The Royals are coming off a crucial series win over the Cincinnati Reds in a series that saw the offense come to life a little bit. That offense will look to continue its recent form when they head to Minnesota for a key AL Central series against the Twins. Here are the probable starters and some key trends to keep an eye on for the Royals.
Probable Starters
Game One: Seth Lugo (2-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. Andrew Morris (1-2, 4.07 ERA)
Game Two: Michael Wacha (4-3, 3.23 ERA) vs. Zebby Matthews (1-3, 4.63 ERA)
Game Three: Bullpen Game or Luinder Avila (1-2, 4.44 ERA) vs. Joe Ryan (3-2, 3.20 ERA)
Game Four: Noah Cameron (2-4, 4.22 ERA) vs. Connor Prielipp (2-3, 5.26 ERA)
Salvador Perez: The Twin Killer
If there was a time for “Salvy” to fully break out, it would be this series, as he is known for pounding Twins pitching. While he doesn’t have a ton of at-bats against two of the Twins starters and not a ton of success against Joe Ryan or Zebby Matthews, they are playing at Target Field, Salvy’s home away from home. In his 100 games at Target Field, he slashes .297/.333/.529 for an OPS of .861 making it his best hitting park with at least 50 games.
The only issue is that Salvy has been very up-and-down since May 12. He has a handful of games where he has three hits and some more games with two hits, then he goes 2-for-24 in the last two series. Another bonus during this stretch is that Salvy is walking slightly more than he usually does, with six walks during this stretch to 12 K’s. Consistency isn’t always what Salvy is going to bring to the table, but he is typically consistent against the Twins.
Can the Pitching Pitch Well at Target Field?
The series layout sees the Royals have their best three starters get starts as Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Noah Cameron have been at least solid this season. Lugo has had some issues this season with the number of hits he gives up, and he doesn’t have the greatest track record against the Twins, but in his last two starts, he has been good. In those starts, he had a 2.92 ERA, 12 hits allowed (two of which were HRs), two walks, and nine K’s. The recent form will have to counter his 7.29 ERA at Target Field, however.
Michael Wacha has continued to be “ole’ Reliable” for the Royals staff, but a blow-up outing against the Rangers is concerning. To add to the concern, in his four starts at Target Field, he has a 5.73 ERA and a 1.409 WHIP. On the good side of the numbers, however, Wacha has been good against the Twins, outside of 2021, and the only Twins batter that has a solid output and sample size against him is Josh Bell, who is 6-for-26 against him.
For Noah Cameron, he doesn’t really have to worry about his trends against the Twins, as he has dominated them in his three starts against them. He sports a 1.04 ERA against the AL Central foe and the only batter to have success against him is Austin Martin, who is 3-for-5 off him. Add in that Cameron is pitching arguably the best ball of his career over the last month, and his momentum could continue against a foe that he has pitched well against.
Can These Two Royals Continue Hitting Well?
On the road trip, no Royal rose to the occasion like Michael Massey did as he has mashed over the past week. He slashed .444/.474/.778 for an OPS of 1.251 over the past week, and he has put together a good month of play. Since the start of May, Massey is slashing .284/.299/.500 for an OPS of .799 and a wRC+ of 115. In that stretch, he has four home runs, four doubles, and 12 RBIs, and has been a spark for the lineup. The only issue is that he struggles at Target Field with an OPS of .549.
Alongside Massey is Vinnie Pasquantino as a fellow breakout over the road trip. Over the past week, Vinnie has been slashing .333/.448/.500 for an OPS of .948. While the power isn’t fully there yet, there are signs of him breaking out, with a double and a home run in that stretch, and he is also seeing the zone well, with five walks. After a slow start, Vinnie has slowly gotten back into solid form and is has hit in 9 of his last 12 games.
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