Royals at Angels
The Kansas City Royals are playing their best baseball of the year and aim to stretch their season-high winning streak to seven games when they visit the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. Kansas City won the first two contests of the four-game series and has belted 16 homers during its six-game winning stretch.
Lorenzo Cain hit two solo homers and finished with three RBIs as the Royals notched a 3-1 victory on Friday. Cain has recorded two multi-homer performances in his last six contests and has gone deep eight times this month while batting .368 with 16 RBIs in 57 at-bats. Los Angeles has struggled against the Royals this season, scoring just six runs while losing all five encounters. Angels slugger Albert Pujols, who is just 9-for-57 in June, was hitless in four at-bats on Friday and is 2-for-18 against Kansas City this year.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Jake Junis (2-0, 4.67 ERA) vs. Angels RH Alex Meyer (2-3, 4.05)
Junis picked up his first victory as a big-league starter in his last turn, when he allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings against San Diego. The 24-year-old worked a total of 8 1/3 frames over his first two turns - both of which were no-decisions. Junis has served up four homers - three to the Padres - in just 17 major-league innings.
Meyer is 0-2 over his last four turns despite recording 25 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings during the stretch. However, the 27-year-old has issued 15 walks during that span and 29 in 40 overall frames this year. Meyer has posted a solid 2.61 ERA in four home starts compared to 5.59 in four road outings.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Angels have recorded just nine hits in the first two games of the series and had just one at-bat with runners in scoring position on Friday.
2. Kansas City 3B Mike Moustakas is riding an eight-game hitting streak and is batting .389 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 54 at-bats this month.
3. Los Angeles SS Andrelton Simmons is 0-for-7 in the series and hitless in 14 at-bats against the Royals this season.