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Royals, Orioles hook up
August 27, 2015
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (63-63) at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (77-49)
First pitch: Thursday, 2:10 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Kansas City -135, Baltimore +125, Total: 8
The Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals finish out their four-game set at Kauffman Stadium when they face-off on Thursday.
After putting together a few tremendous years in a row, the Orioles have taken a back seat to the Jays and Yankees in the AL East and are eight games out of first place going into Thursday. They had lost six consecutive games heading into Wednesday’s contest, first taking a four-game sweep at the hands of the Twins before losing the first two of this series. They were able to get back in the win column on Wednesday, though, taking the contest by a score of 8-5 as they hit a two-run homer in three consecutive innings. It is feast or famine with 1B Chris Davis (.254) who had one of the homers in the game and is second in the AL in both RBIs (91) and HRs (35), but he is struggling overall right now, going 2-for-19 (.105) with 10 strikeouts in his past five games.
The Royals are currently the team to beat in the AL and have a dominating lead in the AL Central with 12 games separating them from the second-place Minnesota Twins. They just continue to get victories and are 9-3 in their last 12 games; including winning two of the first three games in this series. They ended a four-game winning streak in Wednesday’s defeat as the offense tallied 11 hits and went 4-for-10 with RISP, but could not make up for the poor start (5 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 8 K) from starter Johnny Cueto. OF Lorenzo Cain (.311) continued his strong season with a 2-for-4 night and is riding a small five-game hitting streak in which he is 9-for-22 (.409) with three runs scored.
Taking the mound in this matchup will be RHP Chris Tillman (9-8, 4.51 ERA) for the visiting Baltimore group as he looks to outduel RHP Yordano Ventura (8-7, 4.64 ERA) of Kansas City. It has been a rough go of things on the road for the Orioles who are a putrid 24-37 when playing away from home as the Royals are 44-21 when in front of their fans. This game will mark the 22nd meeting between these teams since the start of the 2013 campaign, and in that time Kansas City holds the 14-7 edge and is 9-4 at home.
Trends show that the Orioles are 56-53 (.514) as a road underdog of +100 or higher in the past two seasons while the Royals are 33-11 (.750) at home with a money line of -100 to -150 this year. The injury report as SS J.J. Hardy (Groin) missing for the visitors as the only omission of note for the Royals is that of OF Alex Gordon (Groin).
Tillman was the de facto number one starter for the Orioles in each of the past three seasons, posting ERAs under 3.75 each year with a combined record of 38-15. He has come back down to earth in 2015 with an ERA closer to his career FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching) mark of 4.48 and has seen his BABIP creep up to .283 after three consecutive campaigns with that average under .270. Tillman’s strikeouts (6.3 K/9) are at their lowest since 2010 and his control has once again crept up over 3.0 BB/9 (3.2 BB/9). One positive that he can take from his first 23 starts has been his ability to keep the ball on the ground, which he has done a career-high 43.4% of the time. His performances over the last seven outings have been outstanding, getting six quality starts with a record of 3-1 as he’s held the opposition at two or fewer runs five times.
Tillman has really had issues in his starts against the Royals, going 2-2 (3-3 team record) with a 6.75 ERA (1.50 WHIP). DH Kendrys Morales, 3B Mike Moustakas and SS Alcides Escobar have all been successful against the Baltimore righty, combining to go 12-for-28 (.429) with a home run and three RBI. On the other hand, the trio of OFs Lorenzo Cain (1-for-5, 2 K), Alex Rios (3-for-13, 4 K) and Ben Zobrist (6-for-37, 3 HR, 4 RBI) has struggled overall. The Orioles relievers have done well in 2015, going 22-15 with a 2.87 ERA (1.22 WHIP) and are 33-for-43 (77%) in save chances. Zach Britton (1.90 ERA, 30 saves) has struck out 10.2 batters per nine innings while showing amazing control (1.9 BB/9) on the year.
Ventura has electric stuff as evidenced by his mid-nineties MPH fastball which is rated by many scouts as a maximum 80 on the scouting scale and he’s used that along with a plus curveball to strike out 7.6 batters per nine innings this year, showing increased control (3.0 BB/9) in the process. While he isn’t striking out a ton, he is getting the opponent to hit the ball on the ground plenty (50.1% GB) and should see his ERA come down as he is leaving a mere 69.2% of runners on base. Ventura has been able to get through at least six innings in five of his last six visits to the mound, giving up two or fewer runs four times during that stretch while the team has gone 5-1. In Ventura’s three meetings with the Orioles he is 1-1 (2-1 team record) with a 2.70 ERA (1.25 WHIP) while owning a 20:6 K/BB ratio over 20 frames.
Nobody on Baltimore has faced Ventura in more than 10 at-bats, but in limited time C Matt Wieters is 2-for-4 while 1B Chris Davis, OF Adam Jones and 2B Jonathan Schoop are a collective 0-for-14 in the matchup. The Royals have arguably the best bullpen in baseball and that unit has gone 26-8 with a league-best 2.34 ERA (1.09 WHIP) and have successfully saved 45-of-61 (74%) games. Greg Holland (3.55 ERA, 28 saves) has stuck out a career low 10.4 batters per nine this year and suffered through some iffy control (5.5 BB/9) as he is 28-for-32 (88%) in his save opportunities.
August 27, 2015
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (63-63) at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (77-49)
First pitch: Thursday, 2:10 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Kansas City -135, Baltimore +125, Total: 8
The Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals finish out their four-game set at Kauffman Stadium when they face-off on Thursday.
After putting together a few tremendous years in a row, the Orioles have taken a back seat to the Jays and Yankees in the AL East and are eight games out of first place going into Thursday. They had lost six consecutive games heading into Wednesday’s contest, first taking a four-game sweep at the hands of the Twins before losing the first two of this series. They were able to get back in the win column on Wednesday, though, taking the contest by a score of 8-5 as they hit a two-run homer in three consecutive innings. It is feast or famine with 1B Chris Davis (.254) who had one of the homers in the game and is second in the AL in both RBIs (91) and HRs (35), but he is struggling overall right now, going 2-for-19 (.105) with 10 strikeouts in his past five games.
The Royals are currently the team to beat in the AL and have a dominating lead in the AL Central with 12 games separating them from the second-place Minnesota Twins. They just continue to get victories and are 9-3 in their last 12 games; including winning two of the first three games in this series. They ended a four-game winning streak in Wednesday’s defeat as the offense tallied 11 hits and went 4-for-10 with RISP, but could not make up for the poor start (5 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 8 K) from starter Johnny Cueto. OF Lorenzo Cain (.311) continued his strong season with a 2-for-4 night and is riding a small five-game hitting streak in which he is 9-for-22 (.409) with three runs scored.
Taking the mound in this matchup will be RHP Chris Tillman (9-8, 4.51 ERA) for the visiting Baltimore group as he looks to outduel RHP Yordano Ventura (8-7, 4.64 ERA) of Kansas City. It has been a rough go of things on the road for the Orioles who are a putrid 24-37 when playing away from home as the Royals are 44-21 when in front of their fans. This game will mark the 22nd meeting between these teams since the start of the 2013 campaign, and in that time Kansas City holds the 14-7 edge and is 9-4 at home.
Trends show that the Orioles are 56-53 (.514) as a road underdog of +100 or higher in the past two seasons while the Royals are 33-11 (.750) at home with a money line of -100 to -150 this year. The injury report as SS J.J. Hardy (Groin) missing for the visitors as the only omission of note for the Royals is that of OF Alex Gordon (Groin).
Tillman was the de facto number one starter for the Orioles in each of the past three seasons, posting ERAs under 3.75 each year with a combined record of 38-15. He has come back down to earth in 2015 with an ERA closer to his career FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching) mark of 4.48 and has seen his BABIP creep up to .283 after three consecutive campaigns with that average under .270. Tillman’s strikeouts (6.3 K/9) are at their lowest since 2010 and his control has once again crept up over 3.0 BB/9 (3.2 BB/9). One positive that he can take from his first 23 starts has been his ability to keep the ball on the ground, which he has done a career-high 43.4% of the time. His performances over the last seven outings have been outstanding, getting six quality starts with a record of 3-1 as he’s held the opposition at two or fewer runs five times.
Tillman has really had issues in his starts against the Royals, going 2-2 (3-3 team record) with a 6.75 ERA (1.50 WHIP). DH Kendrys Morales, 3B Mike Moustakas and SS Alcides Escobar have all been successful against the Baltimore righty, combining to go 12-for-28 (.429) with a home run and three RBI. On the other hand, the trio of OFs Lorenzo Cain (1-for-5, 2 K), Alex Rios (3-for-13, 4 K) and Ben Zobrist (6-for-37, 3 HR, 4 RBI) has struggled overall. The Orioles relievers have done well in 2015, going 22-15 with a 2.87 ERA (1.22 WHIP) and are 33-for-43 (77%) in save chances. Zach Britton (1.90 ERA, 30 saves) has struck out 10.2 batters per nine innings while showing amazing control (1.9 BB/9) on the year.
Ventura has electric stuff as evidenced by his mid-nineties MPH fastball which is rated by many scouts as a maximum 80 on the scouting scale and he’s used that along with a plus curveball to strike out 7.6 batters per nine innings this year, showing increased control (3.0 BB/9) in the process. While he isn’t striking out a ton, he is getting the opponent to hit the ball on the ground plenty (50.1% GB) and should see his ERA come down as he is leaving a mere 69.2% of runners on base. Ventura has been able to get through at least six innings in five of his last six visits to the mound, giving up two or fewer runs four times during that stretch while the team has gone 5-1. In Ventura’s three meetings with the Orioles he is 1-1 (2-1 team record) with a 2.70 ERA (1.25 WHIP) while owning a 20:6 K/BB ratio over 20 frames.
Nobody on Baltimore has faced Ventura in more than 10 at-bats, but in limited time C Matt Wieters is 2-for-4 while 1B Chris Davis, OF Adam Jones and 2B Jonathan Schoop are a collective 0-for-14 in the matchup. The Royals have arguably the best bullpen in baseball and that unit has gone 26-8 with a league-best 2.34 ERA (1.09 WHIP) and have successfully saved 45-of-61 (74%) games. Greg Holland (3.55 ERA, 28 saves) has stuck out a career low 10.4 batters per nine this year and suffered through some iffy control (5.5 BB/9) as he is 28-for-32 (88%) in his save opportunities.
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