Washington @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 23, 2010 ) Kansas City 1, Washington 0
A pair of teams clinging to dwindling playoff hopes square off when the Kansas City Royals host the Washington Nationals for a three-game series starting Friday. The Royals have been punchless at the plate while dropping five straight and eight of 10 to slip 9 1/2 games back of American League Central leader Detroit and seven behind Oakland for the second wild card. The Nationals renewed some hope for a miraculous playoff run by taking three of four from the Chicago Cubs, but are still 14 games behind Atlanta in the National League East and 9 1/2 games back of Cincinnati for the second wild card.
Both teams are a bit taxed after going to extra innings on getaway day as Kansas City lost 4-3 in 12 innings to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday and Washington needed 13 innings for a 5-4 victory over the Cubs. The Nationals' recent success comes from shaking out of their own offensive doldrums a bit as they are 57-15 when scoring three or more runs, which they've done in three straight games and nine of their last 13. The Royals are hitting .211 with 15 extra-base hits in their last 10 games, a stretch that comes immediately after they batted .293 while winning 17 of 20.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (7-6, 3.38 ERA) vs. Royals LH Bruce Chen (5-1, 2.20)
Gonzalez is only a third of the way to last season's win total, largely because the Nationals have struggled to score runs for him. He is winless in his last six starts and Washington has been limited to one run in four of those contests. The 27-year-old struggled against Kansas City during his time in the AL, going 3-3 with a 6.44 ERA in seven starts.
Chen recorded quality starts in his first six outings after joining the rotation just before the All-Star break, but was dinged for six runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings last time out at Detroit. The 36-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA at home this year. Chen is 2-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 12 games (six starts) against Washington and hasn't beaten the franchise since 2001, when they were the Montreal Expos.
WALK-OFFS
1. Nationals CF Denard Span (5-for-16) and C Kurt Suzuki (4-for-11) fared well against Chen during their days in the American League.
2. Kansas City has scored three runs or fewer in nine of its last 10 contests.
3. Chen is 23-11 with a 3.70 ERA in August.
PREDICTION: Nationals 5, Royals 3