The Kansas City Royals have been nothing short of terrible recently as the team has crashed in recent outings. After getting swept by the Texas Rangers, the Royals are desperate to find any sort of success when they start a series against the Reds to start June.
Probable Starters
Game One: Luinder Avila (0-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. Chase Burns (7-1, 1.96 ERA)
Game Two: Noah Cameron (2-4, 4.61 ERA) vs. Andrew Abbott (4-3, 3.88 ERA)
Game Three: Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.48 ERA) vs. Chris Paddack (0-7, 6.90 ERA)
New Look Lineup Showed Promise, Can that Continue?
Despite getting swept by the Rangers, the Royals’ offense looked better in the series with a couple of different iterations of the lineup. Against a lefty, Lane Thomas led off, bumping Maikel Garcia down to the three-hole and Vinnie Pasquantino to the six-hole. Against two righties, Carter Jensen led off in the last two games and went 3-for-9 with his first home run in a long time.
While they still struggled with runners on base in the Rangers series, they scored six runs with the new look lineup in the second game. The Royals desperately need a spark, and a new lineup might do wonders for them as they have made another lineup for game one against the Reds
Opening up the series in Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/PxvIZafJeq
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 1, 2026
Can Vinnie Carry Recent Play Forward to Spark Turnaround?
Despite the sweep and the offense looking inconsistent still, Vinnie Pasquantino had a good showing against the Rangers. In the series, he went 4-for-11 with three walks and two RBIs. He has hit safely in seven of his last nine games and has walked more than he has struck out.
The contact and walks have been there for him recently, which is a good sign, but for Vinnie to provide the spark he needs to hit for some power. During that nine-game stretch, he has only three extra-base hits (all doubles), good for a .375 slugging and .094 ISO.
If the 28-year-old first baseman can return to his 2025 form sooner rather than later, then the Royals offense would be that much more consistent with their RBI guy back in form.
Starting Rotation Matchups are Key to Series Win
This is a series that won’t have Seth Lugo or Michael Wacha pitch in it and will see the three least tenured pitchers in the rotation go toe to toe with the Reds. Luinder Avila gets game one in his return to the starting rotation. His opponent, however, is the Reds’ current ace in Chase Burns who has looked like one of the best in the NL this year.
With game one heavily favoring the Reds, the second game is a pretty even affair as Noah Cameron faces Andrew Abbott. Cameron has been hot recently, as in his last three starts, he has a 2.65 ERA and a 1.72 FIP. He has not allowed a home run in that stretch and has struck out 16 batters and only walked three.
Abbott has also been solid in his last three starts, sporting a 2.20 ERA, but the underlying numbers show regression should be approaching. His FIP during this stretch is 6.44 as he has walked seven batters, allowed four home runs, and only struck out nine in 16.1 innings pitched.
The final matchup will see Stephen Kolek face Chris Paddack. Kolek, outside of an unlucky outing last time out against the Rangers, has been “Mr. Reliable” for the Royals, outside of Wacha and Lugo. Paddack, on the other hand, has not been great this season for both the Marlins and the Reds. He has been better with the Reds, but he still sports a 5.40 ERA while walking 4.20 batters a game. He has been better about keeping the ball in the park with the Reds, but patience at the plate could spell his doom.
Despite the Royals’ recent struggles, the AL has struggled alongside them as well and one series could spark a turnaround. As it stands, the Royals are 6.5 games out of a wild-card spot, and now would be a great time to gain some positive momentum.
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