TUESDAY FIRST 5 INNINGS PLAY (YTD 25-22 SOUND THE FADE ALARM)

[jimmythegreek]

Minnesota/Kansas City over 4 -120:

Unfortunately there's not much left to play for when you talk about last place Minnesota (58-72) out of the AL Central trailing first place Kansas City (72-58) by 14 full games. However to quote the late Howard Cosell as to that's why they play them takes on a whole new perspective. The Royals have not been to the postseason since 1985 when they last won the World Series. Leading Detroit by 1.5 games heading into tonight's 3 game series, KC will look to avoid falling victim to the spoilers role of the Twinkies, a role the Royals found themselves in quite a bit over the last few decades.

 

Minnesota sends struggling Ricky Nolasco (5-9 5.96) to the hill this evening. The Twins have lost 6 of their last 9 games overall and Nolasco comes in winless since July 1st. The 31 year old righty is making just his second start since coming off the DL nursing an elbow injury. His last start on August 20th resulted in a loss to Cleveland where he gave up 4 ER on 8 hits in 7 IP. Nolasco faces a Kansas City lineup hitting .263 overall despite averaging just 4.1 runs per contest. One of the reasons supporting their lack of run production is their inability to hit the long ball. Their 83 HR ranks dead last in the majors and is less than half of Baltimore's league leading 168. Alex Gordon (.281 15 56) had a couple of long balls last week and is currently in a 3 way tie for the club lead in that department. Billy Butler (.276 9 54) has seen his power decline over the past few seasons but has come up with some clutch hits in 2014 leading to the Royals overall success. Alcidies Escobar (.274 2 43) is in the midst of a 4 for 24 slump (.167) and could use a couple of key hits to put him back in the swing of things. Salvador Perez (.262 15 55) like Gordon, has provided plenty of power in the catcher's role. Mike Moustakas (.208 15 49) provided the only offense with a solo HR in last night's loss to the Yankees. He's still having trouble hitting his weight but is currently on a 6 game hitting streak (.364). Lorenzo Cain (.301 3 41) has 20 steals in 23 attempts (87%), second to Escobar's 24 and has hit safely in his last 4 going 7 for 14 (.500).

 

Kansas City counters with Danny Duffy (8-11 2.53) who has pitched worlds better than his record indicates. Duffy was on a personal 3 game winning streak before enduring some bad luck over his last start. The 25 year old southpaw yielded 5 runs but only one earned on 5 hits over 7 IP in a loss to Colorado. Duffy was hurt by a Moustakas throwing error that led to a grand slam by Matt McBride. Duffy faces a Twins lineup hitting just .251 but averaging nearly 4.4 runs per contest along with 104 HR. 14 of those came from Josh Willingham (.223 14 40) who was just traded 2 weeks ago to KC. Brian Dozier (.236 20 58) is hitting .310 over the last week and just returned a week ago back to the lineup after suffering a thumb injury. Kurt Suzuki (.295 3 51) is just 2 for his last 25 (.050) and was among the league leaders in hitting a couple of weeks back. Trevor Plouffe (.252 10 65) is on a 5 game hitting streak (.455) and leads the club in RBI's seeing his average eclipse .250 once again. Eduardo Escobar (.281 4 24) is hitless in his last 7 at bats after recording a 4 game hitting streak where he went 11 for his last 19 (.579). Joe Mauer (.277 4 39) has been run down all season by injuries and inefficiency but has been coming back around to respectability over the past few weeks. Oswaldo Arcia (.226 14 40) homered 3 times last week but has been hitless over his last 10 at bats.

 

A little bit of a pricey dicey situation here as Kauffman Stadium poses a little bit of a challenge for hitters evident by the lack of power on Kansas City. It's just 330 to the corners but 410 straight away and 388 in left center where the famous Water Spectacular acts as a humidor from the background. This KC team does have some pop in their bats from 3 or 4 of their stars, however Duffy has a tough fast ball and keeps it down which might make things tough. Consequently, Nolasco has been lit up like a pinball machine over the last few months. Minnesota despite their pitching woes has managed to score though the challenge might be enough run support to end their misfortune. Holding off Detroit could be a tough task in the AL Central, and Duffy may need to rely on the KC bats to get back in the win column. We have dropped our last 5 contests and are desperately looking to distance ourselves from mediocrity to perhaps salvage some of the profits back we captured in the first 2/3 of this season. We might be a bit more particular when it comes to pulling the trigger, but there's still time to turn the tide. Best of luck however you play!

[jeffksu]

Good Luck JtG...

[wiskers]

on it with you jimmy

[KingKolzig]

tough loss. keep plugging