up in a row," winning goalie Cory Schneider said. "If youre going to go on a run, these are the ones you need to grind out, and thats what weve been doing the last couple of games." They found a way to do it without some of their cornerstone players -- forwards Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique, who were both hurt the night before in a win against Washington. "I knew we had character in that room," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. "A lot of people were writing us off, and I knew there was no quit in that dressing room. These guys are going to play right until they tell us we cant play anymore." The Devils improved to 4-0-3 during a stretch that has given their playoff chances a significant boost. "Weve been picking up points, and weve been playing some good hockey," Zajac said. "Weve got to try to find a way to keep this going and see what happens." Jeff Skinner scored for Carolina, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Hurricanes had kept their faint playoff hopes alive by earning points in their previous five games. "I think a lot of guys" played with desperation, coach Kirk Muller said. "We just didnt have everybody. Its too bad, because we had a few good games here that we went on the road and played hard and earned the points. "I dont want to take it away from the group of guys that came and did what theyre supposed to do and played hard," he added. "But we didnt have everyone on the page tonight, and when youre playing tight games like this, playoff mentality, youre not going to get the result." Schneider stopped 26 shots for the Devils, including all eight he faced in the third period, for his second straight victory.dddddddddddd. Anton Khudobin made 20 saves in his first loss since March 25. New Jersey won the season series 3-1, and a strange goal initially credited to Zidlicky at 6:34 of the second turned out to be the winner. His shot from between the circles had some english on it as it hit the left post, and it spun in the blue paint behind Khudobin before curving across the red line. It was later determined that the puck clicked off Zajac on its way toward the net. "I thought it went in the first time" off the post, Zajac said. When the Hurricanes couldnt tie it during the final 13 1/2 minutes of the period, the Devils could just about count on a victory: They improved to 22-1-5 when leading after two periods while the Hurricanes fell to 4-24-4 when trailing after 40 minutes. Zubrus then iced it with an empty-netter with 37.6 seconds left. Both teams entered on the outside of the playoff picture, though the Devils had a significantly better chance to crack the Easts field of eight. New Jersey entered with 82 points -- three behind Columbus, which holds the second wild-card spot in the East, and three ahead of the Hurricanes, who were coming off consecutive 4-1 wins over playoff-calibre teams Pittsburgh and Dallas. "You get out of it what you put into it," Muller said. "We had some guys that really put everything into it. Some guys didnt, and at the end of the night, you fall short." Zubrus put the Devils up 1-0 with 4:27 left in the first when he took a feed from Michael Ryder near the blue line, skated in on Khudobin and beat him with a slick backhand. Skinner tied it 5:31 into the second -- with a little help from the video-review crew. His high, knuckling shot from the right circle appeared to hit the crossbar. A review showed the shot actually hit the camera inside the net -- giving him his career-high-tying 31st goal. "We were engaged, we had good focus and I think we responded well when they scored," Zajac said. "I thought for the most part, we controlled that game." NOTES: Carolina RW Alexander Semin was back after missing two games with an undisclosed illness. ... New Jersey RW Tuomo Ruutu had an assist in his first game in Raleigh since he was dealt to the Devils at the deadline by the Hurricanes.
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