Kansas City @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 8, 2010 ) Kansas City 2, Texas 3
The last time Kansas City Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar faced the Texas Rangers, he showed why he was the first overall pick in the 2006 draft.
Hochevar went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with no walks and a career-high 13 strikeouts on July 25, 2009.
Those types of games have been few and far between for Hochevar, however, as he takes the hill for the seventh time this season against Texas in the four-game series finale. The Rangers, who have won the first three games of the series, counter with right-hander Scott Feldman.
Hochevar picked up his third victory of the season against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, going six innings and allowing an unearned run on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Prior to that outing, Hochevar struggled against the Rays on April 29. He lasted only 2 2/3 innings, allowing nine runs (all earned) on 11 hits with two walks and a strikeout. That outing made his ERA jump from 3.55 to 6.11.
Offensively, Kansas City, which is on a four-game losing streak, has struggled to bring runners in. Despite 10 hits, the Royals managed only two runs after going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and grounding into two double plays Saturday.
In the second inning, for instance, Alberto Callaspo had a leadoff double but the Royals failed to bring him in. In the seventh, they had runners at first and second with no outs and didn’t score any runs.
The Rangers, on the other hand, came through with the clutch hit. With two outs in the eighth, second baseman Ian Kinsler hit a go-ahead RBI single, which proved to be enough to carry the Rangers to victory.
Texas also got RBIs from Josh Hamilton and Elvis Andrus.
On the mound, Feldman has struggled over his last four starts. He spent extra time this week working on his mechanics to ensure he can repeat his delivery throughout the entire game.
In his last start, Feldman went seven innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits with three walks and four strikeouts. With that, he moved to 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA in his past four starts.
In nine lifetime appearances, including two starts, against the Royals, Feldman is 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA.
Finally, it’s worth noting, several Rangers and Royals players will use pink bats with the MLB breast cancer logo on Mother’s Day. The Rangers have also donated 700 tickets to breast cancer survivors and their families to attend Sunday’s game.