Los Angeles @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 31, 2010 ) LA Angels 7, Kansas City 1
Who needs Kendry Morales?
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will be looking for their third straight win without Morales and fourth in a row overall when they take on the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.
The Angels’ centerpiece slugger, Morales suffered what could be a season-ending injury when he broke his leg jumping on home plate after clubbing a walk-off grand slam against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.
The freak injury robbed Los Angeles of its most potent slugger, as Morales was leading the team with a .290 batting average, 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. Morales was showing no signs of slowing down following a breakout 2009 campaign in which he garnered MVP consideration with 34 homers and a .924 OPS.
But the Angels shook off the loss on Sunday when Howie Kendrick led a more subdued celebration after his walk-off blast led to a 7-5 win over the Mariners.
Los Angeles had no trouble filling in for Morales’ power against the Royals on Monday, either, with Maicer Izturis, Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli each hitting homers en route to a 7-1 win.
Napoli played Morales’ position of first base on Sunday and journeyman Michael Ryan got the start there Sunday. Manager Mike Scioscia will likely have to mix and match at the corner for the foreseeable future.
The Angels will be taking their cuts on Tuesday against right-hander Brian Bannister. The 29-year-old has picked up the win in each of his last three starts, allowing eight runs in 19 1/3 combined innings against the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox.
Bannister has had some trouble with the long ball this season, allowing 10 blasts in 59 1/3 total innings and at least one in nine of 10 starts. He has been knocked around in two career starts against Los Angeles, allowing nine runs and 21 hits in 13 1/3 innings.
Joel Pineiro will counter for the Angels. The veteran right-hander was signed to a two-year, $16 million deal in the offseason but has had some trouble re-adjusting to the American League. Pineiro has allowed six or more runs in three different outings this season and is 1-4 with a 6.58 ERA over his last seven starts.
Pineiro has made 12 appearances – eight starts – in his career against Kansas City, going 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA.
The Royals have dropped three straight and six of nine but are still above .500 at 9-8 since Ned Yost took over as manager on May 14.