Los Angeles @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Mar 11, 2014 ) LA Dodgers 7, Kansas City 5
Zack Greinke spent the early part of his career with the Kansas City Royals and, although he has pitched well against them since his departure, he has yet to taste victory against his first employer. Greinke looks to become the third National League pitcher to join the 10-win club on Monday when his Los Angeles Dodgers begin a three-game set in Kansas City. Despite going 60-67 in seven seasons, the 30-year-old became only the third pitcher in team history to win the Cy Young Award in 2009.
Greinke has been traded twice – first from the Royals to Milwaukee following the 2010 season and by the Brewers to the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 – and faced Kansas City in each stop, but did not factor into the decision in either of those outings despite permitting only two runs over 15 1/3 innings. He will make his third start in as many different uniforms against the Royals with the Dodgers (42-35), who have won five of six to move a season-high seven games over .500. Meanwhile, Kansas City has dropped four in a row since a 10-game winning streak helped it climb atop the American League Central on Wednesday.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Zack Greinke (9-3, 2.57 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jeremy Guthrie (4-6, 3.86)
Greinke worked in and out of trouble a few times in his last outing, but still held the Colorado Rockies to a run on six hits over six frames in a 4-2 victory on Tuesday. The one-time All-Star is only 4-3 – despite a 2.93 ERA in his last nine outings – since ending April with a 5-0 mark. Greinke, whose strikeout rate drops from 1.27 per inning at home to 0.86 on the road, has limited experience against Royals hitters besides Omar Infante (5-for-27), although Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar (each 3-for-7) have fared well.
After going 11 straight starts without a victory, Guthrie collected his second win in as many turns following Wednesday’s 2-1 triumph over the Detroit Tigers. The 35-year-old yielded a run on four hits and matched a season high with nine strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings in an outing Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters may have been his pitcher’s best of the season. Guthrie, who is only 2-4 in seven home turns and 1-5 in 10 night starts, will square off against the only opponent he has never faced in the Dodgers.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kansas City swept a three-game series at home in 2005 when these teams last met.
2. After leading the AL in one-run victories last year (31-25), the Royals are only 8-15 in such games this season.
3. Dodgers 3B Juan Uribe (strained hamstring), who was eligible to return from the disabled list on Sunday, asked the team to keep him on his rehab assignment for a few more days.
PREDICTION: Dodgers 3, Royals 2