Kansas City @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 23, 2018 ) Kansas City 3, Tampa Bay 4

The Tampa Bay Rays are facing their first bit of adversity this season after losing four straight, and look to get things rolling again when they host the struggling Kansas City Royals on Monday night to open a three-game set. The American League East-leading Rays dropped the finale of their series with Baltimore to start the week and were swept in three games by Boston over the weekend by a combined total of four runs.

“We got knocked down. We’re capable of getting back up,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash told reporters after Sunday’s 4-3 loss in 11 innings. “We’ve got to get back to finding ways to win games. We were in every ballgame, which ultimately isn’t enough. We just came up short. … Lot of confidence in this team to find a way to get right back at it.” The Rays, who lost outfielder Austin Meadows (six homers, 19 RBIs) for at least 10 days with a sprained right thumb after Saturday’s loss, will send Yonny Chirinos to the mound Monday and Kansas City counters with fellow right-hander Brad Keller. The Royals have lost five of seven on their 10-game road trip and are just 2-8 away from home overall after rallying for six runs in the eighth inning to take the lead only to fall 7-6 in 10 frames against the New York Yankees on Sunday. Outfielder Alex Gordon belted a three-run homer in the eighth-inning rally for the Royals and leads the team with 20 RBIs while batting a robust .316 and sporting a .398 on-base percentage in the early going.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Kansas City, FS Sun (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Brad Keller (2-1, 2.64 ERA) vs. Rays RH Yonny Chirinos (3-0, 3.26)

Keller had four straight quality starts to open the season before allowing two runs on four hits and four walks over five innings in a no-decision versus the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. The 23-year-old, who is appealing a five-game suspension for his part in a brawl last time out, permitted a total of seven runs across 25 2/3 innings in his first four starts of the season. Keller, who has 26 strikeouts and 17 walks in 2019, pitched one scoreless inning against the Rays last year.

Chirinos returns to a starter role after coming out of the bullpen his last two games, including five scoreless innings with one hit allowed and five strikeouts in a win over Baltimore on Wednesday. The 25-year-old Venezuelan was outstanding while starting his first two games of the season, permitting one run on four hits across 12 innings to earn a pair of wins. Whit Merrifield and Hunter Dozier have each homered against Chirinos, who beat the Royals with five innings of three-run ball last year.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Royals struck out a franchise-record 20 times in Sunday’s loss and are tied for fifth in the AL with 193.

2. The Rays activated INF Joey Wendle (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Sunday. He was 0-for-5 with a strikeout.

3. Kansas City RHP Glenn Sparkman (0-1, 8.10 ERA) was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.

PREDICTION: Rays 5, Royals 2