Mariners at Royals
Eric Skoglund has a tough act to follow when he makes his season debut for the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. The 25-year-old left-hander takes the ball for the second contest of a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, who managed only one hit in the opener.
Jakob Junis worked seven strong innings in Monday’s 10-0 win, but the dominance has been spread throughout the Royals’ staff. Kansas City starters have not allowed a run in four of the last five games, posting a 1.04 ERA and holding opponents to a .128 average over that span. The Mariners were coming off their best offensive showing thus far in an 11-4 rout of Minnesota on Sunday, but they had only two at-bats with runners in scoring position during the series opener. Robinson Cano (seven games) and Jean Segura (six) both went hitless to snap their hitting streaks.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (1-1, 7.71 ERA) vs. Royals LH Eric Skoglund (2017: 1-2, 9.50)
Hernandez gave the Mariners a strong effort on Opening Day, but his second start of the season was a disaster. The 32-year-old former ace was rocked for eight runs in four innings at San Francisco, allowing three home runs in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Hernandez is 5-6 with a 3.05 ERA in 14 career starts against Kansas City.
Skoglund won the final spot in the rotation this spring, but the Royals haven’t needed a fifth starter until now. He wowed in his major-league debut last May, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings to beat Detroit, but he didn’t pitch past the third frame in any of his other four starts. Skoglund averaged nearly a strikeout per inning in the minors but had some trouble finding the strike zone after his recall last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kansas City has posted three shutouts in its first eight games – the most in club history – to become the first team to accomplish the feat since Oakland in 2015.
2. Mariners CF Dee Gordon recorded one of the Mariners’ two hits on Monday, extending his hitting streak to eight games.
3. Royals 2B Whit Merrifield went 2-for-5 in the opener and has reached safely in 18 straight home contests.