The Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies each snapped long losing streaks on Sunday. One of those teams is about to have a rare two-game winning streak.
The Rockies and Royals open a three-game set in Kansas City on Tuesday night after Colorado halted an eight-game slide and the Royals snapped a six-game skid.
Kansas City pushed a run across in the 10th inning Sunday to edge the Detroit Tigers 4-3. The victory ended a tough 2-8 road trip against the Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees and Tigers.
“Now just build off it,” said star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who hit the game-winning sacrifice fly on Sunday. “That’s all you can do now. … Now it’s just about having a good off day, reset things and get back home to our fans and be ready to go.”
The Royals scored just 22 runs on the 10-game excursion and didn’t score more than four in any game. They also allowed six or more runs on four occasions.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro feels a turnaround for his club is just around the corner.
“Look, we know we’re going to go through some tough stretches,” Quatraro said. “This was a tough road trip against good teams. We’re going to play better than we’ve played this week, that’s for sure. You just don’t know when it’s going to happen. But any day is an opportunity to make the most of it.”
The Rockies ended their skid in the second game of a doubleheader with a 3-1 home win over the Washington Nationals. Colorado lost the opener 3-2.
Mickey Moniak delivered a two-run triple in the team’s first winning effort since April 10.
The Rockies received a blow over the weekend when Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar (left hip) went on the 10-day injured list.
Tovar won’t be on the shelf for long. But it could be a different story for high-priced Kris Bryant, who went on the IL on April 14 due to another round of lower back issues.
Bryant battles lumbar degenerative disc disease, and consistent rehab and anti-inflammatory shots haven’t decreased the pain. He batted .154 with one RBI in 11 games before going on the IL.
Surgery remains an eventual option for Bryant, who is in the fourth season of a seven-year, $182 million deal.
“I want to see all my options, too, so that I’m not, like, in constant pain and nauseous, where I can’t eat, which was the situation today,” Bryant told reporters on Sunday. “I woke up not feeling great. It’s just extremely frustrating.”
Right-hander Ryan Feltner (0-1, 4.82 ERA) will take the mound for the Rockies on Tuesday.
Feltner, 28, had control problems while losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 15. He issued six walks in 2 2/3 innings and allowed five runs and five hits.
In his previous outing, he gave up just one run and three hits over six innings in a no-decision against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Feltner has never faced Kansas City in his four-plus-year career. Cavan Biggio is 2-for-5 with three strikeouts against Feltner.
Left-hander Kris Bubic (2-1, 1.88) will look to continue his solid start for the Royals.
Bubic, 27, has fanned 27 batters in 24 innings while allowing just 20 hits.
He won his first two starts of the season before losing to Cleveland and receiving a no-decision against New York on the road trip. In last Wednesday’s start against the Yankees, he gave up three runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Bubic fanned two in a scoreless inning of relief last July in his lone appearance against Colorado. Kyle Farmer is 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and four RBIs against Bubic.
–Field Level Media
