Baltimore Orioles vs Kansas City Royals Preview and Predictions
MLB Previews 30th August 2018 by Gracenote
3 minutes
The Kansas City Royals have answered a five-game losing skid by erupting for 32 runs en route to winning four of their last five contests. The Royals (42-91) hope their bats remain hot on Friday as they play the opener of a three-game series versus the visiting Baltimore Orioles (40-94) in a matchup of the two worst teams in the majors.
Adalberto Mondesi highlighted a four-RBI performance by homering for the second straight game as Kansas City recorded an abbreviated two-game sweep of Detroit with a 9-2 romp on Wednesday. The 23-year-old has collected multi-hit efforts in each of his last three contests with five RBIs and as many runs scored. The Orioles, who took two of three from the Royals in May, answered an eight-game losing skid by exploding for 29 runs against Toronto en route to recording their first three-game sweep of the season. Adam Jones launched his second career grand slam in a 10-5 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday, improving to 7-for-13 with six RBIs and four runs scored in his last three games.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Andrew Cashner (4-12, 4.79 ERA) vs. Royals RH Brad Keller (6-5, 3.33)
Cashner recorded his second straight loss on Saturday despite allowing three earned runs over seven innings of a 5-1 setback versus the New York Yankees. The performance was the third quality start in four outings for the 31-year-old, who permitted three runs on six hits across six frames of a no-decision against Kansas City on May 9. Alex Gordon (1-for-8), Salvador Perez (2-for-12) and Alcides Escobar (2-for-11) have struggled versus Cashner, who sports an 0-2 mark with a 2.45 ERA in four career encounters.
Keller will be getting his first look at Baltimore after yielding two runs on six hits over five innings of a no-decision versus Cleveland last Friday. The performance was the third straight strong outing for the 23-year-old, who is 2-0 in that stretch after allowing four runs on 17 hits across 17 frames. Keller has been taken deep in each of those three trips to the mound after surrendering three homers in his previous 33 appearances (88 1/3 innings).
WALK-OFFS
1. Baltimore LF Trey Mancini is 10-for-20 with eight extra-base hits (four doubles, triple, three homers), eight RBIs and eight runs scored during his five-game hitting streak.
2. Gordon went 4-for-11 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored in the previous series versus the Orioles.
3. Jones went 5-for-12 with a homer, three RBIs and four runs scored against the Royals in May.
PREDICTION: Royals 3, Orioles 2
Seattle Mariners vs Oakland Athletics Preview and Predictions
MLB Previews 31st August 2018 by Gracenote
3-4 minutes
The Seattle Mariners proved early in their series-opening win against the Oakland Athletics that they're not prepared to give up on a spot in the postseason. Seattle looks to draw even closer in the American League wild-card race on Friday as it visits AL West-rival Oakland for the second contest of their four-game set.
The Mariners scored five runs in the first inning en route to Thursday's 7-1 victory, ending their three-game slide and pulling within 4 1/2 games of the Athletics for the second wild-card berth. Robinson Cano was one of four players on Seattle to register two hits and an RBI, with one of his hits being his 526th career double - tying him with Dave Parker for 44th place on the all-time list. Oakland was limited to four hits as it suffered its third loss in four contests and remained 2 1/2 games behind division-leading Houston. Jed Lowrie drove in the Athletics' lone run Thursday with an eighth-inning single, giving him eight RBIs in his last 10 games.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), NBCS California (Oakland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Mike Leake (8-8, 4.03 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Mike Fiers (10-6, 3.15)
Leake's winless streak reached 10 starts on Sunday as he suffered a loss at Arizona after surrendering five runs and seven hits in six innings. The 30-year-old Californian has allowed three runs or fewer seven times and worked at least six frames on eight occasions during the drought while settling for six no-decisions since winning at Boston on June 23. Leake is 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA in six career starts against Oakland, including three no-decisions this season in which he has given up five runs - four earned - over 20 2/3 innings.
Fiers has been everything Oakland hoped for since being acquired from Detroit, posting a 3-0 record and 1.50 ERA with 28 strikeouts and three walks over 24 innings in four starts. The 33-year-old Floridian is coming off a victory at Minnesota on Saturday in which he allowed one run and five hits over 5 2/3 frames. Fiers is 2-1 with a 5.66 ERA in seven career turns versus Seattle after splitting a pair of starts this season, with the win coming at home on Aug. 14.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mariners SS Jean Segura was scratched from Thursday's starting lineup a day after suffering a bruised left shin.
2. Oakland recalled J.B. Wendelken and Frankie Montas, who yielded seven runs - four earned - over six innings in the series opener, from Triple-A Nashville and optioned fellow RHP Ryan Dull and OF Nick Martini to the Sounds.
3. Seattle sent cash to Arizona on Thursday for 2B Kristopher Negron, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI in two games with the Diamondbacks this year, and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma.
PREDICTION: Athletics 5, Mariners 1
Toronto Blue Jays vs Miami Marlins Preview and Predictions
MLB Previews 30th August 2018 by Gracenote
3 minutes
Aaron Sanchez could use a strong finish to another injury-marred campaign as he and the Toronto Blue Jays glance toward improvement in 2019. Sanchez will try to recover from a rocky start his last time out when he climbs the hill for the Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series at the Miami Marlins on Friday.
The 26-year-old, who has struggled to stay healthy since a dynamic All-Star effort in 2016, gave up six runs over four innings in his return from the disabled list against Philadelphia on Saturday. Sanchez will be tasked with trying to get the Blue Jays out of their latest slide, which reached four straight losses with Wednesday's 10-5 loss at Baltimore. They've been outscored 37-13 during the losing streak and have lost seven in a row on the road - their longest such slide since a seven-gamer in 2014 - while posting a 9.77 ERA in that stretch. The Marlins lost leads in back-to-back games at Fenway Park earlier in the week, including Wednesday's affair in which the bullpen was rocked for 11 runs in one inning of a 14-6 loss.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVA (Toronto), FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Aaron Sanchez (3-5, 4.95 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Dan Straily (5-6, 4.35)
Sanchez is 4-8 with a 4.74 ERA in 24 starts over the last two years after going 15-2 with an American League-leading 3.00 mark in 2016. Despite the rocky outing against the Phillies, he is 4-1 with a 2.68 mark in his career in interleague play. The California native has never faced the Marlins.
Straily snapped a five-game winless streak with six scoreless innings against Atlanta last Friday. His one interleague game this year resulted in seven innings of one-run ball at Tampa Bay on July 20, and the 29-year-old is 7-5 with a 3.87 ERA in his career against the opposing league. Kendrys Morales is 4-for-9 with two homers, one double and two walks against Straily.
WALK-OFFS
1. Morales is 0-for-8 with three strikeouts in two games since he put together a streak of seven straight contests with a home run.
2. Marlins C J.T. Realmuto is 5-for-11 with a home run, a double and five RBIs during a three-game hitting streak.
3. Toronto won five of the last six meetings, including all three when the teams last met in 2015.
PREDICTION: Blue Jays 5, Marlins 4