Kansas City @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Aug 11, 2012 ) Kansas City 7, Baltimore 3
After watching it downpour for more than three hours Saturday, Alex Gordon made sure to rain on the parade of the Baltimore Orioles. Gordon led off the game with a homer and added a solo shot in the seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals won for the eighth time in 12 outings with a 7-3 triumph. The Orioles will attempt to salvage a split in their four-game series with the Royals when the teams reconvene at Camden Yards on Sunday.
Baltimore's second loss in eight games dropped it one-half game behind Oakland and Tampa Bay and tied with Detroit in the congested American League wild-card race. The Orioles also fell into third place in the AL East, 6 1/2 games in back of New York. While the standings aren't of extreme importance for the Royals, they are flexing their muscle at the plate. They have homered in each of their last seven games.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FS Kansas City, MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals LH Bruce Chen (8-9, 5.51 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Tommy Hunter (4-7, 5.55)
Chen dropped to 2-2 in his career versus Baltimore after getting touched for six runs on seven hits in four innings in an 8-2 loss on May 25. The 35-year-old Panama native was victorious in his last outing after yielding two runs in 6 2/3 solid innings against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The win was Chen's first since June 26.
Hunter dropped his third straight start after yielding only two runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 2-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Aug. 3. The 26-year-old pitched well in his lone start this season versus Kansas City on May 16, permitting two runs over seven solid innings en route to a no-decision. Hunter is 1-0 in three career appearances against the Royals.
WALK-OFFS
1. Manny Machado has admittedly enjoyed his brief major-league career. The third overall pick of the 2010 draft, Machado followed his two-homer performance Friday with an RBI double Saturday.
2. Kansas City's Salvador Perez has eight homers this season - including six on the road. He has yet to face Hunter in his career.
3. Royals OF Jarrod Dyson sat out Saturday's contest after suffering a mild left ankle sprain on Friday. He is expected to play in the series finale.