Twins at Royals
The Kansas City Royals almost certainly are headed to yet another losing campaign, but they are doing a fine job of bringing the Minnesota Twins back to the pack as much as possible. The Royals set their sights on a third straight victory over the visiting Twins on Friday, when the first- and last-place teams in the American League Central square off for the second contest of their four-game series.
The Royals (26-49) dropped each of their first four meetings with the Twins - all of which were decided by one or two runs - before they broke through with an 8-6 triumph in Minnesota on Sunday. Kansas City notched its fourth victory in five overall games on Thursday, scoring three first-inning runs off the red-hot Jake Odorizzi to end his 10-game winning streak en route to a 4-1 triumph. The Twins (48-26) still own the best record in the AL and maintained their nine-game advantage in the Central but have lost four of five and find themselves on the verge of their first three-game skid of the season. Jorge Polanco remained locked in offensively, extending his career-high on-base streak to 34 games with a solo shot in his first at-bat on Thursday.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins LH Martin Perez (7-3, 4.09 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jakob Junis (4-6, 5.33)
Perez has fizzled a bit since opening the season by winning seven of his first eight decisions and posting a 2.95 ERA through his first 11 appearances (eight starts). The 28-year-old fell to 0-2 with a 7.58 ERA over his last four turns on Sunday against Kansas City after yielding five runs - four earned - in 6 2/3 frames despite striking out seven batters for the second straight outing. Martin Maldonado (7-for-12) and Whit Merrifield (3-for-7) have fared extremely well versus Perez, who is 1-1 with a 3.08 ERA in four career starts against the Royals.
Junis needed 92 pitches to get through 3 2/3 innings in his head-to-head duel with Perez on Sunday, failing to factor in the decision after permitting two runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. The native of Illinois has struggled to retire left-handers (.302 batting average against) and is 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA in eight home outings this season. Max Kepler is 6-for-15 with a double, a triple and a homer against Junis, who is 0-1 with a 4.55 ERA in six starts versus Minnesota.
WALK-OFFS
1. Royals rookie 2B Nicky Lopez has recorded multiple hits in a career-high three consecutive contests and is batting .355 over his last eight games.
2. Minnesota has dropped four of its last seven on the road after opening the season 21-9 away from home.
3. Maldonado's RBI double in the opener gave him an extra-base hit in four straight games - the longest such streak of his career and one shy of the club record by a catcher.