Good things happen for the Kansas City Royals when veteran right-hander Michael Wacha takes the mound.
Kansas City has notched victories in his past five starts, with Wacha recording the win in his last four outings. The Royals and Wacha will look to keep both streaks going in the middle contest of a three-game series against the host Detroit Tigers on Saturday evening.
The Royals have 33 runs in Wacha’s last five starts. In his most recent outing on Monday, Wacha allowed nine hits in 5 2/3 innings but gave up only two runs in a 4-3 victory over Texas.
Wacha (8-9, 3.34 ERA) pitches to contact, so the key to his success is limiting walks and home runs. He’s issued only four walks over his last six outings and one home run in his last eight starts.
Detroit knows how stingy Wacha can be. On April 20, he held the Tigers to two runs in 5 1/3 innings. On May 31, he tossed seven scoreless innings while giving up just one hit.
Overall, he’s 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA in eight career starts against Detroit.
He’ll oppose Tigers right-hander Chris Paddack (4-11, 5.10), who is relieved he doesn’t have to face his former teammates. Paddack has pitched well in two of four starts since he was acquired from Minnesota. Both of his poor outings have come against the Twins.
Paddack allowed four runs in four innings to Minnesota on Aug. 5 and eight runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings on Sunday.
“I’m glad I don’t have to face them again,” Paddack said. “Definitely frustrating. It’s hard to get a little motivation when you’re facing a former team, but I have to move on and get ready for another division team for my next outing. Just learn from this one, continue to grow and continue to show up with a positive attitude. But I have to fix some things. I’ve had some outings this year that aren’t meeting my expectations as a whole.”
Paddack is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA in two career starts against the Royals. He will face the hottest hitter in the league in Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who has homered in five straight games, including a two-run shot in the series opener on Friday.
He’s now tied for the Royals’ record for most consecutive games with a home run, joining Salvador Perez (Aug. 25-29, 2021) and Mike Sweeney (June 25-29, 2002).
It wasn’t enough on Friday, though, as the Tigers won their fourth straight and 10th in the last 12 games, 7-5.
For the Royals, the long ball has allowed them to jump into the wild-card race.
“The approaches have gotten better, and it has put pressure on pitchers in different ways,” Pasquantino said. “We’re hitting the ball out of the park at a better rate, which means guys have to be more careful with where they go in the strike zone. It’s how the game works. You make an adjustment, they make an adjustment.”
The Tigers had a pair of homers while rallying from a 3-0 deficit on Friday. Riley Greene blasted his 30th homer to tie the contest, and Zach McKinstry supplied a solo shot among three hits.
–Field Level Media
