Los Angeles @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 2, 2010 ) LA Angels 7, Kansas City 2
It’ll be a battle of aces in the series finale, though it's unclear if the Kansas City Royals have any intention of ever getting some runs on the board for Zack Greinke.
Greinke will square off against Jered Weaver when the Royals host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Thursday in the finale of a four-game series.
The reigning American League Cy Young award winner, Greinke hasn’t quite shown the form yet that allowed him to dominate in 2009, but he has been much better than a 1-6 record would indicate.
Aside from an eight-run implosion against the Colorado Rockies during interleague play, the right-hander has yielded three or fewer earned runs in all but one of his starts.
The Kansas City offense has averaged three runs per game during Greinke’s 11 starts and just over two runs per game during his six losses.
That problem was on full display last Saturday at Boston, when Greinke allowed one run on five hits in six innings but suffered the loss as the Royals fell, 1-0. It was the second time this season that the 26-year-old was on the wrong end of a 1-0 score.
Greinke has had similar problems against the Angels in his career, owning a 1-3 record in six games - five starts - despite a 3.89 ERA.
Weaver was elevated to the role of Los Angeles’ ace when John Lackey departed for the Red Sox in free agency over the winter. The 27-year-old Weaver seems to have embraced the role, ranking among the AL leaders with a 3.01 ERA and 74 strikeouts.
The right-hander has had a run of Greinke-like luck recently, failing to earn a win in any of his last four starts despite allowing two earned runs or less in three of the four. He allowed one unearned run against the Seattle Mariners last Saturday but did not factor in the decision when the Angels made a late run to win.
Weaver owns a 3-4 record with a 3.35 ERA in seven career starts against Kansas City.
Los Angeles has taken two of the first three in the series after posting a 7-2 win on Wednesday. Torii Hunter was the big bat in the contest, going 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs in support of Scott Kazmir.
Mike Napoli made his second start in the last four games at first base, driving in a run and scoring a run. Napoli, usually a catcher, could be seeing plenty of time at first base now that Kendry Morales is out until at least September with a broken leg.
The Angels are waiting until after Morales has surgery and the trade market becomes a little more clear before deciding whether to go outside of the organization for a replacement. Veterans like Lance Berkman, Paul Konerko and Mike Lowell could be available before the trading deadline.