Game XII: Angels at Royals

If you only watched the Royals play weekend baseball you might be tempted to think they're really, really good. After all, they've only won four out of five weekend games so far. They could have easily one the fifth, were it not for the Crawford boxes in Houston. If the Royals lose today, they'll have no such excuses.

The Angels' pitching is kind of a mess, right now. Today's starting pitcher, lefty Tyler Skaggs, does not have a line to make you think otherwise. The good news for the Angels is that he has struck out 10 across 10.1 innings in his first two starts. He also has an 8.71 ERA during that period. His FIP isn't much better, and that might have something to do with the whopping 5 walks and 3 home runs he's already allowed. He doesn't have any meaningful history against the Royals' hitters, though he has allowed a home run to Brandon Moss who has shown signs of coming out of his slump, lately.

The home team counters with Ian Kennedy. Ian had a terrific spring, but mixed results since the regular season started. This is in large part because he has already walked 7 batters in only 11 innings during his first two starts. The fact that he's allowed a handful fewer hits and only a single home run is the primary difference between his aforementioned mixed results and Skaggs' dreadful ones. He has handled Andrelton Simmons pretty well over 14 at-bats, allowing only a .176 batting average. Unfortunately, Albert Pujols knows exactly what to do with Kennedy. Albert has 4 hits including 3 home runs in his 10 at bats against the right-hander.

Lineups

Royals lineup pic.twitter.com/B6MCga8FI8

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) April 16, 2017

#HappyEaster! Here's how the #Angels will line up in today's series finale from Kansas City.

Game Preview: https://t.co/q9qlGqTtaG pic.twitter.com/d0LslxDUI1

— Angels (@Angels) April 16, 2017

The Royals continue their groundhog's day trot through the second weekend of baseball but they also find themselves with an opportunity to hit the .500 mark again. If they're going to achieve their goal it will probably require a good and long start from Ian Kennedy because the Royals only reliable reliever option so far this year - Joakim Soria, if you can believe that - seems likely to be unavailable after he pitched one and two-thirds innings last night.