Will Yost’s Royals wake up against Indians?
It’s an obvious, albeit necessary, statement to make: Kansas City’s hitting the road at the wrong time.
Two nights after being trounced by Washington, the scuffling Royals (14-13) open a three-game set at Cleveland. Online sports book BetDSI feels no love for the visitors, either, listing them as 1.5-run underdogs. The over/under total rests at seven runs.
Ned Yost’s squad dropped two of three against the Nationals and seems utterly incapable of snapping out of a prolonged offensive funk. Whether that changes away from Kauffman Stadium, of course, remains anyone’s guess. Danny Salazar (2-2, 2.40 ERA) draws this evening’s assignment for the Indians. He’s struggled vs. Kansas City in past meetings, though, going 4-5 with a 4.64 ERA in nine starts.
Irrespective of what the Royals’ bats produce, Yost needs a quality performance from Yordano Ventura (2-1, 3.67) on the hill. He positively zoomed through April – until last weekend’s turn at Safeco Field, where the Mariners bludgeoned the righty for a pair of homers in a four-run first. Command issues always seem to be a bugaboo for Ventura, so we’re eager to gauge the patience of Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and the rest of the Tribe’s hitters.
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Cleveland (13-12) comes in on a roll, having swept another AL Central rival in Detroit for the second time in two weeks. If Terry Francona’s group gets rolling early, this could be an ugly finish for the defending World Series champs yet again. We trust Ventura in a bounce-back spot, though, even if the lumber continues to languish.
FRIDAY MLB FREE PICK: ROYALS/INDIANS UNDER 7 RUNS
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