Athletics at Royals
Billy Butler doesn't play for Kansas City anymore, but Oakland's designated hitter is sure to receive a thunderous ovation when the Athletics visit the Royals on Friday for the opener of a three-game series. “That’s home, you know?” said Butler, who played his first eight seasons with Kansas City. “I still view it as home, because I have so many friends there and lived there for so long. I have ties there that are going to connect me to the city the rest of my life. I’m part of the city.”
Butler is the first player to begin his Oakland career with a hit in his first 10 contests, and the Athletics are happy to have him on their side. The .295 career hitter, who turns 29 on Saturday, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the last meeting - a 9-8 victory in 12 innings in the 2014 American League wild-card game which propelled the Royals all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. Kansas City has dropped two straight after a 7-0 start, including an 8-5 setback at Minnesota on Thursday, while the Athletics fell to 5-5 following a 6-1 loss in Houston on Wednesday. Oakland's Sonny Gray has yielded only one run in his first two starts and opposes Jeremy Guthrie.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Oakland RH Sonny Gray (1-0, 0.59 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jeremy Guthrie (1-0, 5.14)
Gray carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his season debut Saturday before allowing two runs (one earned) in 7 1/3 frames and receiving a no-decision in the Athletics' 5-4 loss to Seattle. The 24-year-old Tennessee native is 0-2 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts against Kansas City, with the 3-2 and 1-0 losses coming last season. Kendrys Morales, who is hitting .351 with two homers and five RBIs, is 1-for-9 with four strikeouts versus Gray.
Guthrie yielded four runs and six hits in seven innings of a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim on Saturday. The 36-year-old Oregonian is 4-5 with a 4.55 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts) against Oakland, including 1-1, 3.38 in two turns last season. Josh Reddick and Ben Zobrist are a combined 21-for-64 against Guthrie, while Butler is 2-for-9 with a home run and six RBIs.
WALK-OFFS
1. Royals relievers gave up their first runs of the season Wednesday, when RH Chris Young yielded two and RH Ryan Madson one.
2. Zobrist, who has recorded multiple hits in four of his first nine games, is expected to return to the lineup after missing Wednesday's contest with a bruised right heel.
3. Kansas City CF Lorenzo Cain has belted two home runs in nine games after hitting five in 133 contests last season.