Gamethread CIII: Royals at Blue Jays

The Royals have a chance to start a new winning streak tonight after losing a frustrating game last night. Lefthander Mike Minor will take the mound for KC. He is 8-8 with a 5.32 ERA but both of his starts since the All-Star Break have been good. By some measures, they were his best starts of the year.

Countering him will be Toronto’s Alek Manoah. The big righty is in his rookie season and this will be his ninth career start. So far he has gone 2-1 with a 2.90 ERA. He has had some ups and downs in his maiden venture and that’s continued since the break. His first start was seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. His last start saw him give up five runs without escaping the fourth, though he did strike out nine. He has given up seven home runs but all of them were in two separate starts. He doesn’t walk that many and doesn’t give up that many hits, but he can still be beaten. The question remains whether the Royals are the ones to do it.

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