Kansas City Royals (37-46) at Seattle Mariners (34-48), 10:10 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Kansas City - Zack Greinke (4-8, 3.94) Seattle - Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-7, 5.92)
(Sports Network) - The Kansas City Royals can win their fourth straight series tonight with a victory over the Seattle Mariners in the second portion of a three-game series from Safeco Field.
The Royals have been on a roll as of late, winning four of five and eight of their last 11 games, and are coming off Monday's 6-4 win in 10 innings over the homestanding Mariners. Yuniesky Betancourt and Scott Podsednik each had RBI singles in the top of the 10th inning, while Billy Butler and Alberto Callaspo had two RBI apiece.
Brian Bannister started for KC and lasted seven innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks for the no-decision. Kyle Farnsworth was credited with the win for throwing a scoreless ninth inning and All-Star closer Joakim Soria shut the door in the bottom of the 10th for his 23rd save.
"This team has been a lot of fun lately," Bannister told KC's website.
David DeJesus finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored for the Royals, who are 3-1 on a nine-game road trip and will also visit the Chicago White Sox for three games. Kansas City will send staff ace Zack Greinke to the mound Tuesday and he's 3-0 over his last four starts since a personal four-start skid.
Greinke, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, has gone eight innings in consecutive starts and is coming off last Wednesday's 7-6 win over the White Sox in which he was reached for six runs and 10 hits in eight frames. He improved to 4-8 in 17 starts to go along with a 3.94 earned run average and will try for just his second road win of the season. Greinke is 1-5 in nine away starts this season.
The right-hander faced Seattle in a 3-2 loss back on April 27 this season and did not factor in the outcome with seven shutout innings. Greinke is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA in nine career games (7 starts) against the Mariners.
Seattle has dropped four of its last five games and got its seven-game homestand off to a poor start last night. Reliever Chad Cordero suffered the loss for allowing the RBI singles in the 10th inning and starter Felix Hernandez hurled seven innings of two-run ball for the no-decision.
"The bullpen's been good," said Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu. "Felix (Hernandez) with the last couple of starts getting his pitch count up, we felt comfortable going in and getting him out at 112 rather than stretching him out too much. But our bullpen ended up giving up eight hits and four runs."
Russell Branyan belted a two-run homer and Jose Lopez doubled twice and drove in a run for the Mariners, who are last in the American League West standings and will also host the New York Yankees for four games.
Wakamatsu can only hope Ryan Rowland-Smith will be good when he takes the mound tonight in the second installment of this series. Rowland-Smith is just 1-7 with a 5.92 ERA in 17 games (14 starts) this season and is coming off a no-decision against the New York Yankees in a 4-2 loss last Thursday.
Rowland-Smith held the Bronx Bombers to a pair of runs and five hits in six innings of work. The left-hander, who is 1-2 at home this season, faced the Royals in a 6-5 victory on April 28 this season, but did not record a decision after giving up five runs over 5 2/3 innings. He is 0-1 with a 5.08 ERA in eight career games (4 starts) against Kansas City.
Mariners lefty Erik Bedard was slated to make his 2010 debut tonight, but experienced shoulder soreness in his latest bullpen session. Bedard underwent offseason shoulder surgery and has been on the 60-day disabled list since undergoing the procedure in August.
Seattle won two of three meetings with KC from April 26-28 this season and has won six of the previous 11 games between the clubs.
Provided by: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment