Pregame
The Royals currently sit one half of a game in front of the Detroit Tigers as the AL Central's bottom dweller. For a team that's finished better than fourth only twice since 1995, and in fifth four years running, staying out of last place is something that matters. Kyle Davies will do what he can to keep the Royals winning, and if he's the same guy he's been his last two times out then the Twins will have their work cut out for them: 15 innings, two runs, seven hits. This will be his third time facing the Twins; he's 0-2 in eight innings, with seven runs, six walks and five strikeouts. Davies will toss a low-90's fastball, a mid to upper-80's slider, a curve and a changeup.
Taking charge of game one for the Twins is Francisco Liriano, who's coming off of a great start against the Rays: seven innings, seven strikeouts, one walk. It's now been 10 starts since his return from the disabled list, and he's accumulated some impressive numbers: 61.1 innings, 55 strikeouts, 48 hits and a stellar 2.05 ERA. Included in those ten outings are seven quality starts, five innings of shutout ball, and another start where he was one out short of that vaunted QS. His fasball is now running regularly around 90-92, while his slider and off-speed pitch both come in around the low-80's. Oh, and two of those ten starts we were just discussing came against the Royals: 13.2 innings, five runs, 11 strikeouts. I'll take the average of those numbers please, thanks very much!
Lineup Predictions
Royals: DeJesus (RF), Aviles (SS), Guillen (DH), Shealy (1B), Teahen (LF), Gordon (3B), Buck (C), Callaspo (2B), Maier (CF)
Twins: Span (RF), Casilla (2B), Mauer (C), Morneau (1B), Kubel (DH), Young (LF), Buscher (3B), Punto (SS), Gomez (CF)