Royals-Phillies series preview, probable pitchers: KC to face star-studded lineup
Matchup: The Royals (13-25) begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies (21-15) Friday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Central. Saturday’s game is slated for a 6:15 p.m. start, and Sunday’s game will start at 1:15 p.m.
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Kansas City will televise all three games, and KCSP (610 AM) have the radio broadcasts. Sunday’s game will also be broadcast on KYYS (1250 AM).
Probable rotations: Philadelphia: Jake Arrieta (rh, 4-2, 3.40), Zach Eflin (rh, 4-3, 3.00), Vince Velasquez (rh, 1-2, 3.86); Kansas City: Homer Bailey (rh, 3-3, 5.25), Brad Keller (rh, 2-3, 3.99), Jakob Junis (rh, 3-3, 5.52).
Phillies notes: Philadelphia enters this series leading the National League East and having won 8 of 11 games. Most recently, they won 2 of 3 against the Cardinals in St. Louis. The Phillies pitching staff has the fifth-lowest ERA in the National League. Offensively, they rank among the NL leaders in runs scored (sixth, 188) and on-base percentage (fifth, .335). … The Phillies revamped their roster during the offseason with the addition of All-Star catcher and Silver Slugger winner J.T. Realmuto, five-time All-Star outfielder and former MVP Andrew McCutchen and six-time All-Star outfielder and former MVP Bryce Harper. So far, McCutchen leads the team with 26 runs scored, and Realmuto has thrown out 55% of opposing base stealers. Harper has posted a slash of .231/.371/.469 this season, and that’s dipped to .157/.295/.353 in his past 15 games. … Left fielder/first baseman Rhys Hoskins hit 34 home runs and 96 RBIs last season in his first full season in the majors. This season, the 26-year-old has 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 35 games, while boasting a slash line of .295/.420/.636. In his past 15 games, he’s had six home runs, 15 RBIs and 10 walks.
Royals notes: Kansas City returns home after a 2-4 road trip against the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. They scored 27 runs in their two wins, but lost both of their three-game series. Meanwhile, Wednesday’s 9-0 loss to the Astros marked the first time they’d been shut out since Aug. 7. It snapped a streak of 74 straight games without being shut out, which had been the third-longest active streak in the majors. … The Royals have 130 extra-base hits through 38 games to join the 1999 Royals, who had 136 extra-base hits, as the only two teams in franchise history with 130 extra-base hits or more at this point in the season. The Royals lead the majors in triples with 21, six more than the next closest team (Colorado). Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi are tied for the MLB lead with six triples. … Third baseman Hunter Dozier continues to rank among the AL leaders in several offensive categories, including leading the league in both slugging percentage (.661) and OPS (1.088). He ranks second in on-base percentage (.427) behind Angels star Mike Trout. Dozier also ranks sixth in batting average (.331) and fifth in triples (three). His three triples are one shy of his total from last season (102 games).
This story was originally published May 10, 2019 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Royals-Phillies series preview, probable pitchers: KC to face star-studded lineup."
