Gamethread XCVI: Tigers at Royals

The Royals have inexplicably won three games in a row for the first time since the first three games of June (those were actually the last three of a five-game winning streak.) That makes the Royals 4-2 since the All-Star Break. Are they about to have another astonishing second half that will allow them to make a playoff push? Almost certainly not, but I won’t complain if they win again tonight.

Continuing the winning streak will be challenging for the Royals as they will face Casey Mize of the Detroit Tigers. Mize was a first-overall pick in the 2018 draft and has started living up to the hype in his first full season. He has a 3.44 ERA and has been worth 1.0 fWAR, so far. This will be his fifth game against KC this season. The first one was pretty rough as he allowed six runs and earned only fourteen outs. The remaining three have all be quality starts, however. The good news for Royals fans is that Mize is under some innings restrictions which have seen him throw four or fewer innings in each start of July.

Pitching for the Royals will be Carlos Hernández. Hernández made his 2021 debut in the rotation on Sunday and pitched well enough to stick for now, especially with the injuries to Danny Duffy and Brady Singer. He allowed only two runs on three hits in four innings while striking out six. The Royals couldn’t get anything going against the Orioles so he took the loss, but it wasn’t a bad first outing. He threw 78 pitches in that game so he’s already nearly at full strength.

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