Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers Preview and Predictions 05-26-2018
26th May 2018 by Gracenote
after watching their resurgent offense fail to carry its weight in the series opener, the texas rangers seemed to have little issue scoring early and often one day later against the kansas city royals. the rangers attempt to prolong one of their most successful stretches of the season saturday when they host the third of four games against the royals.
texas ended the new york yankees' streak of winning eight straight series with a dramatic 12-10 victory on wednesday and had totaled 23 runs over its previous three games prior to a dud thursday, when it managed only five hits in an 8-2 defeat against kansas city. the rangers rebounded nicely in friday's 8-4 victory, connecting on three home runs while scoring at least one run in five innings for their third win in the last four contests. the loss stopped a season-best three-game winning streak for the royals, who rank sixth in the majors in runs scored this month with 109 after finishing 29th in april with 85. kansas city has picked up the pace offensively over the last four games, totaling 22 runs to match the output it had over the previous nine contests combined.
tv: 4:05 p.m. et, fox sports 1
pitching matchup: royals rh ian kennedy (1-5, 5.30 era) vs. rangers rh bartolo colon (2-2, 3.51)
kennedy hasn't come close to finding the form he had while working six scoreless frames may 4 against detroit, giving up a total of 19 runs and 24 hits across 15 2/3 innings over his last three outings. the 33-year-old dropped his fifth straight decision monday at st. louis, surrendering five runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings. however, nomar mazara (0-for-8) and joey gallo (0-for-7, seven strikeouts) have really struggled against kennedy, who is 0-2 despite a 3.58 era in six turns versus texas.
colon endured his worst start of the season in monday's loss to the yankees, yielding four home runs among the season-high six runs and eight hits he allowed in 5 1/3 frames. the former cy young award winner, who turned 45 on thursday, has been significantly worse at home (0-2, 5.46 era) than he has on the road (2-0, 1.59), surrendering 10 of his 13 homers in globe life park. alex gordon is 4-for-10 with a homer versus colon, who is 15-11 with a 5.04 in 31 appearances (30 starts) against kansas city.
walk-offs
1. rangers 1b ronald guzman is 7-for-15 with four homers, eight rbis and six runs scored over his last five games.
2. kansas city of jorge soler went 2-for-4 and hit his sixth homer friday after entering the contest in a 3-for-35 slump.
3. texas acquired lhp michael roth from the chicago cubs for cash considerations friday and released rhp kevin jepsen.
prediction: rangers 7, royals 5
26th May 2018 by Gracenote
after watching their resurgent offense fail to carry its weight in the series opener, the texas rangers seemed to have little issue scoring early and often one day later against the kansas city royals. the rangers attempt to prolong one of their most successful stretches of the season saturday when they host the third of four games against the royals.
texas ended the new york yankees' streak of winning eight straight series with a dramatic 12-10 victory on wednesday and had totaled 23 runs over its previous three games prior to a dud thursday, when it managed only five hits in an 8-2 defeat against kansas city. the rangers rebounded nicely in friday's 8-4 victory, connecting on three home runs while scoring at least one run in five innings for their third win in the last four contests. the loss stopped a season-best three-game winning streak for the royals, who rank sixth in the majors in runs scored this month with 109 after finishing 29th in april with 85. kansas city has picked up the pace offensively over the last four games, totaling 22 runs to match the output it had over the previous nine contests combined.
tv: 4:05 p.m. et, fox sports 1
pitching matchup: royals rh ian kennedy (1-5, 5.30 era) vs. rangers rh bartolo colon (2-2, 3.51)
kennedy hasn't come close to finding the form he had while working six scoreless frames may 4 against detroit, giving up a total of 19 runs and 24 hits across 15 2/3 innings over his last three outings. the 33-year-old dropped his fifth straight decision monday at st. louis, surrendering five runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings. however, nomar mazara (0-for-8) and joey gallo (0-for-7, seven strikeouts) have really struggled against kennedy, who is 0-2 despite a 3.58 era in six turns versus texas.
colon endured his worst start of the season in monday's loss to the yankees, yielding four home runs among the season-high six runs and eight hits he allowed in 5 1/3 frames. the former cy young award winner, who turned 45 on thursday, has been significantly worse at home (0-2, 5.46 era) than he has on the road (2-0, 1.59), surrendering 10 of his 13 homers in globe life park. alex gordon is 4-for-10 with a homer versus colon, who is 15-11 with a 5.04 in 31 appearances (30 starts) against kansas city.
walk-offs
1. rangers 1b ronald guzman is 7-for-15 with four homers, eight rbis and six runs scored over his last five games.
2. kansas city of jorge soler went 2-for-4 and hit his sixth homer friday after entering the contest in a 3-for-35 slump.
3. texas acquired lhp michael roth from the chicago cubs for cash considerations friday and released rhp kevin jepsen.
prediction: rangers 7, royals 5