Royals-Rays series preview, probable pitchers: Tampa vs. KC again, this time at The K
Matchup: The Royals (9-19) begin a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays (18-9) Monday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. First pitch Monday through Wednesday is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CDT. Thursday’s game is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Kansas City will televise all four games, and KCSP (610 AM) have the radio broadcasts.
Season series: Rays lead 2-1.
Probable rotations: Tampa Bay: Ryne Stanek (rh, 0-0, 1.32), Blake Snell (lh, 2-1, 2.54), TBA, Charlie Morton (rh, 3-0, 2.76); Kansas City: Brad Keller (rh, 2-2, 3.41), Jakob Junis (rh, 2-2, 5.57) Danny Duffy (lh, 0-1, 5.40), Jorge Lopez (rh, 0-2, 5.08).
Rays notes: Ryane Stanek, a relief pitcher, will serve as the “opener” for the Rays in Monday night’s series opener at Kauffman Stadium. Stanek was born in St. Louis, but he played high school baseball for Blue Valley High School in Kansas. He was drafted out of high school in the third round by the Seattle Mariners in 2010, but he did not sign and played at the University of Arkansas. The Rays drafted him in the first round in 2013. … The Rays list reigning Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell as Tuesday’s starter. Snell started against the Royals last Wednesday after coming off the injured list, but he allowed three runs, five hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. Last season, Snell went 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA, 0.974 WHIP and 11.0 strikeouts per nine. … Infielder Joey Wendle went on the injured list after being hit by a pitch from relief pitcher Jake Diekman. Wendle suffered a fractured right wrist as a result. Outfielder Austin Meadows also remains on the injured list with a right thumb strain. Meadows did not play in the previous series between the teams. Meadows posted a slash line of .351/.422/.676 at the time of his injury, and he led the team in RBI and was tied for the team lead in home runs.
Royals notes: Monday’s starter Brad Keller will be making his first start since serving a 5-game suspension handed down by MLB for hitting Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson with a pitch that started the benches-clearing altercation against in Chicago earlier this month. Keller allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings against the Rays at Tropicana Field on April 22. In six starts this season, opponents have batted .197 against Keller. … Third baseman Hunter Dozier entered Sunday ranked sixth in the American League in batting average (.350), second in on-base percentage (.442) and first in slugging percentage (.713). After Sunday, he’s had a hit in seven consecutive games. Since the first eight games of the season, Dozier has posted a slash line fo .464/.552/.929 with 12 runs scored, 12 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs since April 10. … Left fielder Alex Gordon doubled on Sunday to give him 10 doubles in April. He’s now two doubles away from tying the franchise record for doubles in a month that he currently holds along with George Brett (1983) and Jermaine Dye (2000). Gordon tied the record in 2011.
This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Royals-Rays series preview, probable pitchers: Tampa vs. KC again, this time at The K."
