washington nationals ready to visit Kansas City for the first time in seven years when they oppose Royal Family in the opener of the three-game set on Friday
Washington took two out of three in Kansas City in May 2016. The teams have met once since then, when the hosts citizens claimed two of the three in July 2019
citizens Left-hander Patrick Corbin (3-5, 4.47 ERA) will oppose Royal Family Right-hander Jordan Lyles (0-8, 7.15) on Friday
corbin helped citizens Throwing seven century innings, striking out 11 and walking none in his 2019 series win. He received a no decision in a game Washington won 5–2.
Corbin has allowed no runs in 9 2/3 innings in two games against Royal Family, Of Kansas City’s current hitters, only Matt Duffy has a safe hit against Corbin, going 3-for-12.
In each of his seven starts since April 16, Corbin has thrown at least 5 1/3 innings while allowing no more than three earned runs. He has six quality starts this year, tied for fifth in the National League.
Corbyn, who is coming off consecutive victories, has not won three straight decisions since May 2021. His command of the strike zone has been particularly sharp as of late, as he has allowed just one walk in his last 25 innings.
citizens Arrived in Kansas City after dropping an 8-6 decision against the San Diego Padres on Thursday afternoon to complete a 3-3 homestand
While Washington has lost six of its last nine games, its offense has been more productive recently, scoring 52 runs in the last 10 games.
Leadoff hitter Len Thomas has a 10-game hitting streak in which he is batting .366 (15-for-41) with three home runs.
Ildemaro Vargas has hit safely in six of eight games since returning from the 10-day injured list on May 3, batting .440 (11-for-25). He was out for almost a month due to a left shoulder strain.
“I can’t say enough about what Vargas does,” citizens said manager Dave Martinez. “He goes out there and plays with a lot of fun, a lot of energy.
In his last 10 games, Washington’s Jammer Candelario is hitting .436 (17-for-39) with eight extra-base hits. among citizens hitters, Candelario has the most experience against Lyles, with one hit in eight at-bats.
“When he gets ready to hit the fastball, he’s really good, and he’s going to be consistent,” Martinez said. “The biggest thing is it’s going out of his mind to try to hit a home run every time he at bat. He has so much power that when he hits the ball and gets it up in the air, he hits a home run.” Will hit.”
Lyles is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA in the last 12 games (four starts) against Washington. they faced citizens most recently taking the loss for the Baltimore Orioles on June 21, 2022, when he gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings
Lyles’ 7.15 ERA is the highest among major league starting pitchers, and his 14 home runs allowed are tied for the most in the majors.
Consistent starting pitching has been elusive for Royal Familywho has just one win by a starter since May 11. The club has made 49 relief appearances while losing nine of 13 games in that span.
Kansas City’s rotation is 8-26 with a 5.49 ERA.
Royal Family It bolstered its heavily taxed bullpen this week by promoting right-hander Nick Wittgren from Triple-A Omaha, where he notched five saves and a 1.25 ERA in 17 appearances. He struggled in his debut for Kansas City on Wednesday, allowing two runs in two innings.
“He’s still developing,” Royal Family manager Matt Quattro said of the eight-year veteran. “He used to hit huge changeups. Now he has developed a cutter/slider.
Wittgren said, “This offseason I changed my slider and it helped me a lot. I’m hitting the zone with all four pitches. It’s paying off pretty well.”
– Field Level Media