Kansas City Royals (12-30) vs. San Diego Padres (19-22)
The 2023 MLB season goes on Tuesday, May 16, with the Kansas City Royals taking on the San Diego Padres in the interleague battle at Petco Park in San Diego, California, and the first pitch is set for 9:40 PM ET.
Kansas City and San Diego continue a three-game series, and Monday night’s opener has been excluded from the analysis. The Padres are listed as surefire -205 moneyline favorites for Tuesday’s middle game, while the totals sit at 9.0 runs.
The 12-30 Kansas City Royals entered Monday’s clash at Petco Park hoping to snap a three-game skid. They just got swept by the Milwaukee Brewers on the road, allowing 18 runs through a three-game set at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
The Royals are yielding a thumping 5.55 runs per game (28th in the majors). They own a 5.44 ERA (also 28th), 1.43 WHIP (26th), and .264 opposing batting average (also 26th). On the other side of the ball, the Royals are tallying 4.12 runs per contest (24th) on a .237/.300/.397 slash line (.247/.320/.406 league average). KC is hitting .273/.345/.509 with 23 home runs and 32 extra-base hits in the last couple of weeks and 444 at-bats, and the Royals boast the highest OPS in the majors in May (.854).
Right back at it. #WelcomeToTheCity pic.twitter.com/ajNvTwPbmp
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2023
Brady Singer will toe the slab Tuesday in San Diego. The 26-year-old right-hander, who was one of the best pitchers in the American League in the second half of the 2022 season, has been a disaster so far this season. He sports a 7.71 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and 37/14 K/BB ratio to go with a 2-4 record in eight starts (39.2 innings pitched) in 2023.
Last Thursday, Singer pitched well in a no-decision against the Chicago White Sox (KC eventually won 4-3). He tossed six frames of a one-run, five-hit ball, issuing two free passes and striking out four. Singer is now in the 7th percentile in expected batting average and the 6th percentile in expected slugging percentage.