St. Louis @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 10, 2024 ) Kansas City 8, St. Louis 5
The Kansas City Royals aim to continue their power surge on Friday when they resume their I-70 Series with the opener of a two-game set against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
The Royals have homered in 13 consecutive contests, posting an 8-5 record in that stretch. The long-ball streak is tied for the second longest in franchise history, level with a stretch in May 2023 and two shy of a surge in April 2001.
Kansas City, currently occupying the final American League wild-card spot, resides four games behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians and a half-game back of the Minnesota Twins.
Bobby Witt Jr. belted two homers and had four RBIs in Kansas City's 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. Witt was serenaded with "MVP" chants after authoring his latest performance.
"(The fans) are showing up. We've just got to keep doing our thing," he said of the favorable response.
Witt has been doing his thing all season. He leads the majors in batting average (.349), tops the Royals with 22 homers and is tied for the team lead with 84 RBIs.
"If you ask me, I think he is the MVP," Kansas City outfielder MJ Melendez said, per the Kansas City Star. "What he has done is incredible. You know, what he has done for this team and this organization, you can't really put into words."
Witt, 24, went 3-for-8 with two runs to propel the Royals to a two-game sweep of the Cardinals in a doubleheader on July 10. Salvador Perez, who homered in both of those contests, is 11-for-30 (.367) in his past eight games.
The Royals will turn to Michael Lorenzen (5-6, 3.69 ERA) to start on Friday against fellow right-hander Miles Mikolas (8-9, 5.12).
Lorenzen fared well -- albeit in a no-decision -- in his first start with Kansas City since being acquired from the Texas Rangers prior to the trade deadline. He allowed one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
Lorenzen, 32, is 4-3 with a 2.22 ERA in 35 career appearances (two starts) against St. Louis.
He will look to subdue a Cardinals club that was thwarted in its bid for a three-game series sweep of the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, falling 6-4 on Thursday.
Nolan Arenado had an RBI single to highlight his three-hit performance in the series finale.
Arenado is 15-for-38 (.395) with six RBIs and six runs during his past 10 games. He also belted a solo homer among his two hits in a 6-4 setback to the Royals in the first game of the July 10 doubleheader.
Mikolas is looking to rebound from a tough outing on Sunday. He permitted four runs on eight hits and a balk in four-plus innings during a 6-2 setback to the Chicago Cubs.
St. Louis resides 2 1/2 games out of the final National League wild-card position.
"You know, if we're going to get (to the playoffs), we're going to have to beat those teams, and we've got to beat them now," Mikolas said. "We've got to show other teams and show ourselves that we're a playoff team. We've got to come out and really give these teams a run for their money."
Mikolas, 35, has tossed 17 scoreless innings en route to winning both of his career starts against Kansas City. He struck out 19 batters and walked two in those outings.
--Field Level Media