KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As if the Royals aren't having enough issues on the field, they ran into travel problems Tuesday night after their 4-1 loss to the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals arrived at Kansas City International Airport around 11:30 p.m. and boarded a United Airlines plane for the short 45-minute flight to St. Louis, where they take on the Cardinals tonight. But after sitting on the tarmac for about 45 minutes, they were told the plane was having mechanical issues, apparently with the landing gear.
Option A was to wait three or four hours for another United plane to be available. Option B was to bus four hours to St. Louis.
The Royals chose to bus, and didn't arrive at their hotel in St. Louis until about 4:30 a.m.
"Fortunately we have a night game so everyone can get plenty of rest," said a team source. "If it had been a trip to Arlington (Texas), we obviously would have waited for another plane. But the players kind of opted for the bus because they figured by the time we got a new plane we'd already be in St. Louis by bus."
Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie tweeted from KCI early Wednesday morning: "It's official,#Royals taking buses to St Louis instead of plane (tech probs)-Once again we need a 'bus driver,' " referring to FOX Sports Kansas City's Rex Hudler's nightly call for the offense to find someone to drive the bus.
The bus ride was pretty much uneventful, the source said.
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
