Listen Live: Kansas City at Baltimore [Live Audio] MLB
Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
The Baltimore Orioles took advantage of the slumping Kansas City Royals and jumped into sole possession of first place in the American League East with a win in the series opener on Monday. The Royals will try to even the series and snap a five-game slide when they send Yordano Ventura to the mound on Tuesday in the middle contest of the three-game set.
Baltimore has won five of its last six and received strong pitching performances in the last two contests after surviving on the strength of its offense. Mike Wright turned in a solid outing and kept the Orioles in the game long enough on Monday for the offense to show up, and home runs by Mark Trumbo, Matt Wieters and Manny Machado over the final two innings led to a 4-1 triumph. The Royals are looking for any signs of life at all from an offense that has totaled seven runs in the last five games and just three in the past four contests. Kansas City fell to 11-20 on the road with Monday's setback and is 0-5 on its 10-game trip.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Yordano Ventura (4-3, 4.82 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Ubaldo Jimenez (2-6, 6.59)
Ventura bounced back from a horrible start with a solid outing at Cleveland on Thursday, yielding two runs – one earned – on seven hits and two walks in six innings. The 25-year-old was ripped for seven runs and a pair of homers by the Chicago White Sox on May 28 but kept the ball in the ballpark against the Indians. Ventura produced his best start of 2016 versus the Orioles on April 24, yielding one run and three hits over seven innings in a victory.
Jimenez failed to make it through the sixth inning for the fifth straight start on Thursday, when he tossed five hitless frames before getting rocked for five runs without recording an out in the sixth against Boston. The 32-year-old Dominican has allowed a total of 28 runs – 25 earned – in 21 2/3 frames over his last five outings. Jimenez was blasted for seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings at Kansas City in his lone appearance against the Royals last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Trumbo has homered four times in his last five games and leads the majors with 19 blasts.
2. Royals INF Cheslor Cuthbert left Monday's game with an elbow contusion after being hit with a throw.
3. Kansas City SS Alcides Escobar is 2-for-20 with five strikeouts in his last five games.
PREDICTION: Royals 4, Orioles 1