The Kansas City Royals are for real. Either that or the team is seeing its future begin at this very moment. Well, maybe both. That’s because the Royals’ young talents are stepping up big time in this postseason as if they’re seasoned veterans in the mold of George Brett.
Will another youngster in Yordano Ventura deliver a memorable game for the Royals tonight? Or will the Los Angeles Angels bounce back strong?
Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles engage in the second game of their own American League Division Series. You can read a preview of that game here.
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Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Angels Betting Preview
Series Schedule & Results
Game 1 – Kansas City Royals 3 vs. Los Angeles Angels 2
Game 2 – Friday, October 3, Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Angels – view all MLB lines
Game 3 – Sunday, October 5, Los Angeles Angels vs. – Kansas City Royals
Game 4* – Monday, October 6, Los Angeles Angels vs. – Kansas City Royals
Game 5* – Wednesday, October 8, Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Angels
*If necessary
Betting on the Kansas City Royals
[sc:MLB240banner ]After shocking the Angels in Game 1, manager Ned Yost now gives the ball to Yordano Ventura (2014 regular season: 14-10, 3.20 ERA), who had a forgettable stint in the AL Wild Card Game, giving up a three-run homer to Brandon Moss in the sixth inning that gave the Oakland A’s a 5-3 lead. Nevertheless, the Royals are 8-2 in his last 10 starts overall.
But even if the Royals lost against Oakland, the blame shouldn’t be on Ventura, but rather on Yost, who made the mistake of sending the right-hander to the mound despite knowing two lefty batters are up next. Mismanaging the best bullpen in the majors would be detrimental for the Royals, who lean heavily on their strong back end pitching.
The Royals’ relievers have a 5.9 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) thus far this season –tied for best with the New York Yankees –, which illustrates the bullpen’s importance to the Royals. Yost must do a better job of utilizing the Kansas City’s bullpen, one that already did a fantastic job in Game 1, holding LA scoreless once Jason Vargas left the seventh inning.
Players to watch for in Game 2 for the Royals’ offense are Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer and Salvador Reyes, who all combined for a .773 batting average on 17-of-22 hitting against Angels Starter Matt Shoemaker this season.
Betting on the Los Angeles Angels
The Angels do not lose often whenever Matt Shoemaker (16-4, 3.04 ERA) takes the mound during the regular season, as they are 16-4 in the rookie’s last 20 starts. However, he’ll have to face tonight the Royals, who rocked him with eight runs in just four innings in LA’s 8-6 loss on June 27, the last time Shoemaker met Kansas City.
Shoemaker, though, is in the midst of the hottest stretch of his promising career as the rookie is 7-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his last eight starts. In his last outing before the postseason, Shoemaker tossed 7.2 innings of one-run ball in the Angels’ 8-1 win over the Seattle Mariners last September 15th.
Shoemaker’s success this season also had a lot to do with the amount of run support the Angels are supplying him. Among starters with at least 60 innings logged on the mound, Shoemakers’ 6.75 RS/9 ranked second most in the majors in the regular season. Although he pitches so well that it appears like he doesn’t really need that much run cushion, the Angels nevertheless have to recover their touch at the plate as nerves might come into play tonight for Shoemaker, who’s about to pitch in the postseason for the first time in his career.
The usually potent offense of the Angels was missing last night with Albert Pujols, Howie Kendrick, Josh Hamilton, and Mike Trout going 0-for-18. On the flip side, David Frees already flashed his dangerous postseason form, reminiscent of his days as a St. Louis Cardinal, when he hit a home run in Game 1.
