The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs began the newest chapter in one of sport’s greatest rivalries on Tuesday. While the Cardinals entered the series with National League’s best record and riding a six-game win streak that ran completely over the Brewers, in series between these two clubs, anything can happen…and it actually did. The Cubs entered with an opposite record and place in the NL Central, yet when the series started everybody was on equal ground as usual between these two teams.

The series played out to show that equality as well, as the two clubs split the mid-week series, and played two intense games that took some timely baseball to work out and win. In the end, both games were won on the backs of each club’s closer-of-the moment, as well as some tight relief pitching, as well as by a grand total of one run in club’s favor. Yet the Cardinals survived their brush with their oldest rivals, and still sit with the best record in baseball. Here are three factors that made that possible:

1. Lynn’s Strange Start: Lance Lynn took the mound on Tuesday night riding more momentum than anybody else on the club. He was the winner of five straight contests, and was looking to win his NL-best sixth contest already. He also entered the start as a beneficiary of just over eight runs of support per game, a league-best level of assistance. After Allen Craig’s second inning home run, the Cardinals failed to score another run. The one run was the lowest amount of support he’d received since September 13^th last year, a 2-1 game that ended in his favor.

This time the game didn’t end on his side, as he dropped his first start since April 3^rd despite the fact he surrendered only two runs off four hits over seven innings. By not gaining the victory, he failed to match the longest winning streak by a Cardinals pitcher since Chris Carpenter in 2011.

2. Yadi giveth and taketh away: One of the oddest (or at least telling) turns of the Cardinal approach over the past few years is that Yadier Molina is among the most active base runners on the team. Despite his obvious lack of natural deftness, he has managed to steal at least eight bases in three of the last four seasons, including 12 a year ago. His trip to Chicago was a showing in both crapping and cashing out with gambles on the bases for him. In game one, in the midst of an eighth inning comeback, he followed a single up by stealing second with two outs. However, then after nearly being picked off on a long lead based on inducing a balk from the sometimes erratic Marmol, he took too far of a lead was cleanly picked off after the next pitch, ending the inning and the Cardinal hopes for the evening.

The next day, his footwork made the deciding difference. In a similar situation to the night before, Molina found himself back at second, but this time Jon Jay came through with a single into center field, where Molina turned the corner at third and scored the game’s final run. The gambling man continues to pay out…even if it’s just breaking even.

3. Who’s the Man(ess): Recently promoted righty Seth Maness has wasted no time in making an impact with the big club, and has done so under pressure each time out. He has produced game-saving, eighth inning double plays in both of his last two times on the mound, and has taken home the win in two of his first three appearances. He recorded the last five outs of Wednesday’s game, and has retired seven of the eight batters he’s faced. He has been a major factor in steadying the late game situations that sank the club repeatedly over the first month, and is doing a lot to make his first cup coffee up count.

The final scores of the first three games between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals this season weren’t all that close, but the games were tighter than the margins of victory indicated.

That could foreshadow another season of great baseball between the National League Central Division’s two best teams, but it probably won’t determine which team wins the division.

The Cincinnati Reds destroyed the St. Louis Cardinals 13-4 Monday in the Cardinals’ home-opener, but that was a close game until the ninth, and the Cardinals ripped the Reds the next two days, 5-1 and 10-0, to take an extremely early 2-1 lead in the season series against their most dangerous divisional opponent.

That’s obviously a good way to kick off what could be a fun race for the 2013 division crown, but the Cardinals’ records against teams outside the National League Central Division might be even more important.

Based on how the teams played in their recent series at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals and Reds are both good, but they are pretty evenly matched.  One team probably won’t win the vast majority of the 19 games the rivals play against each other this season, nor will one team likely falter against a specific divisional opponent.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates are decent, but the Cardinals and Reds are better than both of those teams, as well as the lowly Chicago Cubs, and they should run through the division relatively easily. Now, the division race could be drastically altered if the Cardinals or Reds continually falter against a particular opponent, but that is still improbable.

The more likely scenario is a season series that ends up 10-9, 11-8 or 12-7. Sure, those couple of games will be extremely important if the Reds and Cardinals end up in a tight battle in the standings near the end of the season, but the winner of that battle will likely be the team that wins the most games against teams in every other divisions, especially now that Major League Baseball has implemented season-long interleague play.

The Cardinals beat the Reds in eight of their 15 games last season, and both teams had similar records within the division. The Cardinals went 45-32 against NL Central opponents, while the Reds went 49-30. Again, those few games do matter, but the biggest difference between the Cardinals and Reds in 2012 was their performance against NL East teams.

The Reds won 19 of 34 games against the NL East last season. While that’s not a great record by any means, it is significantly better than the Cardinals 14-20 record against those same teams. And that’s largely the reason the Reds finished nine games ahead of the Cardinals in the final standings.

But that doesn’t mean Reds-Cardinals games won’t be a lot of fun to watch this season. Both teams have good pitching, and they have balanced lineups that can score a lot of runs at any time. That combination makes for games that will usually be close throughout, as the last three games were through the first half.

The Cardinals would’ve outscored the Reds 3-2 for the series if the teams had play just the first four innings each day. Instead, the Cardinals outscored the Reds 19-14 in what looks like an offensively charged series, when in reality pitchers shut down each offense for the majority of each game.

The teams will meet again April 29 for round two at Busch Stadium, and they’ll play four more series after that. But what each team does in the games between those meetings will play just as large a role in which team represents the NL Central in the 2013 playoffs.

In case you have not heard, and if you have not I have to wonder how you stumbled on it here first, the Cardinals are well within striking distance of a National League Wild Card win. In fact, going into today, they are now one and a half games behind the crumbling Atlanta Braves for the final playoff spot in the National League. To top it off, they are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. This team could be dangerous.

Back on September 7th, it appeared the Cardinals were done for the season. The team was struggling, falling further and further out of the race, and they were wrapping up their final game of the season with division rivals (and soon to be division champs) Milwaukee. As the game wound down, the every flamboyant Nyjer Morgan decided to draw some attention and caused a brawl that seen him at odds with the Cardinals super star first baseman Albert Pujols after Morgan threw his chewing tobacco in the direction of Chris Carpenter.

While the move was classless, it quickly became apparent to most of us that it was also cowardly. The final at bat of the final series against a team that had fallen from contention, Morgan made a statement without fear of retaliation. He even went so far as to carry it over to Twitter after being ejected from the game, calling Pujols out knowing full well they would not face each other again this season, nor was there a guarantee that Pujols would be a Cardinal by the time Milwaukee returned.

Alberta couldn't see Plush if she had her gloves on!!! Wat was she thinking running afta Plush!!! She never been n tha ring!!!

September 7, 2011 9:18 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@TheRealTPlush

Nyjer Morgan - T Dot

You can read 10 Things More Likely Than Nyjer Morgan Beating Up Pujols from our friends at CardsDiaspora.com for a fun look at the situation. I don’t mind, I’ll wait here for you…

Done reading? Good, let us continue.

Nyjer did downplay the situation after the game during post game interviews as captured here by 101 Sports:

This was not the first incident between Carpenter and Morgan. In fact, this one goes back quite a ways now. It was last year, while Morgan was a member of the Nationals, that he would elbow Bryan Anderson after scoring a run, despite Anderson not being in the way of the play. This spring, again while with the Nationals, Morgan would charge the mound after Carpenter pitched him inside repeatedly, though no punches were thrown. It was in August that the Brewers would visit St. Louis and Morgan would need to be removed from the dugout while he was yelling and cursing Carpenter during that late innings of a ball game.

After the September game, Carpenter would admit to yelling at Morgan after he struck him out in the ninth, which prompted Morgan to react the way he did. All in all, it is two very explosive personalities that are boiling over when they are near each other.

Suddenly, a few weeks later, the Cardinals are riding a huge surge and may be putting themselves into a position to make the playoffs. While that will not ensure a showdown with Morgan and the Brewers in the first round, it could very well put the two teams on a collision course this October.

Imagine the scenes as “T-Plush” takes to the batter’s box against Carpenter in the opening game of the National League Championship Series just to receive a fastball somewhere in the vicinity of the ear-hole of his helmet. Benches may clear. It may be as ugly as Cincinnati last season. Even still, when the dust settles, Morgan may have to take his place at first base with the very man he decided was not man enough to stand toe-to-toe with him. Can those two men coexist well enough to not start a second brawl minutes after the first calms down?

The playoff push is interesting enough. But the sub-plot that is developing may steal the show.

Be careful, Nyjer, your plan might just have backfired.

Fasten your seatbelts, Cardinals’ fans. The Red Birds are 60 games from the finish line and are sure to be bumping fenders with anywhere from one to three division rivals as they race down the home stretch. The Cardinals find them self in a virtual three-way tie for first in the NL Central with the Reds not lagging far behind the leaders. It reminds me of the 3-horse race in the division back in 2008… only that year it was the Cardinals, Brewers, and Cubs vying for not only the division crown, but the wildcard as well. Unfortunately, this edition of the race reminds me of 2008 in another way – the Cardinals were historically bad holding leads late in games.

A quick history lesson for you: with 60 games to go in the 2008 season, the Cardinals were 2 games out first place in the central, and a game behind the Brewers for the top spot in the wild card race. Does anyone remember how the team finished?
- 11.5 games behind the Cubs for the division title
- 4 games behind the Brewers for the wild card spot… and for good measure…
- ½ game behind the Astros for 3rd place, a team who was 10 games behind the Cardinals with 60 games to go in the season.

In other words, yikes.

So what happened? The team carried a lead into the 8th inning that year 105 times… tops in all of baseball. But the Cardinals failed to seal the deal in 19 of those games, settling for a record of 86-76 when they could’ve been 105-57 (or perhaps more realistically, 95-67, which would’ve still be good enough to clinch a postseason berth).

And that brings us to today. As of now, the Cardinals have already lost 11 games in which they held the lead entering the 8th inning. What stings even more is that 4 times they held the lead with 2 outs in the 9th and failed to get the victory. Making just those four game wins instead of losses would have the Cardinals sitting in the drivers’ seat of the division at 58-44 and a 4 game lead on the Pirates (and just a game behind Atlanta for the wildcard as extra insurance).

Instead, the Cardinals are 54-48, tied with the Pirates, a ½ game ahead of the Brewers, and the Reds are still within shouting distance. But unlike 2008, the blame can’t solely be directed on the bullpen. This season, the defense has let the team down just as often.
The defense has already cost St. Louis three wins since the All-Star Break. Yes, really.

- July 15th in Cincinnati, a throwing error in the 7th by David Freese sets up a 2 run inning, the Cardinals lose by a run on a walk-off home run by Brandon Phillips.
- July 20th in New York, an 8th inning throwing error by Daniel Descalso sets up the tying run in an extra inning loss.
- July 24th in Pittsburgh, a 10th inning throwing set up the winning run.
More Examples:
- April 8th in San Francisco, Albert Pujols’ 12th inning error (the team’s 3rd of the game) sets up the winning run.
- April 9th in San Francisco, Colby Rasmus drops a fly ball that would’ve been the final out of the game, allowing the tying and winning runs to score.
- April 26th in Houston, a 9th inning passed ball and throwing error set up the tying and winning runs.
- May 1st in Atlanta, a dropped 9th inning pop-up (yes, I said pop-up) allows the eventual winning run to reach base and score.

As much as those losses hurt, they’re in the past. The errors and blown saves will continue to stack up just like they did in 2008. That’s unless GM John Mozeliak makes some improvements before the trade deadline. Three years ago, the Cardinals scooped up Mark DeRosa from the Indians in exchange for budding reliever, Chris Perez (ouch).

Can the Cardinals continue to hang around in the playoff race without making a big splash? I actually believe they can and will. But I also think the Brewers are the favorites to come away with the division crown if St. Louis doesn’t do something.

Maybe it’s a big trade for a reliever. Perhaps it’s a move that shores up the defense.

Or maybe, they figure out ways to finish games.

There are few names that cause a hush to fall over a group of long-time Cardinal fans the way this one does. Eyes glaze over momentarily. Conversation comes to a pause. Thoughts turn to memories of that day. Eventually someone murmurs that they never would have seen it coming.

No one did.

June 22, 2002. The Cardinals were in Chicago to play the Cubs in a matchup of division rivals. As gametime approached, the stadium was buzzing with confusion. Warmups were not going as planned. Whispers throughout the stadium wondered what was happening.

Then, a microphone appeared. Various members of the Cubs took the field. The Cubs’ players association representative, Joe Girardi, walked solemnly to the mic with tears in his eyes.

“I thank you for your patience. We regret to inform you because of a tragedy in the Cardinal family, that the commissioner has canceled the game today. Please be respectful. You will find out eventually what has happened, and I ask that you say a prayer for the St. Louis Cardinals’ family.”

Players left the field. Fans quietly filed out of the stadium. No one knew what had truly happened. No one could understand. Slowly news spread. Even slower came reasons. The answers never came for the question on everyone’s mind.

Why?

In 1987 the Houston Astros selected Darryl Kile in the 30th round. While obviously a low-end pick, Kile nevertheless fought his way up the ranks, breaking into the majors in early 1991. During his first career start he had a no-hitter through six innings before being pulled. His career in Houston was bright, making his first All-Star team in 1993 and pitching a no-hitter against the Mets in September of the same year. A few years later in 1997 Kile went 19-7, again making the All-Star team, and making the postseason with the Astros.

After that ’97 postseason appearance, Kile signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies. As many pitchers found out, pitches in Colorado don’t do the same things they do in other parks (pre-humidor, that is). Kile’s pitching suffered dramatically, and his two years in Colorado produced ERA’s of 5.20 and 6.61. His career was spiraling, until he was traded to the Cardinals.

As one of many that felt the apparent healing powers of pitching coach Dave Duncan, Kile’s career felt a resurgence wearing the birds on the bat. In 2000, his first year in St. Louis, Kile was the first 20 game winner for the Cardinals since John Tudor and Joaquin Andujar in 1985. Over the next few years he emerged as the team ace, shepherding several of the younger Cardinal pitchers and being a strong leader both on the field and in the clubhouse.

Darryl’s wife Flynn, twins Sierra and Kannon, and youngest Ryker, were all fixtures at the ballpark, from Family Day on the field to a little catch pregame in the clubhouse with father and son. His family was important to him, and they were held in high esteem by the Cardinals community. The Kile’s were close friends with Matt Morris and his family, among others.

On June 18, 2002, Darryl Kile strode off the mound in Busch Stadium to a standing ovation. He had pitched 8 strong innings, giving up only one run against the Anaheim Angels. The Cardinals won the game 7-2, and with that win, took over sole possession of first place in the National League Central. Sadly for the Cardinals, the joy of victory was short in lasting, as news spread that night about Hall of Fame broadcaster and longtime voice of the Cardinals Jack Buck’s passing away. The team all wore patches for the rest of the season bearing the initials JFB (as seen on Kile’s sleeve in the above picture).

It was a great victory for the team, a sad loss for Cardinal Nation, and the last victory of Darryl Kile’s career. Four days later, Kile did not show up to Wrigley Field on time for the day’s game. Teammates began to wonder. Messages were sent. Calls were made. The news finally broke – Darryl Kile had passed away in his sleep of a heart attack.

The game that Girardi had tearfully informed the Wrigley faithful about being cancelled was made up over two months later, on August 31. Jason Simontacchi was the starter, and looked visibly emotional throughout the game. Kile had been a teammate, a supporter, and a friend. The team added a second patch to their jerseys, and a matching symbol on the wall in the bullpen of Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals seemed to be a team of destiny. They overcame so much, dealt with emotional trauma, and yet responded with resiliency. After their fallen ace pitched them into first place, they never looked back, and the team finished as the winners of the Central Division. As the team ran onto the field to celebrate their division clinching win, rookie outfielder and third baseman Albert Pujols grabbed a hanger from inside the dugout to take with him into the celebration. He eventually handed it off to teammate and best friend of Kile, Matt Morris.

Kile’s jersey never left the dugout throughout the rest of 2002, and his locker remained untouched for years. The Cardinals did not want to forget their teammate and friend. His fans never will.

To find my memories of this story, head over to Diamond Diaries.

Angela Weinhold is an executive editor and covers the Cardinals for i70baseball.com. She also writes writes for her own site Cardinal Diamond Diaries. You may follow her on Twitter here or follow Cardinal Diamond Diaries here.

An above .500 this week, including a win Friday night against in-state rivals St. Louis Cardinals, has left a feeling of mixed emotions and expectations for this young team. This team is still trying to find a rhythm, which with two starting pitchers getting ready to come off the DL, is going to be somewhat easier than it has been during the past three or four weeks.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

Joakim Soria has seemed to find his rhythm again and that is good news for one of the youngest bullpens in baseball. With him and consistent efforts out of Aaron Crow, the Royals bullpen could solidify more upon Bruce Chen and Kyle Davies returning to the starting rotation.

The Royals are entering probably the most exciting time of the first half of the season this weekend in St. Louis, inter-league play. With the series this weekend in St. Louis, the Royals begin a two-week stretch of playing teams that they would only see in a potential World Series berth or spring training exhibitions. Every year at this time of the season, the question is raised, who is the better league this year.

The Royals have a chance to show case their young talented lineup to certain fan bases that may have never seen them play nor will again, lest that team and the Royals make it to the World Series. This gives opportunity for the potential All-Star candidates to draw some voters that probably would not consider voting for them otherwise. The only catch is, these players have to perform at the level they have been so far this season.

The defense has been solid and so has the offense. Both are ranked in the top five in the American League. One of the highlights on defense in particular has been Escobar at shortstop. It seems like every game he makes a play that he was not supposed to make. The bats are becoming a little more consistent as the lineup has stabilized in the past few ball games, but with one of the best hitters out of the lineup (arguably the best hitter too, Billy Butler) when playing at National League ballparks it is going to be slightly more difficult to manufacture runs during these away games.

The Royals pitching is again holding this team back in a variety of ways. So far this season I have seen, the starting pitching be solid, then the bullpen gets shaky and then the roles reverse by the end of the week or sometimes the series. The Royals currently rank dead last in the American League in ERA and have given up the third most home runs by any pitching staff this year. The pitchers have to keep the ball in the ballpark consistently in order to give the offense and defense opportunities to help win ball games.

Three phases of this game have to be executed well in order to be in contention in the season. The Royals have begun solidifying two of those phases, but one is still holding them back.

Assessing the first month of a season for a ball club requires you to know the goal of the club overall. Every big league club and player will tell you that they play to win, point blank. But the front office may take a different view. In the case of the Royals, a lot is to be said about patience and development in 2011. The Royals will open the season taking on division rivals in the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and even the Cleveland Indians. They will also find themselves going head to head with AL West foes in the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Seattle Mariners. Some of these games will negatively impact the team’s record, but all of them will test a young team in terms of their fortitude.

April Breakdown:

Total Games: 27

Home: 16

Road: 11

Vs teams with winning records in 2010: 15

Vs teams with losing records in 2010: 12

Vs teams in the AL Central: 16

Key Series:

March 31-April 3 vs Los Angeles – The Angels are being picked by many experts to win the AL West this year and will provide an immediate test for the Royals this season. That being said, the subtext that everyone in Kansas City is talking about revolves around the “Double Header” being billed on April 2nd. That night, following the game with the Angels, the Royals top two farm teams will do battle at Kauffman Stadium, allowing the fans in Kansas City to get a glimpse of the future that lays ahead of the franchise.

April 14-21 vs Seattle and Cleveland – This may be the key week to the early season for the Royals. Some people are wondering if the Royals are not as bad as many are predicting them. If the Royals are to put together a successful season in the win-loss column, it will have to be solidified with wins over teams that are honestly worse than they are. This week projects as a battle between three teams that many pick to be the worst in the American League and will give the Royals an opportunity to prove that they are more than just going through the motions in 2011.

Key To a Hot Start:

The Royals do not need a hot start. The team needs to be patient and develop their young players. If they are to separate themselves from the lower half of the American League, they need to take advantage of games against Cleveland, Seattle, and Detroit. They will be tested early by the likes of Minnesota and Chicago and coming away with a .500 record against those teams will go a long way in to convincing fans that the team has improved.

At the end of April:

If the Royals have 14+ wins… they have stepped up and shown that they are not to be considered with the worst teams. Fourteen wins is not out of reach in April, looking at the schedule. If they win each series with Cleveland, Seattle, and Detroit they will have won ten games. A single win against the Angels, White Sox, Twins, and Rangers will get them to fourteen wins and a record that is above .500.

If the Royals are .500… fans have to be somewhat pleased. No one expects much from this team and playing that well in the opening month might turn some heads.

If the Royals are below .500… then they are playing as most have predicted. Again, this season is not about winning but developing. The team will look to grow young players into consistent stars while looking to veterans to nurture the changing atmosphere. The team needs to play with heart, determination, and show a solid footing to be successful. This season cannot be judged by the record books, no matter what statisticians tell you.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

1985 World Series

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals

Game 1 – October 19, 1985

Location: Royals Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.

Attendance: 41,650

Recap: The Cardinals rode a strong pitching performance by ace John Tudor to a victory in Game 1 of the 1985 World Series, a low-scoring affair in which the Royals actually out-hit their cross-state rivals. But the Cardinals’ hits came when it counted. Tito Landrum scored a run and collected a double and a single, and Willie Mcgee, Jack Clark and Cesar Cedeno recorded St. Louis RBIs. Steve Balboni drove in the only run for Kansas City, which featured its own strong outing from starting pitcher Danny Jackson, who gave up two runs over seven innings and struck out seven.

Line Score:

TEAM R H E

St. Louis 3 7 1

Kansas City 1 8 0

Winning pitcher: John Tudor

Losing pitcher: Danny Jackson

Save: Todd Worrell

Notables: Cardinals left fielder Tito Landrum went 2 for 4 with a double, the only player with multiple hits on either team; St. Louis’ John Tudor struck out five and gave up one run over 6.2 innings for the victory; Royals utilityman Lynn Jones hit a triple while pinch hitting for shortstop Buddy Biancalana.

Tomorrow: A recap of Game 2.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and the content editor for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.

* Box score data from Baseball Almanac.

Gearing up for the second half

The A’s and the Royals have had similar seasons to this point. Both teams are currently in fourth place in their respective divisions. The Royals ended the first half of the season by dropping three straight games to the rivals, the Chicago White Sox. The A’s took two out of three from the All-Star hosting Angels.

Game 1: Zack Greinke vs. Gio Gonzalez

Greinke missed his last start this past Sunday but with nine days between starts he should be good to go for the series opener on Friday night. Career-wise versus the A’s he is undefeated with an ERA of 2.88 and 49 strikeouts. In his lone start last year, he gave up three runs on seven hits while getting the win by a score of 12-6.

Gonzalez struggled right before the break. His previous three starts he has been struggling with his control. He has issued thirteen walks, including five in four innings against the Yankees on July 7th. Despite his recent control issues he is above .500 with a record of 7-6 going into the second half. He is 0-1 in career starts versus the Royals with an ERA of 7.79 in 9.1 innings. This includes the one outing he had against the Royals in 2009 when he gave up four walks, six hits and five runs in 5.1 innings of work.

Game 2: Bruce Chen vs. Trevor Cahill

If you were to just look at this season’s stats on this pitching matchup, you would have to expect Cahill to be successful. He has been labeled the ace of their pitching staff while Bruce Chen is a mid-season call up. Bruce however has faced the A’s before and has had some success. He is 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA and 18 Ks in 36.2 innings pitched. Last year the A’s only managed a .231 batting average against him.

Cahill has been an unhittable at times during the first half of the season and his All-Star nod was a confirmation of that fact. He enters the second half with a 9-3 record and a 2.94 ERA. He has performed far beyond his other teammates in the rotation to this point. ON the other hand, he does have recent struggles against the Royals. Despite having a 2-0 record against the boys in blue, he has an ERA over four.

Game 3: Brian Bannister vs. Vin Mazzaro

Bannister has had success in day time pitching. However, when pitching against the A’s he has struggled. He is 1-4 with a 5.02 ERA and only 23 Ks in 43 innings pitched. His last start against the Chicago White Sox he gave up five runs including three jacks. Coach Yost has emphasized quality starting pitching. If the Royals are going to have success in the second half, Bannister is one of the veteran starters to have to be consistent. He has two starts against Oakland last year and was shelled. The A’s managed a .341 batting average in those two games.

Mazzaro has a 1-0 career mark versus the Royals even though he has a 5.40 ERA. The Royals did hit him well last year and managed a .364 average. This young hurler has performed well as of late winning two of his last three starts and has his ERA down to 3.81.

Offense

The Royals need to pick up right where they left off at the end of the 1st half, the best hitting team in baseball. They may not hit it out a lot but 2-3 singles and the occasional double is enough to score with the speed they have at the top of their lineup.

The A’s finished right in the middle of the American League with a .262 team batting average. If they are patient they can pick apart the Royals staff that has at times struggled against them.

Defense

The Royals currently are ranked tenth in the AL with .982 fielding percentage. This is still a really good number considering that they have had fluctuations in their lineup. Callaspo finished the first half with errors in back to back losses versus the White Sox. I’m not saying his errors were the reasons for the losses but errors extend innings and give extra outs to the offense.

The A’s are right in the middle in this category as well. They have a fielding percentage of .984.

Pitching

Regardless of what he might think, Zack is a veteran leader on this team. How he performs on the field directly influences the other eight. The Royals need “Zack Attack” to make a statement on Friday night. It needs to translate into something like this:

“I won the Cy Young last year and here’s why.”

Bannister and Chen need to also have solid performances.

The A’s have some sleepers on their staff and they can be very effective.

X-Factor

The Royals are throwing their best three starters and are playing at home after some extended time off. Their recent success against Oakland should provide a much needed boost to the boys in blue.

The A’s are coming off the break strong after winning a series against the Angels. The Royals lost their three games before the break. If they can get some timely hitting against Greinke on Friday, it will provide the momentum they need to win the series.

Both teams have called Kansas City home at one point in their respective franchise’s history. It will be fun to watch who takes the series.