Lucas Erceg DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg pitched a perfect eighth inning to help the Royals emerge from Thursday afternoon's matchup with Minnesota with a 3-2 victory. Erceg took over in the top of the eighth after the Royals rallied for two runs in the seventh to take the lead on a sacrifice fly from Bobby Witt Jr. Erceg made the narrow lead stand up by getting three straight groundouts and handing the lead over to Carlos Estevez to close it out. The hold was Erceg's fifth of the season, and the 29-year-old righty has given up just two hits and no runs in 6 1/3 innings across seven appearances this season, with a total of four strikeouts. He'll continue to be a high-leverage setup option for the Royals, who head to Cleveland on Friday to start a series against the Guardians.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg (hand) is likely going to miss a few days after taking a comebacker off his right hand during Thursday's game. The right-hander is considered as day-to-day as he's still dealing with soreness and swelling in his hand. At least Erceg didn't suffer a serious injury and isn't expected to miss a lengthy amount of time. In the meantime, James McArthur will likely step into the closer role for the next few days. He could have some streaming appeal to fantasy managers in category leagues.

Kansas City Royals right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg (hand) was removed from his appearance early on Thursday against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park after taking a comebacker off his throwing hand. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (undisclosed) was actually injured on the same play during a collision at first base and was also pulled from the game. Erceg tried to field a comebacker with his bare hand on the play. The 29-year-old will surely undergo testing on his hand to determine the severity of the injury. He ended up allowing three earned runs on two hits while walking one in just one-third of an inning to get hit with a blown save (his fifth) and his fifth loss of the year. Coming into Thursday, Erceg had taken over closing duties in KC after being acquired from the A's in a deadline trade and had five saves with a 0.68 ERA in his 12 appearances. If he misses time, James McArthur is likely to get another shot in the closer's role.