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It's my first game thread of the season, so I thought I'd open up with some humor. Remember this?
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Ahh...and those people even get paid to talk about this. Here at Royals Review, I'm reimbursed with great fans and incredible playoff runs. I guess it all evens out.
The undefeated Kansas City Royals make their first road trip of the 2015 season by opening up a three-game series in Anaheim. The Angels were the best regular season team in baseball before falling victim to the unstoppable barrage that was the 2014 Royals, and as Ryan Lefebvre has said about 673 times during the first three telecasts, L.A. "probably remembers" that.
The Royals were the Angels' home opener opponent three seasons ago when the slogan was "Our Time," and then Kansas City was promptly blanked by Jerad Weaver. But now, they're "Forever Royal." Will it make a difference? Ned Yost's squad will take the field with its opening day lineup:
#Royals lineup vs. Santiago: Escobar SS Moustakas 3B Cain CF Hosmer 1B Morales DH Gordon LF Rios RF Perez C Infante 2B Vargas P
— David Lesky (@DBLesky) April 10, 2015
Jason Vargas' career ERA in Angel Stadium is very good. He pitched well in game one of the 2014 ALDS. Let's hope he pitches well tonight.
The 2-1 Angels, fresh off a road series win against the Mariners, will line up like this:
#Angels lineup: Calhoun RF, Trout CF, Pujols 1B, Freese 3B, Cron DH, Aybar SS, Iannetta C, Cowgill LF, Giavotella 2B; Santiago SP. #Royals
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) April 10, 2015
A couple of notes on Hector Santiago: he was 6-9 with a 3.75 ERA in 24 starts last season. He's been very good in his career against the Royals, as he's posted an 0.93 ERA while making four starts and five relief appearances over his three year career. That spans over 29 innings. Last year on June 28, he fired four shutout frames at Kauffman Stadium before a rain delay knocked him out of the game. It won't be easy, but then again, in the past, they were never....Forever Royal.
Also, Johnny Giavotella will play his first game against his former team. He might still be better than Omar Infante.
It's a late night, but that'd be nothing new for these two teams considering how the first two games of last year's ALDS went. Let's hope for a similar result tonight.