For a team that was bad for a long time, then pretty good for a few years, and now something less than that, the Royals are sort of the anti-Pirates. They cashed in and were fortunate enough to win a World Series, and now the bill has come due. Kansas City is sitting in last place in an American League Central in which it’s pretty hard to get to the basement.
Plenty of discussion can be had about what each team has done right or wrong, but it’s fair to say the rational among us would take the World Series and live with the consequences. Both sides have been through worse stretches.
The Pirates (74-74 through all all their sustainability and years-of-control and whatnot) have won eight of 11, while the Royals are enjoying a 9-6 September with a fairly anonymous roster.
Schedule
Monday, 7:05 p.m. — Brad Keller (8-6, 3.04 ERA) vs. Joe Musgrove (6-9, 3.87); TV: AT&T SportsNet
Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. — Eric Skoglund (1-5, 6.19) vs. Jameson Taillon (13-9, 3.37); TV: AT&T SportsNet
Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. — Heath Fillmyer (3-1, 4.76) vs. Chris Archer (4-8, 4.66); TV: AT&T SportsNet
Royals
52-97 (55-94 Pythag, 3.91 RS/G, 5.21 RA/G)
Offense
Whit Merrifield (.302/.366/.436, 12 HR) has turned into quite a ballplayer, and is mainly talked about as the next piece that could be shipped out to bring in more promising young dudes. The success of Adalberto Mondesi (.291/.319/.482, 9 HR in 231 PA) can in part be chalked up to his father protecting him from some guy his father may have owed money. Salvador Perez (.234/.272/.447, 26 HR) still has power and defensive value to lean on.
Pitching
Who is pitching for the Royals? Brad Keller (6.15 K/9, 3.25 BB.9, 54.5 GB%) leads this group with 2.1 fWAR, and there’s nobody all that close to him. Danny Duffy got injured, scuttling a possible solid trade return this year. Enny Romero, the Pirates’ leader in most major offensive categories (minimum PA one), threw four innings for these guys, but appears to still be a free agent after another DFA.
Poll
How many games will the Pirates win against the Royals?
This poll is closed
-
42%
3
-
45%
2
-
7%
1
-
4%
0