The Rangers were slumping when the Royals came to town two weeks ago. They embarrassed Kansas City with a sweep that included a blowout 9-1 win and a walkoff victory. It helped jumpstart their season and they have won seven of their last nine. A winning series could put them at .500 for the first time since May 1.
Texas Rangers (32-33) vs. Kansas City Royals (27-39) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Rangers: 4.03 runs scored/game (26th in MLB), 3.82 runs allowed/game (6th)
Royals: 3.91 runs scored/game
(29th), 4.64 runs allowed/game (20th)
The Rangers offense has struggled much of the year, but they have caught fire lately. Since May 17, they have 26 home runs in 20 games with the seventh-best wRC+ in baseball over that time, and are averaging 4.95 runs-per-game. Josh Jung is experiencing a breakout season and is third among American League third baseman with a 141 wRC+. He has 21 multi-hit games, tied for tenth-most in baseball. Joc Pederson has the tenth-highest hard-hit rate in baseball. He is hitting just 2-for-21 (.091) with eight strikeouts in his career against Seth Lugo. Former Royals infielder Nicky Lopez homered against his old team earlier this year and is hitting .296/.31/.407 in nine games with the Rangers. Former Royals catcher Elias Diaz joined the Rangers this week.
Brandon Nimmo is hitting just .184/.267/.330 over his last 28 games. Evan Carter is just 1-for-31 (.037) against lefties this year, but he has been one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball by Outs Above Average. Corey Seager has struggled all year, and just returned last weekend after missing nearly four weeks with a back injury. The Rangers are without catcher Danny Jansen and infielder Josh Smith due to injury. The Rangers are 31-of-38 in stolen base attempts, an 81 percent success rate that is third-best in baseball.
Nathan Eovaldi gave up 11 hits and four runs in six innings in his last start against the Cardinals. He relies heavily on a splitter and he has the ninth-highest groundball rate in baseball at 50.5 percent. Salvador Perez is just 4-for-21 (.190) with 11 strikeouts against him in his career. He has a 5.06 ERA in three career starts at Kauffman Stadium.
MacKenzie Gore three 6.1 shutout innings against the Royals in a win in late May. He has the fourth-highest walk rate among qualified starters. Gore is 1-5 with a 6.06 ERA on the road, and he has a reverse split with lefties hitting better against him than righties.
Kumar Rocker has overcome Tommy John surgery in 2023 to put together a breakout season. He has allowed just six runs in 28.2 innings (1.88 ERA) over his last five starts. His fastball sits at 94 mph and has been hittable, with opponents hitting .330 against it, but he relies heavily on a slider that has a 34.1 percent whiff rate.
Rangers relievers have a 3.16 ERA, third-best in baseball. Closer Jacob Latz is 9-for-11 in save opportunities this season. Righties are hitting just 5-for-56 (.089) against him this year. Former Royals pitcher Jakob Junis is one of 13 qualified relievers who has not allowed a home run this year.
The Royals played much better on their road trip following the awful Rangers series. The offense averaged 5.30 runs-per-game in Cincinnati and Minnesota, but the Rangers have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. The Royals need a successful home stand to cling to whatever playoff chances they have left.
