Ervin Santana (1-2, 3.13 ERA) and Edinson Volquez (4-4, 3.79 ERA) take the hill in the second of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (11-33) and the Kansas City Royals (23-21) at Target Field. The Royals won the last game 10-4, and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May. 24 and can be seen on FSKC and FSN.
Santana pitched 8.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering two runs, striking out five and walking two in a 3-2 defeat to the Blue Jays. Byung Ho Park (.223, 19 Rs, 9 HRs, 15 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 3 yesterday. Volquez went 6.0 innings, surrendering four runs, striking out five and walking four in a 5-2 defeat to the Red Sox in his most recent start. Eric Hosmer (.307, 23 Rs, 8 HRs, 21 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 5 yesterday with one run.
The odds for Minnesota and Kansas City are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. Within its division, Minnesota has a record of 8-4 SU. The Twins have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 0.0 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 0.0 runs per game. Minnesota is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 31 bases. Minnesota’s pitching staff has been doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, only allowing an average of 0.0 runs per game, well under their season average of 0.0. The Twins are the fifth-best team in the AL at limiting walks during home games, allowing only 2.4 walks per game to their opponents this season.
The Royals are 4-17 against AL Central foes. Offensively, the Royals have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 0.0 runs per game by averaging 0.0 during that stretch. The Royals are an excellent base stealing team with 33 stolen bases, ranking second in the MLB. The Royals allow 0.0 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 0.0 runs per game during that span. The Royals have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an AL-best 6.8 strikeouts per road game, making them one of the top five teams in the league.
The Royals have the edge in the season series, 4-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC
Notes
Minnesota has won 25% (4-12) of its games when leading after seven innings. However, Kansas City has won 50% (9-9) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Royals are coming into this meeting after a high-scoring game where they scored an impressive 10 runs. The Twins have a 0-5 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Twins are 7-5. The Royals have a 17-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total runs this season, Minnesota ranks 28th with 156 runs and Kansas City is 26th with 162.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 97 this season. Minnesota ranks in the bottom half at 19th with 129.
The Twins are 9-20 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Royals are 17-11 when they hit at least one homer.
