Twins at Royals
Reeling from a miserable road trip, the Kansas City Royals will try to get back on track when they open a 10-game homestand with the first of three against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. The lowest-scoring team in the majors, the Royals dropped all seven games on its recent trek while managing to push across a total of 13 runs.
Kansas City's road woes started in a season-opening series at Minnesota, in which it was outscored 21-5 in a three-game sweep. “I don’t know why we’ve had trouble on the road,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We had trouble on the road a little bit last year, too. But there’s definitely a comfort level at home.” The Twins rebounded from a dismal 2-7 homestand by winning two of three in Texas to improve to 5-4 on the road. Third baseman Miguel Sano is coming off consecutive three-hit games and went 4-for-9 with a homer, five RBIs and six runs scored in the earlier sweep of Kansas City.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Kyle Gibson (0-3, 9.00 ERA) VS. Royals RH Ian Kennedy (0-2, 2.08)
Gibson was rocked in his last outing, giving up seven runs (six earned) in only 2 2/3 innings against Detroit to lose his third consecutive start. Gibson has surrendered five homers in his four starts, including a pair in a no-decision in his season debut versus the Royals in which he yielded three runs over five innings. Alcides Escobar (12-for-34) and Alex Gordon (10-for-31) have fared well against Gibson.
Kennedy has been among the biggest victims of Kansas City's stagnant offense, which has produced a combined three runs in his four starts. Since allowing three runs over five innings in his season debut at Minnesota, Kennedy has permitted only three runs on 10 hits over 21 innings in his last three turns with nothing to show for it. Eduardo Escobar has been a nemesis for Kennedy, going 7-for-16.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Royals, who dropped eight in a row last June, have been limited to two runs or fewer in nine of their last 10 games.
2. Twins CF Byron Buxton was 3-for-7 with five walks in Texas after starting the season 6-for-55.
3. Royals 3B Mike Moustakas, who had an 11-game hitting streak snapped Wednesday, homered twice against Minnesota earlier this month.