It’s a battle of the polar extremes when it comes to teams in the American League on the diamond down in the Sunshine State. The Kansas City Royals are on the road as they play the third game of a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday afternoon. In the opening game of the series Thursday night, it was the Royals rallying to stun the league-leading Rays 6-5 to draw first blood in the series. Will Kansas City find a way to scratch out another win here or will the Rays flex their collective muscle and put one in the win column? This article was published prior to the conclusion of the second game of the series at Tropicana Field Friday night.
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Kansas City won for just the fourth time in their last 20 games as they rallied to earn the win in the series opener of this set Thursday night. The Royals entered Friday in the basement of the AL Central with a 21-54 record and stood 16.5 games behind the Twins for the top spot in the division. On Thursday night, Kansas City got three hits from MJ Melendez (run, two RBI) while Drew Waters (run, three RBI) and Maikel Garcia (two runs, RBI) each added a pair. Waters (his second) homered in the contest and the Royals swiped seven bases, helping offset that they were only four of 16 with runners in scoring position. Jose Cuas started but didn’t factor in the decision as he threw 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and one strikeout, before departing. Aroldis Chapman (3-2) fanned the side in the eighth for the win while Scott Barlow threw a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit with no walks and two strikeouts, for his n inth save.
Jordan Lyles is on the mound for the Royals as he makes his 16th start of the season in this contest. He comes in 0-11 with a 6.72 ERA, a 1.284 WHIP, 29 walks and 62 strikeouts over 85.2 innings of work while allowing 18 homers this season. Lyles didn’t factor in the decision in his last outing, which came Monday against the Tigers on the road. He threw six innings, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in a game the Royals dropped 6-4. In his last three starts, Lyles is 0-2 with a 6.16 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, five walks and nine strikeouts over 19 innings of work. Lyles makes his eighth career appearance and seventh start against the Rays in this contest. He is 1-3 with a 5.35 ERA, a 1.515 WHIP, 16 walks and 29 strikeouts over 33.2 innings of work against them. Lyles is 0-3 with a 9.35 ERA, a 1.789 WHIP, eight walks and 20 strikeouts over 17.1 innings of work in four career starts at Tropi cana Field.