The Kansas City Royals are making a push to reach the final wild-card position in the American League, but they might not have star Bobby Witt Jr. to help the cause for the immediate future.
With Witt’s status uncertain due to back spasms, the Royals will seek their third straight win when they host the Minnesota Twins and ace Joe Ryan on Saturday night.
Though Kansas City (72-69) is 3-4 in the first seven games of a nine-game homestand, it enters play Saturday one game behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for the AL’s final wild-card spot. The Royals needed only Maikel Garcia’s two-run homer in a 2-1 triumph over the Twins (62-79) in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.
However, the Royals’ win was partially overshadowed by the seventh-inning exit of Witt, one of baseball’s most complete players, who is batting .294 with 21 homers and 77 RBIs this season. Though Witt is 2-for-16 in the past five contests following his 18-game hitting streak, the Royals can’t afford to be without him for any extended amount of time.
“It’s a spasm right now,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It locked up pretty good on him.”
With Witt, Kansas City has yet to beat Minnesota in 10 starts made by Ryan (13-7, 3.08 ERA), who is an exceptional 8-0 with a 1.34 ERA in those outings. This season against the Royals, he has two wins in two appearances, giving up one run on six hits with 10 strikeouts and a walk in a combined 12 innings.
After giving up 11 runs over nine innings in back-to-back starts, Ryan closed August by yielding five hits and striking out eight over seven scoreless innings of Minnesota’s 7-2 home win over the potent San Diego Padres.
“Joe went right at them. He had his good, explosive stuff,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think that was one of the better outings you’re going to see in Major League Baseball. That’s what very good pitchers in this league are able to do.”
With a chance to set a career-high win total on Saturday, Ryan also is seven innings away from breaking his personal best of 161 2/3 from 2023.
Garcia and Mike Yastrzemski are each 4-for-13 with a home run vs. Ryan. However, Kansas City teammates Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino are a combined 5-for-36 against him.
With struggling veteran Seth Lugo the latest Royals starting pitcher to land on the injured list, Stephen Kolek (4-5, 3.99 ERA) will make his second start since being acquired from the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline in July. The right-hander allowed one run, four hits and no walks and struck out three during through six innings of a spot-start and 3-1 victory over Detroit on Aug. 30.
Kolek did not figure into the decision.
“I’m pumped to help the team out any way I can,” he told the Royals’ official website.
This will be his first meeting against the Twins, who have lost five games in a row and 10 of their past 13. However, Minnesota’s Trevor Larnach is batting .367 during a 16-game on-base streak.
–Field Level Media
