This Friday, there is a matchup between two American League Central teams. Specifically, the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals will face off at about 8:15 PM. This is game one of a three-game series, which will take place at Kauffman Stadium.
Pitching Matchup: The Twins will hand the ball to Jose Berrios (13-8, 3.70 ERA) and the Royals will counter with Eric Skoglund (0-2, 7.50 ERA).
Twins Look To Continue Dominance Against The Royals
The Minnesota Twins enter this game with nothing to play for. However, unlike the Royals, it is due to success as the Twins have already clinched their spot in the playoffs and will most likely rest some of their key pieces over the next few games. The Twins are also on pace to reach 100 wins this season which would be quite an achievement. One of the reasons why the Twins won so many games involved the lack of quality teams in the AL Central including the Royals. Specifically, the Twins have dominated the Royals this season and have won 12 of the 16 meetings between them. Now, the Twins have a shot at getting their 13th win against them on Friday night.The Twins have won six of their last seven games and they have gone 20-10 in their last 30 games which is tied for the third-best record in the league. On Thursday, they scored ten runs and beat the Tigers on the road. Leading their attack was Jonathan Schoop who had a two-run home run in the seventh inning. This win was not surprising for the Twins as they have gone 53-25 on the road this season.
“That’s one of my favorite Eddie Rosario home runs right there.”
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 26, 2019
We agree, @roysmalley5! 🌹💣#BombaSquad | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/G8F2GlBETl
Pitching for the Twins in this game will be Jose Berrios and he has gone 13-8 with a 3.70 ERA in 31 appearances on the year, including a 6-4 record with a 3.90 ERA in 16 appearances on the road. Righties are hitting .251 off of him this year, while lefties are hitting .250. He has also been pretty good since the All-Star Break as he has a 5-3 record along with a 4.77 ERA.
The Twins have been amazing on offense so far as they come into this game ranked 2nd in the league in scoring, putting up 5.80 runs per game, while also ranking first in the league with 1.89 home runs per game. On the mound, they have been good as they come in ranked 10th in the league in ERA at 4.22. Meanwhile, the bullpen for the Twins ranks 10th in the league with a 4.22 ERA.
Royals Enter Final Home Series With Yost As Manager
The Kansas City Royals will have an emotional weekend against the Minnesota Twins even though they are going to finish the season nowhere near the playoff picture. Specifically, manager Ned Yost has officially announced his retirement following the end of the season which means that these will be his last three games with the Royals. In his tenure, the Royals made two World Series and even won one of them back in 2015. As the manager of the Royals, he on 745 games up to this point and he will most likely be put in the Hall Of Fame at some point in the future.The Royals have lost six of their last eight games and they have gone 13-17 in their last 30 games. On Wednesday, the Royals scored just two runs and lost to the Braves at home. Leading their attack was Meibrys Viloria who had an RBI double in the second inning. This loss was nothing new for the Royals as they have been awful at home this season. Specifically, Kansas City is just 30-48 at Kauffman Stadium.
Have yourself a night, @Brett_Phillips8!#AlwaysRoyal pic.twitter.com/AquzJ1Rtaw
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 26, 2019
Pitching for the Royals in this game will be Eric Skoglund and he has gone 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA in five appearances (three starts) this season, including an 0-1 record with a 10.13 ERA in two appearances at home. Righties are hitting .300 off of him this year, while lefties are hitting .250. He has also been terrible since the start of September as he has a 7.00 ERA.
The Royals have been below average on offense so far as they come into this game ranked 26th in the league in scoring, putting up 4.30 runs per game, while also recording the 22nd-most hits in the league with 8.39 per game. On the mound, they have also been below average as they come into this game ranked 26th in the league in ERA at 5.18. Meanwhile, the bullpen for the Royals ranks 26th in the league with a 5.04 ERA.
Team Trends
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- Twins are 5-0 in their last four road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400.
- Twins are 4-0 in their last 4 games vs. a left-handed starter.
- Royals are 0-5 in Skoglund's last 5 home starts.
- Royals are 0-4 in Skoglund's last 4 Friday starts.
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