Quietly, the Orioles have got their Royal on, not winning consecutive games since mid-April. As the AP story dutifully points out, they'll look for a massive two-game winning streak today against the Royals. (Weather permitting)
The Royals send Mark Redman (0-2, 5.76 ERA) to the mound to face off against the more famous than good Kris Benson (4-3, 4.89 ERA). Of course, with those numbers he'd be the Royals Ace. But then again, he probably wouldn't have those numbers with the Royal defense behind him.
Buddisimo Bell offers his daily wisdom regarding the Royals on the road. Try to follow this,
"You always have a little different feel when you're on the road," said Bell, whose team saw its season-high three-game winning streak snapped at Baltimore on Friday. "I never could buy into that. The game's pretty much the same wherever you play. ... I don't see why we should have a different feel."
Good stuff Buddy.
The Royals are now a full 5 games behind or ahead the Mariners and D-Rays for the worst record in the American League, and one game ahead/behind of Florida, who sits at 9-24.
Royals Trivia Question: Which Royal Reliver has added the most expected wins to the team this season?
Mike Wood with a WXRL of .623 (by way of comparision, Duaner Sanchez leads the Majors with a WXRL of 2.2) Hearty congrats to Mr. Wood. Note: Baseball Prospectus defines WXRL as "Expected wins added over a replacement level pitcher, adjusted for level of opposing hitters. WXRL combines the individual adjustments for replacement level (WXR) and quality of the opposing lineup (WXL) to the basic WX calculation."
It should be a wonderful afternoon in Baltimore. I feel certain that the Royals will perform at the highest level.