Last-place teams are facing off this weekend, with the Kansas City Royals (28-70) facing the New York Yankees (50-47) in the Big Apple. The Royals won't be trotting out George Brett, nor should the Yankees expect Reggie Jackson in this one. Both teams would certainly benefit from their presence this month. Instead, Yankee Stadium will welcome two struggling squads desperately seeking a better future. Friday at 7:05 p.m. EDT, the Bleacher Creatures will endear themselves to players from both sides, whether they like it or not. Let's see which dugout will celebrate come the night's end.
The Royals have been sitting at the bottom of the pool for a while. Kansas City's season has been mostly sinking with very little swimming. Only one game above the bottom-feeding Athletics, they'll look for some weekend wins to create distance. Scoring would help, as the Royals have been held to three or fewer runs nine times through 16 July games. They're 29th in runs per game this season and have been the league's lowest-scoring team since June began. Outside of stealing bases, the Royals are among MLB's worst offensive teams statistically. They have their days, but usually, Kansas City's bats are sleepy.
This season has been just as rough on the mound, The Royals have one of MLB's worst staffs, because of both the rotation and bullpen. They've already traded away reliever Aroldis Chapman too. Rookie Alec Marsh will try to show the club that he's a player to keep long-term when he starts this game. After a rough debut on June 30, Marsh has responded with 11.0 innings and five runs allowed (four earned) this month. Home runs are an issue, especially with Yankee Stadium looming, as Marsh has surrendered five of them in 15.0 career innings. Replicating the 11-strikeout, one-walk performance of his last outing will help minimize the damage at least.