Kansas City @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2015 ) Kansas City 14, Baltimore 6
Kansas City and the Baltimore Orioles are trading offensive explosions this weekend as the Royals rapidly turn around an offense that had been sputtering. The two offenses will race to 14 again when the Orioles host Kansas City in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday.
Baltimore got a pair of grand slams in a 10-run eighth inning en route to a 14-8 triumph on Friday but let the Royals split the difference with back-to-back five-run innings in Saturday’s 14-6 final. The 22 runs for Kansas City in the last two games mark a swift change for an offense that totaled 15 runs in the previous six contests. Mike Moustakas was the big bat with a grand slam and a franchise-record nine RBIs on Saturday and has knocked in 11 runs in the series after driving in one in his previous seven contests. Wei-Yin Chen will try to slow Moustakas and the Kansas City offense on Sunday while Johnny Cueto tries to work himself out of a rut for the Royals.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Johnny Cueto (9-11, 3.24 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen (8-7, 3.48)
Cueto started off strong after being acquired from the Cincinnati Reds prior to the trade deadline but is 0-4 with a 9.45 ERA in his last four starts. The Dominican Republic native lasted only three innings against the Chicago White Sox on Sep. 6, allowing five runs and seven hits in the loss. Cueto did not have much luck against Baltimore on Aug. 26, when he was lit up for six runs on eight hits – three homers – and a walk in five innings.
Chen is in a bit of a rut himself with 10 runs allowed (nine earned) in 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts. The Taiwan native surrendered a total of four home runs in those two starts after yielding two in his previous five turns. Chen’s last win came at Kansas City opposite Cueto on Aug. 26, when he scattered three runs and 10 hits across 6 2/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Orioles OF Nolan Reimold is 3-for-8 with two homers and six RBIs in the series.
2. Kansas City CF Lorenzo Cain is 4-for-9 with two home runs and six runs scored in the series.
3. Baltimore 3B Manny Machado is 7-for-18 with a pair of home runs during a five-game hitting streak.
PREDICTION: Royals 6, Orioles 1