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I know we don't feel like carrying on without Alex in our lives right now, but we must, its what he would have wanted.
The Royals are still in first place with a 4.5 game lead and have really demoralized the Rays with the way they have dominated them in this series, outscoring them 25-13. The Royals will try to finish off their first four-game sweep of the year (unless you count the two mini-series against the Brewers), and their eighth series sweep overall.
Yordano Ventura returns to the mound today after a stint on the disabled list with "ulnar neuritis". How he performs over the next few weeks could affect how the Royals attack the trade deadline.
The Gordon-less lineup has a few shakeups, most notably Eric Hosmer hitting in the #2 hole. Hosmer is hitting just .246/.291/.291 since the start of June, but hitting in the #2 spot jump-started Moose, so who knows, maybe Ned Yost is a wizard.
LINEUP!
Corrected #Rays lineup: Jaso lf, Sizemore rf, Longoria 3b,. Loney 1b, Forsythe 2b, DeJesus dh, Cabrera ss, Kiermaier cf, Rivera c, Karns p
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 9, 2015
First post-Alex Gordon injury lineup for #Royals, 110 pm start v. Rays. Yordano Ventura returns. pic.twitter.com/CcIV5y2Lbo
— Blair Kerkhoff (@BlairKerkhoff) July 9, 2015