TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Royals last night, 12- 2, and club has a 4-1 record entering the finale of this 6-G, 6-day road trip to HOU (2-1) and KC (2-0)…TEX has won 3 straight, matching longest win streak of ‘23 (3rd time)…have also won 4 of 5 and 7 of last 9 G for an 11-6 (.647) record, 2nd-best in the A.L. to only TB (15-3, .833) and 4th-best in MLB…Rangers’ 11 wins are T2nd in A.L. and T4th in MLB… have an 8-6 record last 14 G since club’s 3-0 start to the season…team sits a season-high 5 games above .500 for the 1st time in over 3 1/2 years – since 7/16/19 (50-45)…seeking to move to 6-over for 1st time since 7/14/19 (50-44)…Texas has been .500-or-better following every game in 2023…the current 11-6 record ranks as T5th-best 17-G start in club history and is the best 17-G start since 2013 (also 11-6)…TEX recorded its 11th win in 2022 on May 8…Rangers’ 3-0 start was team’s longest season-opening win streak since 2011 (6-0).
WITH A WIN TODAY, Texas could:
• Finish with a 5-1 record on this road trip to HOU and KC…it would be the 1st road trip of 6+ G for Texas to feature just one loss since 6/18-24/18 at KC/MIN, a 5-1 trip in which Rangers dropped the finale at Target Field.
• Win a season-best 4th straight game, which would be longest TEX win streak since 5/25-28/22 (4-0)…would match longest TEX win streak since start of 2020, as Rangers have not won 5 in a row since 7/31-8/5/19 (5-0).
• Post the 1st undefeated road series of 3+ games since going 4-0 from 9/5-8/19 at BAL…it would be team’s 2nd undefeated series in ‘23 (3-0, 3/30-4/2 vs. PHI), this after 3 total undefeated series of multiple games in 2022.
• End trip with a 12-6 record, which would be T5th-best 18- game start in club history and best since 2013 (also 12-6).
• Improve to 5-1 in series finales in ‘23.
STANDINGS: The Rangers have sole possession of 1st place in the A.L. West for a 5th straight day and 10th day overall in 2023…have held a season-best 2.0-game division lead over 2nd-place LAA for 2 straight days, 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)…TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 19 of the season’s first 20 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 has secured a series win here in KC, and club has won 3 consecutive series for just the 2nd time since the start of 2021 (also 3-0-0 from 4/29-5/9/21 vs. BOS/ at MIN/vs. SEA)…team has now won 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 2-1-0 on the road.
VS. KANSAS CITY: The Rangers hold a 4-games-to-1 lead in the season series against the Royals entering today’s final meeting of 2023…TEX has secured an 8th straight season series win against KC (2015-19, 2021-23)…TEX has won 4 of 5, 7 of 9, 12 of 15, 15 of 20, 18 of 25, and 22 of last 30 against KC overall (beg. 5/25/18)…have a 35-11 (.761) 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 33-19 (.635) at The K since start of 2008, winning 10 of 14 and 14 of last 19, and going 18-4-2 in series here since start of 2004…,TEX leads all-time series 281-265-1, but Royals have a 143-123 edge at The K (beg. 1973). this park since The K opened in 1973.
THREE IN A ROW: After last night’s win, the Rangers now rank 2nd in MLB with a +34 run differential (TB is +75)…a look below at Texas during its current 3-G win streak:
R HR BA w/ RISP OPS
Texas 25 5 .238 12-25 .777
Opponents 3 0 .143 0-19 .431
LEADOFF POWER: With his 3-run HR in the 6th inning last night, Marcus Semien has hit HR in 3 consecutive games… it matches the longest HR streak of his career, his 3rd instance overall and 2nd as a Ranger…the others: 6/5-7/22 with TEX, 9/5-7/21 with TOR…Semien’s 3-G run is the longest HR streak by a Ranger in 2023, and he has a team-high 4 HR (tied w/ Adolis García) on the year…since the start of 2019, the only Rangers with HR streaks longer than 3 games are Joey Gallo (5 G, 6/26-7/1/21) and Corey Seager (5 G, 7/8-12/22).
DEEP SIX: The Rangers opened the club’s 5-run 6th inning last night with 7 consecutive hits…according to Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the Rangers’ most consecutive hits in one inning since 7 straight hits in the 11th inning on 8/8/15 at SEA…Elias says it produced the most consecutive hits in one frame by any MLB team since NYY had 7 straight in 1st inning on 9/10/22 vs. TB.
• The Rangers’ 5-run 6th inning marked the 5th time the club has scored 5+ runs in a single frame this season, 2nd road instance (6-run 7th on Sun. at HOU).
THE EARL WEAVER PLAN: The Rangers hit a pair of 3-R HR last night: Marcus Semien in the 6th inning and Adolis García in the 8th…TEX now has a MLB-high 9 HR of 3-or4 runs this year (9-TEX, 7-TB, 5-LAD/OAK)…6 different Rangers have accounted for those 9 HR: 2-Garver, García Semien; 1-Grossman, Heim, Jung…in 2022, the Rangers had 20 HR of 3-or-4 runs for the entire season.
• García’s HR last night had an exit velocity of 109.7 mph, the highest for any Rangers HR in 2023…matched García’s highest EV on any batted ball in ‘23 (also 109.7 on a groundout, 4/9 at CHC).
ON THE ROAD: The Rangers are 5-3 (.625) on the road this season, T2nd-best away win pct. in the A.L. (NYY: 4-2, .667; TEX/TB: 5-3, .625)…have won 3 straight and 5 of last 6 away games after a 0-2 start…team is seeking to win 4 straight on the road today, which would be longest away win streak since a 4-0 span 6/11-17/22…beginning with this trip, Rangers are scheduled to play 28 of 43 games from 4/14 through the end of May on the road.
SOUTHBOUND 35: The Rangers are scheduled to fly back to the DFW Metroplex following today’s game ahead of an off day on Thursday…team begins a brief 3-G homestand against Oakland on Friday night, the only home games against an A.L. West opponent until June (6/2-4 vs. SEA)… Rangers are 6-3 at home this season, winning 3 of last 4 G.
DEBUT OF THE PEAGLE: The Rangers are scheduled to wear the club’s new Nike City Connect uniforms for the 1st time on both Friday and Saturday…the new uniforms honor the remarkable story of how the organization landed in Arlington, Texas, through the rich baseball history of Dallas and Fort Worth, the significance of April 21 in Texas, and the tireless efforts of the late Mayor of Arlington, Tom Vandergriff.
HERE COMES THE SUN: The Rangers enter today having played 8 consecutive night games since the series finale on 4/9 at Wrigley Field (8-2 win)…Texas has a 4-2 record in day tilts this season, including 1-2 on the road (all at Wrigley)… club has scored 8+ runs in 3 of the 6 day contests, including season-high 16 R on 4/1 vs. PHI.
• Nathaniel Lowe is batting .346 (9-26) with 6 RBI in the club’s 6 day games.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #54 Martín Pérez, RHP (2-1, 2.87)
TODAY: The 32-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 4th start/appearance of the season in today’s series finale in Kansas City…after his last start at HOU on Fri. (W, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2R-ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 4 SO), he is the only TEX pitcher with 5.0+ IP and 2-or-fewer ER allowed in each of 1st 3 starts to open 2023… has 5.0+ IP in 33 consecutive starts dating to 2022, 4th-longest streak in Rangers history (see below)…made 2 starts for Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting no record and a 9.82 ERA (4 ER/3.2 IP)…after returning to the Rangers on a one-year free agent deal for 2022, he elected to stay with Texas in 2023 on a one-year deal after accepting the club’s qualifying offer in November… spent the first 11 seasons of his professional career with the Rangers (2008-18), and has been with the organization for 12 of his 15 years as a pro…left the club for 3 years for brief stints with Minnesota (2019) and Boston (2020-21)…has a 57- 58 record with a 4.25 ERA over 176 games/163 starts in his Rangers career, ranking among club’s all-time leaders in starts (7th, 163), wins (12th, 57), and strikeouts (12th, 647)…since 2016, his first full campaign after returning from ‘Tommy John’ surgery, has the 2nd-most starts (178) and 3rd-most innings (1022.1) of any pitcher in the American League…saw two seasons cut short in 2014-15 following ‘Tommy John’ ligament reconstruction surgery on his left elbow on 5/19/14…also missed time in 2018 after suffering a broken right (non-throwing) elbow.
ABORT SPACE MISSION: Earned the win in his last outing against the Astros, 6-2, shutting down HOU hitters with 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 4 BB and 4 SO…snapped a 3 G losing streak against Houston, team which he faced 5 times last season, going 1-3, 3.82 ERA (14 ER/33.0 IP).
VS. KANSAS CITY: Has gone 5-1, 4.57 (34 ER/67.0 IP) in 12 G/GS over his career vs. the Royals, including 3-0, 4.19 (16 ER/34.1 IP) in 6 G/GS at Kauffman Stadium…faced Kansas City in both of Rangers’ series in 2022: 2-0, 3.65 (5 ER/12.1 IP)…has won 4 consecutive starts against the Royals dating back to 6/19/21: 4-0, 3.18 (8 ER/22.2 IP)…has logged at least 5.0 IP in his last 5 starts against the Royals dating back to 9/29/19: 4-0, 3.49 ERA (11 ER/28.1 IP) and 7 BB against 22 SO.
I GOT FIVE ON IT: Has logged at least 5.0 IP in each of his last 33 starts (beg. 4/23/22), the longest such streak ever by a Texas left-hander and 4th-longest in club history overall: 56-Yu Darvish (2012-14), 41-Lance Lynn (2019-20), 37-Nolan Ryan (1989-90), 33-Pérez (2022-23)…2nd-longest active streak of 5.0+ IP to a 34-start run by Max Scherzer (beg. 8/15/21)…has gone 14-7, 2.74 ERA (62 ER/204.0 IP) during the streak.
2023: Has faced just 13 LH batters in his 3 starts, with those hitters going 4-for13 w/ one XBH, 1 BB, 4 SO…1st 2 GS were vs. N.L. opponents…earned win in season debut 4/2 vs. PHI, completing Rangers’ 3-G sweep, as he allowed just 3 batted balls with exit velo. of 95.0+ mph (Statcast)…has tossed at least 90 pitches in all 3 starts this season…ranks T-1st in W (2), 3rd on team in IP (15.2), and T-3rd in SO (16)…his 5 total earned runs allowed are the fewest by any TEX starter this year.
KING OF THE ROAD: Took loss in 1st road start of ‘23, but bounced back in his last road outing in HOU to notch his 2nd win of the year…saw slightly better results in 16 road starts (7-4, 2.86 ERA) than in 16 starts in Arlington (5-4, 2.92 ERA) last season…ranked among A.L. road leaders in quality starts (T4th, 12), ERA (6th), and wins (T11th)…opened the 2022 campaign with club-record 25.0 consecutive scoreless innings on the road…Rangers went 10-0 in Pérez’s first 10 away outings last season, tied for the longest season-opening road undefeated streak by a starting pitcher in WSH/TEX franchise history (also 10, A.J. Griffin from 4/8-8/9/16)…Pérez’s career ERA splits are nearly identical on the road (4.40) vs. at home (4.43), though his home win pct. (.532, 41-36) is significantly higher than his road mark (.462, 36-42).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Royals suffered a 12-2 loss last night to the Rangers, their 5th consecutive setback and their largest margin of defeat since a 13-3 loss last Sept. 18 at Fenway Park…they took an early lead in the 1st, when Bobby Witt Jr. tripled, MJ Melendez drove him in on a sacrifice fly and Salvador Perez hit a 406-ft. double to center that would’ve been a home run in 26 of the 30 ballparks…that marked Kansas City’s first lead since their win a week ago tonight in Texas, snapping a run of 36.0 consecutive innings in which they were tied or trailed…the lead was short lived, as Salvy was stranded at second base and the Rangers tied the game in the 3rd and took the lead in the 4th…Brad Keller was charged with 3 runs on 3 hits and a career-high-tying 5 walks, and exited after throwing 81 pitches through 4.0 innings, trailing 3-2…after a scoreless 5th, Carlos Hernández faced five batters to begin the 6th and allowed 4 singles and a 3-run home run, exiting with 5 runs charged to his line and no outs recorded…Josh Staumont pitched a scoreless 7th but was charged with 2 runs without yielding a hit in the 8th, including an inherited run that scored on Adolis García’s 3-run homer off Josh Taylor.
LOW FIVE: The Royals have lost 5 consecutive games on this homestand, in which they’ve been outscored 40-12 (-28)…they’re batting .205 with 1 HR on this stay, have been held to 3 runs or fewer in 4 of the 5 games and are 4-for-41 (.098) with runners in scoring position…the pitching staff has yielded a .273 opponents’ average with 11 home runs, has allowed 9 runs or more three times and owns a 7.40 ERA (37 ER in 45.0 IP).
This 5-game losing streak marks the Royals longest since a 5-game skid last July 26-30 vs. the Angels (0- 2) and at the Yankees (0-3), a stretch that began with three straight shutouts and included a walk-off loss.
The Royals are in danger of their first winless homestand of at least 6 games in two years, since May 3-9, 2021, when they went 0-7 vs. the Guardians (0-4) and the White Sox (0-3)…the franchise record for the longest winless homestand came in 2012, when after going 3-3 on a season-opening trip, the Royals went 0-10 on the first homestand from April 13-23 vs. Cleveland (0-3), Detroit (0-3) and Toronto (0-4).
There are several similarities between this year’s Royals and the 2012 team, both of which started 4-14 through 18 games…the 2012 Royals, for example, featured many young players in their first full seasons, including Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, among others, who debuted the year before…the Royals had 13 different players debut last season, including a core group of every day players in Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez and Vinnie Pasquantino…that 2012 team had an 0-10 homestand, didn’t win their 1st home game until May 3, and like the 2023 Royals, were 1-11 through their first 12 home games.
The 2012 Royals overcame their 4-14 start and won 72 games, then in 2013, they went 86-76 to snap a run of nine consecutive losing seasons, before winning back-to-back American League pennants in 2014-15 and the second World Series championship in franchise history in 2015.
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 4-14 through 18 games, which marks the 2nd-worst record in the Majors ahead of Oakland (3-15), and matches their 2nd-worst 18-game start in franchise history, better only than the 1992 Royals, who started 2-16…the schedule makers haven’t done the Royals any favors either, as their five opponents to this point have a combined record of 51-35 (.593), and three of those five teams are in 1st place in their division…that includes the American League West-leading Texas Rangers (11-6), who took 2 of 3 from the Royals last week in Arlington and have won the first 2 games in Kansas City 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 (11-7) and Minnesota (10-7).
RISPY BUSINESS: The Royals situational hitting woes continued last night as they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position to mark their most such at-bats without a hit since last Sept. 1 at the White Sox (0-for-9)… the Royals rank 30th in the Majors with a .172 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 13 of their 18 games, including each of the last 4…in fact, the Royals are hitless in their last 14 at-bats in scoring situations, since an RBI single by Franmil Reyes in the 6th inning of Sunday’s 5-4 loss to Atlanta.
Situational hitting was an issue for this Royals offense early last season, when they hit .205 in scoring situations through 39 games, but batted .261 over their last 122 games, which ranked 11th in the Majors.
NEW DAY, NEW LINEUP: Today marks the Royals 19th game of the season, and they are playing with their 19th different lineup combination…they are one of three teams this season that entered today without fielding the same lineup more than once, along with the 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: Last night’s loss dropped the Royals to 1-4 vs. the Rangers this season, clinching their eighth consecutive season series loss dating back to 2015, a stretch in which the Royals are 14-38 (.269) and have been outscored 268-174 (-94)…the Royals last beat the Rangers in a season series in 2014, when they went 5-1.
Today marks the season series finale between the Royals and Rangers, and the 6th meeting between these two teams in the last 10 days…this 6-game season series is ending 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…this means the Royals have played more games vs. the Rangers than their entire division combined (3).
The Royals were last swept by the Rangers from June 25-27, 2021 in Arlington, and last swept at Kauffman Stadium from June 18-20, 2018.
ON DECK: Following today’s series finale, the Royals will enjoy an off day tomorrow, when they will 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, Arizona and Minnesota, and after that off day on May 1, the Royals will host the Orioles, Athletics and White Sox from May 2-11.
FRANKKKKKKKKKKKKKIE!: Frankie Mozzicato, the Royals 1st-round pick in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, had a game to remember last night with
Low-A Columbia…Mozzicato, 19, pitched 6.0 scoreless innings with a Fireflies single-game record 13 strikeouts, including strikeouts to seven consecutive batters following a leadoff single in the 1st inning…through 2 starts, Mozzicato has pitched 11.0 scoreless innings with 4 hits allowed and 20 strikeouts.
PACE OF PLAY: There have been 242 9-inning games in the Majors this season, and the average game time of those has been 2 hours, 37 minutes, with only 24 of those 242 games (9.9%) lasting at least 3 hours…the Royals 18 games this season have averaged 2 hours, 28 minutes, which is 9 minutes below the Major League average and is the 2nd-fastest average time this season, longer only than the Minnesota Twins (2:27).
TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP BRADY SINGER (1-1, 7.88)
BRADY SINGER is making his 4th start of the season and 67th of his career today vs. Texas…it’s his 3rd career start vs. the Rangers and 1st since 2021…Singer is in his fourth season in the Majors and was selected by Kansas City in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida.
LAST START: Singer suffered his 1st loss of the season in last Friday night’s 10-3 defeat to the Braves, in which he allowed a career-high 8 runs on 10 hits (including 7 extra-base hits) and no walks in 5.0 innings, with 8 strikeouts…nine of the first 13 batters reached as Atlanta scored 4 runs in the 1st inning and 3 runs in the 2nd, but Singer retired 11 of the next 12 batters, the only blemish during that stretch being a solo home run by Sean Murphy to begin the 5th…he allowed 4 HR in total—including back-to-back HR by Matt Olson and Austin Riley in the 1st inning—1 shy of his career-high 5 HR allowed, done Sept. 11, 2021 at Minnesota…after needing 55 pitches to get through the first 2.0 innings, he cruised through the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings on 29 pitches.
His final line was an unusual one, as he became only the ninth pitcher ever to allow 8 runs with no walks and 8 strikeouts, and the first in seven years, since Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann allowed 8 runs with no walks and 9 strikeouts on May 16, 2016…others to have that combination of statistics in a start include Dan Haren (2014), Justin Masterson (2012), Curt Schilling (1998), Mike Witt (1987), Frank Tanana (1976), Walter Johnson (1907) and Joe McGinnity (1903).
WALK THIS WAY: After issuing 3 walks in his 1st start, Singer has not walked a batter over his last 2 starts, and boasts a 1.7 BB/9 for the season…last season, he issued 35 walks in 153.1 innings for a 2.05 BB/9, which was the best by a Royal (min. 150.0 IP) since James Shields posted a 1.74 BB/9 in 2014…Singer’s 4.29 K/BB ratio (150 K/35 BB) in 2022 tied Nestor Cortes for 10th best in the American League (min. 150.0 IP) and was the 4th-best mark in franchise history, trailing only Zack Greinke (4.75 in 2009), Bret Saberhagen (4.49 in 1989) and Danny Duffy (4.48 in 2016).
Since the start of last season, Singer has recorded at least 5.0 innings without issuing a walk in 11 of his 27 starts—including each of his last 2 starts—which are the 3rd most among American League pitchers during that span, trailing only Corey Kluber (13) and Jameson Taillon (12), who now pitches in the NL.
CASTING CALLS: In 27 starts since his May 17 recall last season, Brady has induced a called strike on 531 of his 2,616 pitches (20.3%), 2nd most in the Majors, trailing only Gerrit Cole (535)…Singer’s rate of 20.3% called strikes since last May 17 leads the Majors by a wide margin (min. 2,500 pitches), ahead of Alex Cobb (17.0%) and Adam Wainwright (16.6%)…since his 2020 debut season, Singer’s called-strike rate of 21.0% ranks 2nd in the Majors (min. 5,000 pitches), trailing Wainwright’s rate of 21.2%.
A STAR IS BORN: Singer pitched a career-best 153.1 innings in 2022 in a career-high-tying 27 appearances (24 starts)…he began the season in the bullpen, but only pitched in 3 of the Royals first 16 games before being optioned to Triple-A on April 28…he returned on May 17 and made a team-high 24 starts from that point on.
Upon joining the starting rotation last May 17, Singer went 10-5 with a 3.11 ERA (51 ER in 147.2 IP), 8th best in the American League from May 17 through season’s end…his 10 wins were the most by a Royal since Jason Vargas tied for the Majors lead with 18 in 2017…Singer’s 3.23 ERA (55 ER in 153.1 IP) for the season was the 5th best by a Royal (min. 150.0 IP) in the Wild Card Era (since 1995), trailing only Zack Greinke in his 2009 Cy Young Award-winning season (2.16), James Shields in 2013 (3.15) and 2014 (3.21) and Yordano Ventura in 2014 (3.20)…the last Royal with a lower ERA than Singer’s and a higher win percentage (.667) was David Cone during his 1994 Cy Young Award-winning season, in which he went 16-5 (.762) with a 2.94 ERA (56 ER in 17.12 IP).
CHANGE OF TUNE: Brady threw 182 changeups in 24 starts in 2022, which accounted for 8.0% of his 2,273 pitches after returning from Triple-A Omaha on May 17…that total was more than double the 88 changeups he threw in 27 starts in 2021, which equaled 3.8% of his pitches thrown…after returning from Omaha on May 17 with a focus on mixing in the changeup, Singer went 10-5 with a 3.11 ERA (51 ER in 147.2 IP), after going 9-15 with a 4.67 ERA (103 ER in 198.1 IP) in his previous 42 career appearances (39 starts)…from May 17 through season’s end, opponents went 8-for-34 (.235) vs. the changeup.
Through 3 starts this season, the changeup has accounted for 7.9% of his pitches, but opponents are 2-for-4 in at-bats ending on the changeup.
VS. TEXAS: Brady is 0-2 in 2 career starts vs. Texas with a 7.56 ERA (7 ER in 8.1 IP), and both games came in 2021…he’s struggled vs. the entire American League West division, a group in which he’s 1-7 in 12 career appearances (11 starts) with a 4.26 ERA (30 ER in 63.1 IP)…the lone win did come in his most recent start vs. an AL West opponent last Sept. 23, when he scored a 5-1 victory vs. Seattle with 7.0 innings of 1-run ball and 8 strikeouts.
HOME: Since the start of last season, Singer is 9-3 with a 3.27 ERA (38 ER in 104.2 IP) in 17 outings (16 starts) at Kauffman Stadium…more than 20% of the earned runs he’s allowed here since 2022 came in his most recent start last Friday night vs. Atlanta, in which he allowed a career-high 8 runs on 5.0 innings en route to his 1st home loss since June 26, 2022, snapping a 10-start home stretch in which he went 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA (12 ER in 64.1 IP).
Despite last week’s loss, Singer has held opponents to a .228 average in his last 11 home starts since last July, in which the Royals are 9-2.Philadelphia Phillies (7-11) at Chicago White Sox (7-11).
