Royals vs. Rays, Game 82 Game Thread

The Rays are aquatic animals. They have a distinct advantage over the Royals in this series given the crappy weather that has passed through our landlocked city since Slugggeeeerrrrrrr is very much so NOT a swimmer. The Rays, however, have done nothing to press their advantage. The Royals had a ringer in Paulo Orlando, which is a well-known city near large bodies of water, and Alex Gordon, who is probably a good swimmer.

Unfortunately, tonight the Rays send up one of the best pitchers in baseball, Chris Archer. Archer is probably the son of Poseidon, so he commands the waters. Archer has been carving up hitters with probably a trident; his 25 percentage point difference between his strikeout rate and walk rate ranks among the best starting pitchers. His home run rate is low. His BABIP is low. His strand rate is high. He has a 2.18 ERA / 2.46 FIP / 2.49 xFIP triple slash. He's the real deal this year.

The Royals start Jeremy Guthrie, who collects shoes.

Lineups:

.@TheRealJGuts starts for the #Royals at 7:10 CT on @FSKansasCity, @MLBTV, & @610SportsKC. http://t.co/7XFqxuKn3n pic.twitter.com/flXzxRSpNA

— #VoteMoose (@Royals) July 8, 2015

#Rays lineup: Jaso DH, Cabrera ss, Longoria 3b, Loney 1b, Forsythe 2b, DeJesus lf, Guyer rf, Kiermaier cf, Rivera c, Archer p

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 8, 2015