Kansas City @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 16, 2023 ) Tampa Bay 4, Kansas City 8
The Kansas City Royals haven't been shy about igniting their offense, as the club has scored at least eight runs in each of its past five games.
The Royals will aim to extend their winning streak to a season-high eight games on Saturday afternoon when they play the second contest of their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Rays, in turn, have managed just six extra-base hits and have been outscored 31-10 during a season-high five-game skid. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash acknowledged Friday that he's concerned about his team's offensive struggles.
"We're expanding on pitches that we probably can't handle. The pitches we can handle we're not doing any damage with," Cash said. "We're not able to piece too much together right now. It's kind of all encompassing. ...
"At the end of the day, you've gotta start getting some results. We have not gotten results to date -- certainly didn't (on Friday) -- but we have to hit better."
Tampa Bay's Aaron Civale (2-4, 5.92 ERA) will be tasked with keeping Kansas City in check on Saturday when he faces fellow right-hander Brady Singer (4-2, 2.70).
Michael Massey hit a three-run homer among his two hits in the Royals' 8-1 romp on Friday.
Massey, however, exited the game in the sixth inning due to lower back tightness. He missed the start of the season with a lower back strain.
"It's just the same thing -- low back tightness that he's dealt with," Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. "We don't think it's very serious, but we just wanted to be cautious there and get him out."
Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. also went deep to lead off the seventh inning, marking his third homer in as many games. The 23-year-old has 11 RBIs and eight runs during a seven-game hitting streak, while Maikel Garcia has eight and 12, respectively, during an 11-game hitting streak.
The Royals' Hunter Renfroe had a double, a run and an RBI in the series opener. He has three extra-base hits, four runs and four RBIs in his last four games.
"If you have a bunch of great dudes in a clubhouse, you're going to mesh pretty quickly," Renfroe said of the team's success. "... Everybody wants to grow and be a better baseball player on this team, and I think that's what we're doing."
Civale posted a 2-1 record with a 2.74 ERA in his first four outings before going 0-3 with a bloated 8.48 ERA in his past six. He allowed five runs (four earned) and four walks in 5 1/3 innings of a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
Civale, 28, is 4-1 with a 3.15 ERA in nine career starts against the Royals.
Singer yielded just one run for the fourth time in his past five outings on Sunday. He allowed six hits and struck out nine in six innings of an 8-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Singer, 27, is 1-1 with a 5.16 ERA in four career starts against the Rays.
--Field Level Media