The Kansas City Royals (75-48) are fresh off a big win against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday thanks to a ninth inning rally. The same can't be said for the Baltimore Orioles (62-61), who suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins over the weekend.
On Monday night these two MLB clubs will meet at Kauffman Stadium for the first time since last year's American League Championship Series. The Royals swept the Orioles to appear in the World Series for the first time since 1985. Baltimore now seeks revenge as they continue to battle for better positioning in the AL playoff race.
Kansas City will send Kris Medlen (0-1, 2.51 ERA) to the mound to make his first start of the season. The right-hander missed all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, but has made a good impression in the Royals' bullpen thus far. He hasn't given up a run since his first appearance of 2015 back on July 20 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Medlen, 29, has never made a start against the Orioles and hasn't been successful against them in relief appearances. He owns a 6.00 ERA and 2.17 WHIP in two games (six innings) against Baltimore.
Manager Buck Showalter and the Orioles hope to take advantage of that matchup after dropping four in a row and five of their last six to fall 6.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead and two games behind the Texas Rangers for the second AL wild-card spot. The O's have lost each of their last three games by one run, including yesterday's heartbreaking collapse to the Twins in extras.
However, the Orioles' high-powered offense ranks seventh in the MLB with 544 runs scored and an experienced Ubaldo Jimenez (9-7, 3.97 ERA) will take the mound tonight. Although the right-hander has been largely inconsistent in his performances this season, he has pitched well against some of the most talented offenses in the MLB, including the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels.
He'll have a tough task against the league's ninth-ranked offense in Kansas City, which boasts first baseman Eric Hosmer, outfielder Lorenzo Cain, catcher Salvador Perez, DH Kendrys Morales and others. Hosmer, who is having a career year, ripped a two-run single to tie yesterday's game against the Red Sox in the ninth inning and then third baseman Mike Moustakas hit a two-run double to take the lead. The Royals won 8-6 and look to win their third game in a row tonight.
But they'll have to match the run production of Chris Davis (34 home runs, 89 RBIs), Adam Jones (23 home runs, 64 RBIs) and Manny Machado (25 home runs, 62 RBIs), which could prove to be too much for Medlen.
Tonight's game starts at 8:10 p.m. and you can check out the live stream here along with the live radio broadcast here (KC) or here (BAL).
