Los Angeles Angels (41-36 SU, 34-43 ATS, 35-37-5 O/U) at Kansas City Royals (23-54 SU, 31-46 ATS, 28-45-4 O/U)
When and Where: Monday, June 25, Ewing Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Mo., 4:15 p.m. EDT.
Tyler Skaggs looks to win a fourth consecutive start as the Los Angeles Angels make up a rainout Monday with a contest against the struggling Kansas City Royals.
Skaggs enjoying best season of career for Angels
Skaggs (6-4, 2.81 ERA), who has already set a single-season career high for wins, is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA in his last three starts as he takes the ball for the Angels.
The left-hander had his last turn in the rotation skipped due to hamstring tightness but everything checked out in a bullpen session Saturday, allowing him to return to the rotation for the Angels.
Skaggs allowed a pair of unearned runs over seven innings in his last start June 15, an 8-4 victory over Oakland. He has yielded one earned run over 20 innings during his winning streak and is looking to win a third straight road start.
The southpaw is an impressive 5-1 with a 2.27 ERA in eight road starts this season, yielding more than three runs just once. Skaggs has yet to concede a run to Kansas City in two career starts, tossing 14 scoreless innings while scattering seven hits and three walks and striking out 14. He has one win and one no-decision while holding Royals hitters to a .146 batting average.
Alcides Escobar is the only Royals hitter with any success against Skaggs, going 3 for 5. Alex Gordon is 0 for 6 with three strikeouts, and Cheslor Cuthbert has fared little better with a single in six at-bats while fanning three times.
Keller tries to get back to .500 for Royals
Rookie Brad Keller (1-2, 2.63 ERA) gets the ball for Kansas City as he makes his fifth career start.
The right-hander entered the rotation last month and has gone 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in four starts, getting deeper into each successive contest. Keller did not get a decision June 17 against Houston, when he was reached for three runs and nine hits in six innings and denied a loss when Kansas City’s bullpen faltered in a 7-4 defeat.
Opponents are hitting .306 against Keller when he starts, racking up 22 hits in 18 innings, and have a .361 batting average when they put the ball in play. Only two of those hits, though, have gone for extra bases and none have been home runs.
Keller has made two appearances against the Angels, yielding two runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. The 22-year-old’s second career start was against Los Angeles on June 5 in which he allowed one run 4 1-3 innings, taking the loss in a 1-0 Royals defeat.
Justin Upton is 2 for 3 against Keller, while Albert Pujols had a run-scoring single off him earlier this month.
Trends:
The Angels are:
- 7-0 in their last seven road games vs. teams with a sub-.400 winning percentage at home.
- 17-8 in their last 25 road games vs. right-handed starters.
- 7-2 in Skaggs’ last nine road starts.
The Royals are:
- 5-22 in their last 27 games vs. AL West opponents.
- 3-13 in their last 16 home games vs. teams with an above-.500 winning percentage on the road.
- 3-15 in their last 18 home games vs. above-.500 teams.
The Royals have dropped 17 of their last 19 overall after losing the rubber game of their series against the Houston Astros 8-3 on Sunday. They have scored more than three runs just twice in that span, getting outscored 97-40 while hitting .178 overall and .207 with runners in scoring position.
