Kansas City @ Seattle preview
T-Mobile Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 5, 2010 ) Kansas City 6, Seattle 4
Slowly, but surely, the Kansas City Royals are pecking their way back into the AL Central race, something manager Ned Yost continues to reiterate.
Yost’s mantra is that once a team loses the mind-set that it is out of contention, it essentially is.
So, despite being in fourth place in the division, Yost sees only a week’s worth of play separating his team from the AL Central lead.
The Royals have won seven of 10 to get eight games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers. They rallied for a 6-4 victory in 10 innings over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night after entering the eighth inning trailing by three runs.
Kansas City tries to clinch the three-game series on Tuesday night.
The Royals will not see the 2010 debut of Erik Bedard as expected. The left-hander still has stiffness in his shoulder and Seattle will not rush him into the rotation.
Bedard has not pitched since last July and had his second shoulder operation in two years in August. The Ontario native could be pushed back until after the All-Star break, depending on his status as well as whether Cliff Lee is still with the team.
Fans had expected to see a matchup between Bedard and Royals right-hander Zack Greinke, last year’s Cy Young Award winner.
Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-7. 5.92 ERA) gets the start in place of Bedard.
Rowland-Smith allowed two runs on five hits in six innings on July 1, but suffered a loss as the Mariners fell, 4-2, to the New York Yankees.
In 28 1/3 career innings against the Royals, Rowland-Smith has 17 strikeouts. He is 0-1 with a 5.08 ERA in four starts against Kansas City.
Greinke has fallen off considerably from his Cy Young numbers of 2009, going 4-8 with a 3.94 ERA. But he is 3-0 with a 3.66 ERA in his last four starts.
He has been even tougher on the Mariners, sporting a 3-0 record with a 1.86 ERA - including a one-hitter against them last Aug. 30.
Seattle’s Jose Lopez, Franklin Gutierrez and Chone Figgins are a combined 3-for-52 (.058) all-time against Greinke.
Russell Branyan has given the Mariners pop in the lineup, albeit too late to do anything this season. Branyan hit his fourth homer against Kansas City and is hitting .292 with three homers and nine RBIs in seven games since being reacquired by the Mariners on June 26. He has never faced Greinke.
Meanwhile, rumors continue to heat up around veteran left-hander Lee, who is eligible to become a free agent after the season.
The latest rumor, which was reported to be all but done by at least one media outlet, had the Mariners sending Lee to the Minnesota Twins for Single-A outfielder Aaron Hicks and Triple-A catcher Wilson Ramos.
The Cincinnati Reds also are rumored to be in talks with the Mariners about Lee, perhaps including Triple-A Louisville first baseman Yonder Alonso in a deal.
The rumors will no doubt continue to escalate.