Kansas City @ Seattle preview
T-Mobile Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 6, 2010 ) Kansas City 3, Seattle 2
Kansas City is primed to sweep the Mariners for the first time in Seattle since 1995.
That was before the Mariners had yet to make their first postseason appearance and four years before Safeco Field opened.
The Royals have won nine of 12 and clinched their fourth consecutive series with a 3-2 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night.
Kansas City leads the majors in batting at .283 and again reached double digits with 10 hits on Tuesday night. Wilson Betemit homered, had three hits and drove in all three runs.
The Royals also received brilliant pitching from 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, who allowed two hits and one unearned run in seven innings. Greinke would win Cy Youngs for the next decade if he could pitch against the Mariners every time.
Greinke improved to is 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight career starts against Seattle. Want dominance? In his last five starts against the Mariners, he has allowed one earned run in 39 innings.
The right-hander set a Royals record for most consecutive scoreless innings against one team with 31. The previous record was 29 by Paul Splittorff against the Chicago White Sox in 1972-73.
Kansas City sends right-hander Kyle Davies (4-6, 5.64 ERA) to finish off the sweep on Wednesday night. Davies, like Greinke, has been deadly against the Mariners. He is 3-1 with a 3.82 ERA in five starts against Seattle. He gave up one hit in six scoreless innings of a 3-1 home win over the Mariners on April 26.
Seattle will start Doug Fister (3-4, 3.22), who once led the American League in ERA this season but suffered shoulder fatigue and missed almost the entire month of June. Fister makes his second start since coming off the disabled list June 26. He allowed five runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings of a 7-1 loss to Detroit on Friday.
The Mariners had expected left-hander Erik Bedard to make his season debut Tuesday night, but the Canadian has inflammation in his left shoulder. He had surgery on the shoulder last August and will throw a bullpen session this weekend. He could return for his first start shortly after next week's All-Star Game.
Royals outfielder Jose Guillen pulled a quadriceps muscle in the eighth inning grounding into a double play. He hobbled off the field and is listed as day-to-day.