Two teams coming off vastly different series will square off on Memorial Day in Kansas City, Mo., where the Kansas City Royals host the Cincinnati Reds.
The Royals, who wrapped up a six-game road trip on Sunday, recorded just seven total runs across their three games against the Minnesota Twins. After dropping the first two games, Kansas City rallied for a 2-1 victory in 10 innings on Sunday, with Maikel Garcia lacing a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th.
Following a pair of close losses, the Royals hope their rally on Sunday will carry over into the interleague matchup on Monday.
“It’s a good feeling,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “You play your tail off for three days and you get one of them. You’ve got to stay in the fight. If you don’t have a great day at the plate going, it’s easy to hang your head.”
Kansas City, which has gone three straight games without a home run, ranks last in the majors with 32 homers on the season. The Royals’ pitching staff boasts a 3.03 ERA — second best in the majors.
Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3-5, 3.77 ERA) is scheduled to make his 11th start of the season for Kansas City — looking to snap a four-start winless streak. The right-hander only lasted 4 2/3 innings against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, allowing three runs (two earned) in the Royals’ 3-2 loss.
Lorenzen, who made 295 appearances on the mound with the Reds from 2015-21, is 1-1 with a 4.63 ERA in two career outings against his former team — both coming last season.
Cincinnati enters the series coming off three games against the Chicago Cubs that saw its pitching staff battered and bruised. The Reds allowed 28 runs across the weekend set, including a 13-6 defeat on Friday and an 11-8 loss on Sunday.
The Reds led 8-3 in the series finale before allowing eight unanswered runs, falling for the fourth time in five games. Veteran manager Terry Francona, in his first year with Cincinnati, said there’s no time for a “reset.”
“We better hurry because we’ve got a game tomorrow at three o’clock,” Francona said. “Some lineups make you pay for mistakes more than others. (Chicago) has a good lineup and they felt really good about themselves. … I think we need to try to win tomorrow. But I’ll always feel that way.”
Righty Nick Martinez (2-5, 3.43) will look to stop the bleeding for the staff on Monday while aiming to complete at least six innings for the sixth consecutive start. Martinez, 34, allowed just one run in six innings against Pirates in Pittsburgh on Tuesday but suffered a 1-0 loss. The veteran right-hander has allowed one run over his last 14 innings pitched.
Martinez has faced the Royals six times (three starts) in his career, posting an 0-1 record and a 2.70 ERA in 23 1/3 innings.
In the lone series between the teams last season, the Royals swept the host Reds in a three-game set in August.
–Field Level Media
