The Kansas City Royals will head to Canada to begin a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays this Friday from the Rogers Centre.
Royals Preview & Projected Starter
Kansas City comes in at 44-99 after losing to Toronto. The Royals have been able to strike in this battle of blues, and they’ll look to avoid the brooms here in game three. couldn’t complete the sweep on Wednesday, and they’ll look to steal a few games from the Jays this weekend. The Kansas City offense is scoring 3.62 runs per game, while batting .233, with a .293 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 5.25 ERA, with a 1.43 WHIP.
Cole Ragans (5-4, 3.66 ERA, 9 Ks) will get the start for Kansas City. The third-year pitcher had a great start in Oakland last time out, striking out eleven over six scoreless frames to earn his second straight win Ragans has come over from the Rangers and carved out a useful role in the Royals rotation, as he’s held clubs to three runs or less all six starts, while clearing eight strikeouts in fourof those.
Royals Player Trends & Props
Bobby Witt Jr. returned to the lineup with a RBI double in the game two victory, and he leads KC in hits (153), home runs (28) and RBI (85).
Maikel Garcia has totaled multiple bases in five of the last six games, and he leads the Royals in batting (.284), with 48 RBI.
Salvador Perez has produced a run in three of the last five games, and he’s second on the team with 21 homers and 62 RBI.
MJ Melendez homered in Tuesday’s win, and he’s posting splits of .239/14/48.
Blue Jays Preview & Projected Starter
Toronto enters at 79-63 after defeating Kansas City. The Blue Jays have played well this weekend, and they’ll look to bring the brooms out on Sunday. The Toronto offense is scoring 4.85 runs per game, while batting .262, with a .331 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 3.80 ERA, with a 1.26 WHIP.
Jose Berrios (9-8, 3.39 ERA, 140 Ks) will get the ball for Toronto. The eighth-year righty threw well in Cincinnati last week, striking out eight over 5.2 scoreless frames en route to a Jays win. Berrios has been reliable since the beginning of July, holding teams to two runs or less in six of his last eight starts. Berrios’ lone matchup with Baltimore went well back in June, as he tossed 7.2 innings of shutout ball at Camden Yards, and he’ll look to replicate that performance here.
Blue Jays Player Trends & Props
Vlad Guerrero Jr. has produced a run in six of the last nine games, and he leads Toronto in RBI (82), with 21 homers.
George Springer has totaled multiple bases in four of the previous five games, and he’s posting splits of .262/17/59.
Whit Merrifield has plated a run in four of the last five games, and he’s batting .286, with 61 RBI.
Corey’s Free Pick
Toronto has capitalized and handled business at home, and I’m comfortable trusting them to complete the mission with a sweep this Sunday. The Blue Jays understand the situation at hand, as it’s win now or never, and it won’t get much easier than playing the Royals at home. Back Toronto for a series sweep here on Sunday.
AUTHOR: Corey Ghee
