This Sunday the (63-94) Kansas City Royals and the (89-68) Cleveland Guardians will play the third game of this six-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 1:40 PM EST inside Progressive Field. The last time that these two teams matched up, the Guardians ended up stealing two of three games.
The Kansas City Royals came into this series after getting swept by the Detroit Tigers. The Royals struggled at the dish, as they only scored seven combined runs in their three losses. They will have to be better at the plate if they want to challenge the Guardians on the road. The Royals also dropped game one of this series.
The Cleveland Guardians entered this one after winning their previous series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They looked incredible on the mound in their two wins, as they held the Rays to two combined runs. They will need to stay hot on the bump if they want to take care of busi ness at home in this one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Kansas City Royals will not be making the postseason this year, as they are currently 23 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. They are also 5-5 in their last 10, as their average play hasn't gotten them any closer to the postseason. The Royals are stuck in last place in the AL Central, as they trail the first-place Cleveland Guardians by 26 games.
At the plate, the Royals are scoring 4.05 runs per game and they are hitting .245 as a team. This is the 23rd most runs scored per game and the 14th highest overall team batting average. They have consistently made contact with the ball, but they have struggled to hit when they have men in scoring position. This has made it much more difficult to score. The Royals have also realized that they don't have much power hidden inside of their lineup. They are only hitting .87 bombs per game, which is the 25th most in the MLB. I would also expect Kansas City to stay extremely aggressive once they have reached base safely. They have already swiped 101 bases this season, which is the fifth most in the league. This has been the easiest way to get players into scoring position.
According to MLB.com, the Royals will be starting Max Castillo on the mound, as he is 0-1 with a 4.98 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. In his last start, he didn't record an out, as he pitched for 0.0 innings and still gave up three earned runs. He is also 0-1 on the road this season with a 3.43 ERA. The Royal's bullpen is allowing the third most runs per game, as well. As a team, Kansas City is surrendering 5.15 runs per game, which is also the third most runs allowed per game.