Homers of solo variety not troubling to Yost

ATLANTA -- Kansas City pitchers allowed five homers in Tuesday night's 6-3 loss to the Braves. Starter Jeremy Guthrie allowed the first two, giving him five allowed in his last two starts. If there is a mitigating factor, it's that all of them were solo shots.

While manager Ned Yost doesn't like pitchers allowing long balls -- it's pretty difficult to find a manager who does -- that mitigating factor makes a big difference. In fact, Yost likes his staff's aggressive approach.

"We've got more guys around the plate, guys that aren't afraid to pitch to contact because of our defense," he said. "They are solo homers. They haven't been the two- and three- and four-run variety."

"It's not a concern. They're not walking two guys then giving up homers," Yost said. "They're attacking each individual hitter. We're playing in the big leagues. You're facing some of the best hitters in the world. So it's going to happen."

It's not happening a whole lot, as the Royals have limited contact, in general. The staff started Wednesday with 111 strikeouts in 13 games (fifth in the American League) with only 33 walks and a Major League-leading 3.36 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.