TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Royals last night, 4-0, and club has a 3-1 record to open this 6-G, 6-day road trip to HOU (2-1) and KC (1-0)…TEX has won 2 straight, 3 of 4, and 6 of last 8 G for a 10-6 (.625), T2nd-best record in the A.L. (14-3: TB, 10-6: TEX/MIN/NYY) and T5th-best in MLB…Rangers’ 10 wins are also T2nd in A.L. and T5th in MLB…have a 7-6 record last 13 G since club’s 3-0 start to the season…team sits a season-high 4 games above .500 for the 1st time in over 3 1/2 years – since a win on 8/5/19 at CLE (58-54)…seeking to move to 5-over for 1st time since 7/16/19 (50-45)…Texas has been .500-or-better following every game in 2023…the current 10-6 record ranks as T6thbest 16-G start in club history and matches best 16-G start in last 11 years beg. 2013 (also 10-6 in 2013 and 2016)…a win tonight would mark Rangers’ best 17-G start since 2013(11-6)…TEX recorded its 10th win in 2022 on May 4…Rangers’ 3-0 start was team’s longest season-opening win streak since 2011 (6-0).
STANDINGS: The Rangers have sole possession of 1st place in the A.L. West for a 4th straight day and 9th day overall in 2023…have a season-best 2.0-game division lead over 2nd-place LAA, the team’s largest lead in the West since the end of the 2016 campaign (won division by 9.0 games)… since 1999, the only other years in which TEX held a lead of 2.0-or-more games in the West as early as 4/17 in a season came in 2011 (4/4) and 2012 (4/13)…the only MLB team with a larger division lead entering today was TB (+3.5 GA of NYY in A.L. East)…TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 18 of the season’s first 19 days, including 9 straight to begin the year.
• From 2017-22, the Rangers had one day in which it held, or was tied for, 1st place in the West (1-0 on 7/24/20, tied for division lead).
SERIES STUFF: Texas could take this series in KC with a win tonight and/or tomorrow, this after winning last 2 series vs. KC (2-games-to-1) and at HOU (2-1)…since the start of 2021, the Rangers have won 3 consecutive series on one occasion: 3-0-0 from 4/29-5/9/21 vs. BOS/at MIN/vs. SEA… could also win back-to-back road series for 1st time since 9/7-12/21 at ARI/OAK…the Rangers 2-games-to-1 series win at HOU over the weekend was team’s 1st road series win of 3+ games since taking 3 of 4 G from 8/19-22/22 at MIN… TEX is 3-2-0 overall in series this year and 1-1-0 on the road.
VS. KANSAS CITY: The Rangers and Royals wrap the season series with this week’s 3-G set at The K…TEX leads season series 3-games-to-1, losing last week’s series finale on Wed. in Arlington…TEX has won 3 of 4, 6 of 8, 11 of 14, 14 of 19, 17 of 24, and 21 of last 29 against KC overall (beg. 5/25/18)…TEX has won 7 straight season series against KC (2015-19, 2021-22)…have a 33-11 (.750) mark vs. KC since the start of 2016, 3rd-highest win pct. for any team against any opponent (min. 25 G) over that span behind OAK (32-9, .780 vs. DET) and CLE (29-9, .763 vs. LAA).
• Rangers are 32-19 (.627) at The K since start of 2008, winning 9 of 13 and 13 of last 18, and going 17-4-2 in series here since start of 2004…overall, TEX leads all-time series 280- 265-1, but Royals have a 143-122 edge at this park since The K opened in 1973.
ON THE ROAD: The Rangers are 4-3 (.571) on the road this season, T4th-best away win pct. in the A.L…have won 2 straight and 4 of last 5 away games after a 0-2 start…team is seeking to win 3 straight road games for just 2nd time since start of last July (3-0, 8/20-22/22)…Texas is in a span of playing 7 of 10 games on the road…in fact, beginning with this trip, Rangers are scheduled to play 28 of 43 games from 4/14 through the end of May on the road.
THE WAITING: RHP Jacob deGrom was removed from last night’s start as a precaution with right wrist soreness…he was slated to be evaluated further today and the club will update his status prior to tonight’s game. THE 1: TEX pitchers Jacob deGrom (4.0 IP), Dane Dunning (4.1 IP), and José Leclerc (0.2 IP) combined for a one-hit shutout last night at KC…some notes:
• It was the 25th one-hitter in TEX history, 1st since 5/11/18 at HOU, a combined effort which was started by Cole Hamels and also included a José Leclerc relief app…it was the 30th game in TEX history in which the pitching staff allowed one-or-zero hits.
• It was the 4th MLB game in ‘23 in which a team posted a one-hitter (zero no-hitters), and TEX has been involved in 2 of them: TEX, last night at KC; LAA, 4/11 vs. WAS; TB, 4/9 vs. OAK; and BAL, 4/3 at TEX.
• Last night was Rangers’ 1st SHO of the year, 1st since 9/27/22 at SEA…it was the team’s 3rd SHO victory with one-or-zero hits allowed since 2000 (others 5/11/18 at HOU and 8/23/10 vs. MIN).
• deGrom and Dunning became just 2nd Rangers duo in last 40 years (beg. 1984) to each have at least 4.0 SHO IP in the same game…only other instance was 8/26/05 vs. MIN in which starter Kameron Loe (5.0 IP) combined with reliever C.J. Wilson (4.0 IP) on a 6-hit shutout…current Rangers GM Chris Young would start the series finale 2 days later.
A LOT WITH A LITTLE: There were just 5 total hits in last night’s game (TEX-4, KC-1), only 3 combined hits after Marcus Semien’s solo HR to lead off the 3rd inning provided the final 4-0 margin…it was the Rangers’ 4th win since the start of 2022 with 4-hits-or-less, also 7/13/22 vs. OAK, 6/16/22 at DET, and 4/30/22 vs. ATL.
GOING BIG: Josh Jung hit a 3-R HR in the 1st inning last night, his 1st start of the year batting cleanup…it was his 3rd HR in ‘23, tied for the team lead, all of which have given TEX a lead…Rangers rank T6th in A.L. with 18 HR, but lead MLB with 7 HR of 3-or-4 runs this season…only other team with more than 5 such HR is TB (6), and the Rays lead MLB with 37 HR overall on the year.
• Rangers hit 2 HR within the team’s first 10 PA’s last night, this after totaling 2 HR over the 1st 6 road games in ‘23.
MARCUS MARAUDER: Marcus Semien has hit HR in back-to-back games (grand slam in 7th on Sun. at HOU), joining Jonah Heim (4/10-11) as the only Rangers to HR in consecutive games in ‘23…marks just the 2nd time for Semien to hit HR in consecutive games as a Ranger, as he hit HR in 3 straight from 6/5-7(G2)/22…Semien in the 1st 4 G of this road trip?: .400 (6-15), 2 HR, 2B, 6 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB/1 SO.
WITH THE QUICKNESS: The Rangers’ 3-run first inning last night marked club’s most runs in any opening inning in 2023…it was the 6th time in 16 games for Texas to plate run(s) in the 1st inning, and the club has pulled the trick in 3 of the 4 meetings with Kansas City this year.
I’M PACING MYSELF, SERGEANT: Last night’s series opener was completed in 2 hours and 2 minutes, the shortest 9.0-inning Rangers game since 9/30/07 at SEA (1:57)…since 1993, the only other Texas win lasting 2:02-or-less (9 inn.) was a 2-0 win on 5/29/06 vs. SEA (2:00).
• Last night’s 2:02 finish was 3rd-shortest game in MLB in ‘23 to a pair of 1:57 contests: 4/4 MIN at MIA, 4/16 LAA at BOS.
I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU: Last night was the 4th game this season in which the TEX bullpen has posted 4.0+ SHO IP… with 5.0 scoreless innings last night, TEX relievers now have a 2.98 ERA for the year, 3rd-best in MLB to only NYY (2.36) and MIN (2.64).
SHORTS: Pitching staff has allowed 1 R-ER last 2 G/18.0 IP…Nathaniel Lowe’s hit streak ended last night at 11 games, longest by a Ranger in ‘23 and tying his career best…Rangers’ +24 run differential is 6th-best in MLB…Bruce Bochy’s 2013 career wins as manager rank 11th all-time…yesterday was 1st time Bochy had been at The K since Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #17 Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (1-2, 6.32)
TONIGHT: The 33-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his 4th start/appearance of the season tonight in game 2 of 3 here in Kansas City…will be facing the Royals for a 2nd straight outing, as he took his 2nd loss in as many starts in Texas’ 10-1 defeat on Wed. vs. KC (see ‘Last Start’)…has gone 0-2, 6.75 ERA (8 ER/10.2 IP) in last 2 outings after earning win in TEX debut on 4/1 vs. PHI (W, 5.0 IP, 3 R-ER)…has 19 strikeouts/3 walks this season, as he ranks 9th among A.L. leaders (min. 15.0 IP) in SO/9 (10.91) and SO/BB ratio (6.33)…Eovaldi (eeVAHL-dee) signed a 2-year free agent contract with the Rangers on 12/27/22… in 2022, his final season with Boston, went 6-3 with a 3.87 ERA (47 ER/109.1
IP) over 20 G/GS…ranked among A.L. leaders (min. 100.0 IP) in SO/BB (8th, 5.15) and BB/9 (9th, 1.65)…was slowed by a pair of IL stints: 6/9-7/14 (low back inflammation) and 8/19-9/28 (right shoulder inflammation)…the Texas native is seeking a return to his 2021 form, when he was an All-Star with the Red Sox and finished 4th in A.L. Cy Young Award voting…his Red Sox stint included a historic postseason stretch during the team’s 2018 World Series run, as he appeared in 3 of club’s 5 games during that year’s Fall Classic…has 241 games/222 starts with LAD (2011-12), MIA (2012-14), NYY (2015-16), TB (2018), BOS (2018-22) and TEX (2023)…joined Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan as the only graduates of Alvin (TX) High School to reach the Major Leagues…TEX is 1-2 in his 3 starts this season.
LAST START: Took his 2nd loss in as many starts in Texas’ 10-1 defeat on Wed. vs. KC (L, 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R-ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR, 91 pitches/69 strikes)…permitted 2023 highs in hits, runs, and earned runs, allowing multiple scores in the 2nd (3) and 4th (2) frames…Vinnie Pasquantino’s solo HR in the 3rd inn. was the 1st HR surrendered by Eovaldi this season…struck out season-high 7 batters without issuing a walk, recording season-high 18 swing-and-miss strikes (Statcast)…still the 4th-highest single-game whiff total by a Ranger in 2023: 25-deGrom on 4/5 vs. BAL, 20-deGrom on 4/11 vs. KC, 19-Heaney on 4/10 vs. KC.
VS. KANSAS CITY: Eovaldi has gone 3-2, 4.62 ERA (19 ER/37.0 IP) over 8 G/6 GS vs. KC in his career, incl. 0-1, 6.30 ERA (7 ER/10.0 IP) in 2 G/GS at Kauffman Stadium…last faced Royals in previous start on Wed. at Globe Life Field (L, 5.0 IP, 6 R-ER), a 10-1 Rangers loss…his 2 career outings here at The ‘K’ came in starts for the Red Sox on 8/20/21 at KC (L, 4.0 IP, 4 R-3 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO) and 8/6/22 at KC (ND, 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R-ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 2 HR)…permitted leadoff HR to MJ Melendez and 4th-inn. solo HR to Kyle Isbel in the latter appearance, with Boston suffering a walk-off, 5-4 defeat after reliever Garrett Whitlock allowed a game-ending solo HR to Nick Pratto in the 9th inning.
• Started the 1st of 2 exhibition games against the Royals at Globe Life Field on 3/27 (ND, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R-ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 2 HR, 80 pitches/55 strikes)…allowed 4 R-ER in his 4th and final tune-up outing of the spring, surrendering back-to-back HR to Michael Massey (2-run) and Hunter Dozier (solo) in the 4th inning.
ON THE ROAD: Tonight’s outing will be Eovaldi’s 2nd road start of the season… suffered a tough-luck loss in his 1st away appearance on 4/7 at CHC (L, 5.2 IP, 2 R-ER), as TEX was shut out 2-0…fared far better on the road (4-0, 2.64 ERA) than at Fenway Park (2-3, 5.26 ERA) in 2022, but has traditionally performed better at home (31-32, 4.01 ERA) than on the road (37-38, 4.01 ERA) in his career.
• His 2.64 road ERA (17 ER/58.0 IP) in 2022 finished as 9th-best in the American League (minimum 10 starts)…was 4-0 with a .229/.258/.395/.652 opp. slash line and 8 BB/62 SO in 10 G/GS and 58.0 IP in away tilts…of his 19 runs allowed on the road, 14 came via his 10 HR allowed in away games.
2023: Opponents have batted .323/.353/.523/.876 (21-65) with 9 extra-base hits (HR, 2 3B, 6 2B), incl. opp. BA of .343 (12-35) vs. LHB and .300 (9-30) vs. RHB… has 19 strikeouts/3 walks, as he ranks 9th among A.L. leaders (min. 15.0 IP) in strikeouts per 9.0 inn. (10.91) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.33)…current SO/9 figure would be the highest of his career, surpassing prev. high of 9.68 in 2020 w/ BOS…recorded season-high 18 swing-and-miss strikes (Statcast) on 4/12 vs. KC (L, 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R-ER), and his 37 whiffs in ‘23 are 2nd-most among Texas pitchers (68-deGrom)…has received one-or-zero runs of support in 2 of 3 GS (4.60 RS/G)…made Rangers debut in 16-3 Texas victory on 4/1 vs. PHI (W, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 82 pitches/49 strikes)…became 1st Rangers starting pitcher to be awarded a win in his first start with the club since A.J. Alexy on 8/3/21 vs. COL…the Alvin, TX native became the 5th native Texan ever to earn a win in his TEX debut (last Kip Wells on 8/2/06 at MIN).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
ONE-HIT WONDER: The Royals were shut out on 1 hit in last night’s 4-0 loss to the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium, falling to 4-13 overall and 1-10 at home…last night marked the fourth time Kansas City has been shut out through 17 games this season—most in the Majors—and it was the 26th time in franchise history that the Royals have been blanked on 1 hit…this last happened three years ago in a 7.0-inning game on Aug. 19, 2020 vs. Cincinnati’s Trevor Bauer…the last time it happened in a 9.0-inning game was June 5, 2018 at Anaheim vs. Andrew Heaney…the Royals drew 2 walks on offense last night and their only hit was a 1-out single up the middle by Matt Duffy in the 5th inning…Jordan Lyles completed 8.0 innings for the fifth time in 218 career starts, becoming the third Royals pitcher in the last three seasons to throw 8.0 innings in a game…the 1st inning began with back-to-back errors by third baseman Hunter Dozier, and two batters later, Josh Jung hit a 3-run home run…after the game, all 3 of those runs were marked unearned, lowering Lyles’ season ERA to 3.91.
PACE OF PLAY: The Royals and Rangers completed last night’s game in 2 hours and 2 minutes, marking the 3rd-fastest game in the Majors this season, trailing a pair of 1-hour, 57-minute games, including one on Sunday between the Angels and Red Sox at Fenway Park…last night matched the 3rd-fastest 9.0-inning game played at Kauffman Stadium since 2000, longer only than a 1-hour, 55-minute game 15 years ago on Sept. 20, 2007 vs. the White Sox, and a 1-hour, 58-minute game in Game 2 of the Aug. 14, 2005 doubleheader vs. Detroit.
The Royals and Rangers have played 582 games against each other since 1969, but only 12 of them finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes or less, and before last night, the last game that quick between these two teams came 39 years ago, in a 2-hour, 2-minute, 4-1 Royals win at what was then called Royals Stadium.
There have been 227 9-inning games in the Majors this season, and the average game time of those has been 2 hours, 37 minutes, with only 23 of those 227 games (10.1%) of those games lasting at least 3 hours.
The Royals 17 games this season have averaged 2 hours, 27 minutes, which is 10 minutes below the Major League average and is the 2nd-fastest average time this season, longer only than the Twins (2:25).
APRIL SHOWERS: The month of April has not been kind to the Royals in recent years, and that trend has continued in 2023…including their Opening Day loss—which took place on March 30—the Royals are 4-13 through 17 games, which marks the 2nd-worst record in the Majors ahead of Oakland (3-14), and is their worst 17-game start since 2018, when the Royals were 3-14 at this point…the schedule makers haven’t done the Royals any favors either, as their five opponents to this point have a combined record of 48-33 (.593), and three of those five teams are in 1st place in their division…that includes the American League West-leading Texas Rangers (10-6), who took two of three from the Royals last week in Arlington and are now in Kansas City for a 3-game set this week…unfortunately, the schedule doesn’t ease up much anytime soon, as two of the three opponents on the Royals upcoming road trip are in 1st place, including Arizona (10-7) and Minnesota (10-6).
RISPY BUSINESS: The Royals didn’t have many opportunities on offense last night, but they came up empty in those rare moments anyway, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position…the Royals rank 30th in the Majors with a .183 average in scoring situations, and nearly half of their 26 such hits this season came in 2 games, but they’ve been held to 1 hit or fewer with a runner in scoring position in 12 of their 17 games, including last night.
Situational hitting was an issue for this Royals offense early last season, when they hit .205 in scoring situations through 39 games, but hit .261 over their last 122 games, which ranked 11th in the Majors.
NEW DAY, NEW LINEUP: Tonight marks the Royals 18th game of the season, and they are playing with their 18th different lineup combination…they are one of four teams this season that entered today without fielding the same lineup more than once, along with the Astros, Marlins and Pirates…this approach from new Manager Matt Quatraro and his staff is much different than the one employed last year, when the Royals featured 137 different starting lineup combinations, which were the 8th fewest in the Majors…the Major League average last season was 145 different starting lineup combinations, and the Tigers led the league with 161 unique lineups.
VS. TEXAS: The Royals and Rangers are meeting for 3 games in Kansas City this week, after these two teams played last week in Arlington, where the Royals dropped two of three…following Wednesday’s finale, they will have played 6 games vs. each other over 10 days…in fact, the Royals 6-game season series vs. the Rangers will end before the Royals play a single game vs. three of their four division rivals, as they won’t see the White Sox until May 8, their 1st meeting vs. Detroit won’t come until May 22 and their 1st game vs. Cleveland is June 27.
The Royals have lost seven straight season series to the Rangers dating back to 2015, and are 1-3 vs. them this season entering tonight…that means the Royals must win tonight and tomorrow to salvage a split of the season series, which would end their drought of seven straight season series losses…the Royals are 14-36 (.280) vs. Texas since 2015, a stretch in which they’ve been outscored 256-172 (-84).
These two franchises have played each other in six different ballparks, including Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium (1969-72) and Kauffman Stadium (1973-present), and RFK Memorial Stadium, where the Washington Senators played from 1962-71…the franchise became the Rangers in 1972 and played in Texas’ Arlington Stadium through 1993, before Globe Life Park was introduced in 1994…that ballpark still stands across the street from the new Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020 and is now in its fourth season.
ON DECK: After the Rangers leave town tomorrow night, the Royals will enjoy an off day on Thursday, when they travel to Anaheim to begin a three-city road trip starting Friday night…that will start a stretch in which the Royals will play 26 games in 27 days through May 17, and the only off day during that time will come on May 1, which sits between their upcoming, season-long 10-game road trip and a season-long 10-game homestand…the upcoming trip will take the Royals to Anaheim (3 games), Arizona (3) and Minnesota (4), and after that off day on May 1, the Royals will host the Orioles (3), Athletics (3) and White Sox (4) from May 2-11.
STARTING SOMETHING: Through the first 17 games of the season, new Pitching Coach Brian Sweeney has made his mark on this pitching staff that finished near the bottom in several categories last season…walks were a major issue last season, as the Royals finished last in the American League with 589 walks and BB/9 ratio (3.74), and finished last in the Majors in K/BB ratio (2.02)…this year, the Royals rank 7th in the Majors with a 3.03 BB/9 ratio and 11th with a 2.82 K/BB ratio…Royals starting pitchers, specifically, have controlled the strike zone well, issuing 1 or no walks in 11 of 17 starts this season, tied with Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Cleveland and San Francisco for the most such starts in the Majors…likewise, Royals starters have posted a 2.23 BB/9 ratio, which ranks 5th in the Majors behind the Giants (1.59), Dodgers (2.00), Guardians (2.04) and Twins (2.10)…minimizing the walks has allowed Royals starting pitchers to go deeper in games, as they’ve completed at least 5.0 innings in a Majors-most 16 games out of 17 (94.1%), after doing so just 107 times (66.0%) in 2022
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP BRAD KELLER (2-1, 2.12)
BRAD KELLER will make his 4th start of the season—and 109th start of his career— tonight against the Rangers…this marks his 5th career start (6th appearance) vs. Texas…he’s in his sixth Major League season after being acquired by Kansas City in a trade with Cincinnati, who selected him from Arizona in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft.
WINNER WINNER: Brad earned his 2nd straight win in his most recent start last Wednesday vs. these Rangers in Arlington, where he pitched 6.2 innings of 1-run ball and held Texas to just 3 hits and 1 walk with a season-high 7 strikeouts…the sole run he allowed came on a solo home run from Nathaniel Lowe with 2 outs in the 1st inning, which marked the 1st home run he surrendered since last Sept. 9 vs. Detroit, snapping a 17.2-inning homerless streak…he held the Rangers to just four baserunners from that point on, and exited in the 7th inning after issuing a 2-out walk in favor of Jose Cuas, who struck out Leody Taveras to end the threat.
His 6.2 innings pitched marked his most in an outing since last July 11 (7.0 IP).
Has held opponents to 3 hits in back-to-back starts, and his 11 overall hits allowed are tied for the 6th fewest in the AL among pitchers with at least 3 starts.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS: With a win in his start last Wednesday at Texas, Keller extended his streak of starts with a decision to 18—in which he’s 7-11—which is the longest run of starts with a decision by a Royal since Tim Belcher earned a decision in 21 consecutive starts from Sept. 2, 1996-June 20, 1997…it’s the longest streak in the Majors since Sonny Gray had a decision in 18 straight starts from June 20-Sept. 28, 2017, including a 4-3 record in 7 starts with Oakland before a Trade Deadline deal sent him to the Yankees on July 31, after which he went 4-7 in 11 starts for New York.
Royals Hall of Famer Dennis Leonard holds the club record with 26 straight starts with a decision (Aug. 26, 1997-June 23, 1978), over which he went 14-12.
NO TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE: Over his first 3 starts of the season, Keller has relied on his new curveball 25.1% of the time (according to Baseball Savant), which has yielded a 37.2% whiff rate and a 30.8% strikeout rate, as he has recorded 8 strikeouts in 26 plate appearances with the pitch…the 37.2% whiff rate on his curveball ranks 15th highest in the Majors off the pitch (min. 10 plate appearances) and it’s the 4th-best mark in the American League, behind only Houston’s Framber Valdez (51.4%) and Phil Maton (45.0%) and Tampa Bay’s Zach Eflin (38.1%).
Brad has induced 16 swings and misses on his curveball this season, which is the 6th most in the Majors off that pitch, trailing leader Nick Lodolo (29).
SEASONED VETERAN: Keller is pitching in his sixth Major League season, and since his debut in 2018, he leads all Royals in wins (37), starts (108), innings pitched (650.2) and strikeouts (491)…his 650.2 innings also rank 7th in the American League since the start of 2018, trailing only Gerrit Cole (896.0), José Berríos (834.1), Lucas Giolito (777.2), Marco Gonzales (776.1), Lance Lynn (743.2) and Shane Bieber (728.0).
Among pitchers who have made their Majors debut since 2018, Keller’s 108 starts rank 2nd, behind Bieber (115)…his 650.2 innings also rank 2nd among that group of pitchers—trailing Bieber—and his 37 wins are tied for the 5th most behind Bieber (55), Framber Valdez (42), teammate Ryan Yarbrough (40) and Dylan Cease (38), all of whom are older than Brad with the exception of Cease.
FROM THE GROUND UP: Keller has a career 52.5% groundball rate, which ranks T-3rd in the Majors since the start of his 2018 debut season (min. 600.0 IP), trailing only Dallas Keuchel (55.2%) and Marcus Stroman (54.9%)…likewise, his lifetime HR/9 rate of 0.83 (60 HR in 650.2 IP) ranks 4th in the Majors since 2018 (min. 600.0 IP), trailing Jacob deGrom (0.70), Zack Wheeler (0.75) and Max Fried (0.78)…his groundball percentage improved last season as he posted a 53.6% clip, however he allowed 17 home runs—just 1 short of matching his career high set in 2021—for a 1.10 HR/9 rate.
He’s induced 3 double plays in 3 starts this season and has an AL-leading 79 since the start of 2018, 2 more than Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (77).
HELP WANTED: Brad went 6-13 as a starting pitcher in 2022 despite recording 11 quality starts, 2nd by a Royal to only Brady Singer’s 14…the Royals supported him with a total of 35 runs in his 22 starts, including 2 runs or fewer in 17 of his 22 starts, 1 run or fewer 12 times and no runs seven times…he finished with a franchise-low 2.57 run support average as a starter, the lowest total in the Majors among pitchers who made at least 20 starts in 2022.
This trend continued over Keller’s first 2 starts of the 2023 season, as the Royals supported him with just 3 runs in 10.1 innings (2.61 RSA), however he exited in a 10-1 lead in his most recent start last Wednesday…his 10 runs of support in his start last week in Arlington are equivalent to 29.4% of the total run support (34 runs) provided over 17 starts for Royals pitchers this season, as they have averaged a 2.40 RSA over the remaining 16 starts.
LONG TIME NO SEE: He’s set to face the Rangers in back-to-back games, following his start last Wednesday in Arlington where he spun 6.2 innings and allowed just 1 run…this will mark the ninth time in his career in which he has faced an opponent in consecutive starts, and he has actually fared worse in the 2nd game of those previous eight instances, posting a 4.85 ERA (23 ER in 42.2 IP) as opposed to a 3.88 ERA (21 ER in 48.2 IP) in the 1st start… those results are somewhat skewed, however, from a May 27, 2022 game in which he yielded 6 runs in 4.0 innings in his 2nd straight start vs. Minnesota.
In 5 career appearances (4 starts) vs. Texas, he’s gone 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA (16 ER in 22.2 IP) and has struck out 16 batters with 5 walks allowed.
IN KANSAS CITY: Since the start of last season, he’s gone 3-9 and has posted a 4.54 ERA (38 ER in 75.1 IP) in 14 starts at Kauffman Stadium…he has not won a game at home since Aug. 7, 2022 vs. Boston, however that is largely due to his 2.15 run support average at home since the beginning of 2022 (18 RS)…he’s covered at least 6.0 innings in 9 of those 14 starts since last year and has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in 10 of his 14 starts.
