Kansas City will play the second game of its three-game series at Minnesota on Wednesday night. The Royals are coming off a series loss to the Tigers, while the Twins were swept by Cleveland over the weekend. This story was published prior to Tuesday night’s series opener.
Kansas City is looking to put the finishing touches on what has been another disappointing season. The Royals were competitive for a stretch in early August, but they have not won more than two consecutive games in more than a month. They have lost seven of their last 11 games entering this series, including two out of three against Detroit over the weekend. Kansas City was able to salvage the series with a 4-0 win on Sunday. The Royals are now on a six-game road trip that will conclude with three games at Boston this weekend. They have the third-worst record in the American League and are likely going to be eliminated from playoff contention by the end of the weekend.
Wholesome content alert. ??#TogetherRoyal pic.twitter.com/2ykXefobE3
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 13, 2022
The Royals have been a decent offensive team, ranked No. 14 with a batting average of .243. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. leads the way with 126 hits, including 20 home runs. He is facing a Minnesota pitching staff that is No. 19 with an ERA of 4.03. Right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke is going to start for Kansas City on Wednesday night. He allowed one run on six hits and a walk against Cleveland last Wednesday after getting reinstated from the injured list (right forearm tightness). Greinke has three quality starts in his five outings since the beginning of August, but he has a mediocre 4.00 ERA and 1.34 WHIP overall this season (22 starts).