The San Francisco Giants head to Kansas City to take on the Royals in this weekend's interleague matchup.
These teams will face off for the first time since 2008, with high stakes riding on this series for both teams.
The Giants and Royals find themselves in almost identical positioning in their respective standings and will look to gain ground in a crucial series.
Records:
Royals: 60-53, 2nd place in AL Central, 2.5 games behind Detroit
Giants: 62-53, 2nd place in NL West, 3.5 games behind Los Angeles
Season Series: First meeting since 2008
Kansas City Outlook: The Royals are heating up at the right time. After going 12-3 over the last 15 games, Kansas City sits just two and a half games behind Detroit for first place in the AL Central.
The pitching has come on strong in recent weeks, having allowed three runs or fewer in seven of their last eight games.
The pitching staff has been led by workhorse James Shields, who leads the rotation in wins (10), ERA (3.43), quality starts (15) and strikeouts (127).
Despite being demoted to Triple-A earlier in the year, Mike Moustakas has reemerged as a catalyst for the Royals offense, leading the team with 14 home runs, and tying for third with 46 RBI's.
San Francisco Outlook: The Giants continue to produce inconsistent results offensively, scoring three, seven and one runs respectively in three games against the Brewers.
With Brandon Belt and Angel Pagan back in the fold, San Francisco's lineup is as close to full health as it has been all season.
The team is hoping Pagan can provide a much needed spark at the top of the lineup. Before his injury, Pagan put up a .314 average, .363 on-base percentage, 37 runs scored and 11 steals in 257 plate appearances out of the lead-off spot.
If Pagan can consistently get on base, Pablo Sandoval will have even more opportunities to do damage. Sandoval has been red hot over the last seven games, going 12 for 29 with two home runs and 11 RBI's.
The Giants are 4-3 on their current 10 game road trip, putting their road record at a respectable 33-23. The series loss in Milwaukee was the first road series the Giants failed to win in over a month.
What to watch for: Each team boasts some firepower in their respective rotations, and it will be on full display in this series.
Madison Bumgarner (13-8, 3.21) squares off against Jason Vargas (8-5, 3.69 ERA) to kick off the series, followed by Tim Hudson (8-8, 2.74 ERA) versus James Shields (10-6, 3.43 ERA), and Tim Lincecum (9-7, 4.22 ERA) versus Danny Duffy (6-10, 2.39 ERA).
The Royals young flamethrower Yordano Ventura will not pitch in the series, but another young breakout performer – lefty Danny Duffy – will take the mound on Sunday.
Despite his subpar record, Duffy has had an outstanding season in 17 starts. His 2.39 ERA would be the third lowest in the AL with enough innings (his 107 innings do not currently qualify for the leaderboards).
Bumgarner will take the mound for the first time since throwing a complete game shut out against the New York Mets – a start where he struck out 10 despite throwing just 94 pitches.
He has a good chance at repeating that success again – Bumgarner is 9-2 with a 1.58 ERA on the road this year.
What they're saying – Royals:
August waiver trade possibilities (SB Nation)
Royals feature one of top young duos in baseball (Pine Tar Press)
What they're saying – Giants:
Cain says elbow issues date back to high school (SFGiants.com)
Giants lose in Milwaukee but waiver wire keeps brewing (CSN Bay Area)
For more content by Chris Kersevan, check out his writer’s page and on Twitter @cker7
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