The Mariners are set to face the Royals in Kansas City.
After being swept by the Padres, the Mariners rebounded with a series win over the White Sox. They are looking to win back-to-back series for the first time since their road trip at the end of April. Despite being in a rut, they haven’t fallen too far behind in the AL West standings; they have only dropped a game and a half since May 1.
Royals’ Recent Struggles
Since sweeping the Mariners earlier this month, the Royals have struggled, going 5-11. They are now battling with the Tigers at the bottom of the AL Central standings. Their offensive production has been particularly poor; they’ve scored just 3.4 runs per game during this 16 game slump. The last time they scored more than four runs in a single game was back on May 13.
After starting the season with aspirations of challenging for a division title or a Wild Card berth, they’ve been quickly pushed onto the fringe of the AL playoff picture.
Key Royals’ Offensive Players
During May, only two Royals batters have had a wRC+ above league average. Bobby Witt Jr. has a 160 wRC+ this month and his 3.3 fWAR on the season leads all of baseball. Jac Caglianone has a 113 wRC+ this month.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has a 160 wRC+ in May.
- Jac Caglianone has a 113 wRC+ in May.
Performances from Maikel Garica (62 wRC+ in May), Vinnie Pasquantino (72), and Salvador Perez (92) have contributed to Kansas City’s struggles to score runs consistently this month.
Pitching Matchups
Noah Cameron had a solid debut season last year with an ERA a hair below three and a FIP a hair above four, earning fourth place in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. He was a college draftee back in 2021 and quickly moved through Kansas City’s farm system as a polished, low-risk starter.
He’s got an excellent changeup and his fastball gets pretty good ride thanks to his arm angle. He can command his entire repertoire fairly well.
Stephen Kolek was a Mariners farm hand who was plucked away by the Padres in the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He was traded to the Royals at the trade deadline and made five solid starts for Kansas City down the stretch.
He was pushed out off the big league roster this spring but the injury.
The Mariners will have an opportunity for a measure of revenge against the team that swept them at the start of the month.