Neither team wants to remember this past weekend, as the Kansas City Royals (12-30) and San Diego Padres (19-22) both got swept. They'll have to go through each other if they want much-needed redemption to begin a new week. Late last season, these teams played a three-game set in Kansas City, with the Padres taking two games. This Monday night clash will be the first of three in San Diego, California. The first pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. EDT in Petco Park. By the end of the night, a losing streak will be snapped.
Entering the weekend, the Royals were trending up with a 4-1 stretch. Getting swept in Milwaukee made that feeling immediately fade. The team's 12-30 record will continue to be tested away from home, as this matchup marks the fourth contest in a nine-game road trip. Pitching will need to improve if Kansas City wants any chance of clawing to .500. Brad Keller will get his ninth start of 2023 to open the series, and he's been a bit lucky on the mound this season. His ERA is still 4.31. Keller has issued more walks than any other pitcher this year, leading to a 1.765 WHIP and 5.38 FIP. His xERA is 5.09 right now. He's far from the only pitcher struggling on a staff that's 28th in ERA, and he's fortunate that his problems aren't getting hit hard. However, consistently putting a handful of runners on base every game is a recipe for disaster in the majors. Ask Kansas City's bullpen, which has a 10.8% walk rate (25th) a nd 5.10 ERA collectively (27th).
Pending the Sunday Night Baseball results, only two MLB teams are averaging more runs per game this month than the Kansas City Royals are. They're at 5.92 per game in May, led by Salvador Perez's .381/.438/.857 slash line and six home runs in 11 May games. There are still plenty of issues, namely in getting on base (28th in OBP and 27th in walk rate), but things are clicking right now. The Royals have only been held under three runs twice this month through 13 games. Considering how putrid things were in April, Kansas City will take it.
Right back at it. #WelcomeToTheCity pic.twitter.com/ajNvTwPbmp
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2023