KC Royals Set to Face New Look Toronto Blue Jays

Tonight begins a four game series between the new look KC Royals going against the new look Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Both teams have done some renovations since meeting in KC prior to the All-Star Break earlier this month.

Ben Zobrist will make his debut during the four games north of the border, as the Jays debuted Troy Tulowitzki last night and seem likely to send out their newest member on Sunday.

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Probable Starting Pitching Match-Ups:
Thursday, 6:07 pm – Danny Duffy/LHP (4-4, 4.03) v. Marco Estrada/RHP (7-6, 3.55)
Friday, 6:07 pm – Johnny Cueto/RHP (7-6, 2.62 NL only) v. Drew Hutchison/RHP (9-2, 5.42)
Saturday, 12:07 pm – Yordano Ventura/RHP (5-7, 4.86) v. Mark Buehrle/LHP (11-5, 3.29)
Sunday, 12:07 pm – Edinson Volquez/RHP (10-5, 4.86) v. David Price/LHP (9-2, 2.53)

Comments on Pitching Match-Ups – This series will see debuts of Johnny Cueto and David Price for both teams which will bolster each staffs. It’ll be a preview of what Royals fans hope is the four starters will use in the postseason.

Game 1: Duffy looks to make it three straight quality starts as he pitched well at Chicago and versus Houston last time out. Estrada suffered a defeat head-to-head versus Duffy last time these teams faced one another.
Game 2: Cueto makes his long waited (ok, the wait has been since Sunday) debut which will come against arguably the best line-up in the AL, which won’t be like his former league. Hutchison has a good record while having a high ERA and is a much different pitcher at home than on the road.
Game 3: Which Ventura will we see in the true north? In his last start, he looked like the guy we’ve expected all season and not the one we’ve gotten. Buehrle, until today, was Toronto’s best pitcher and, as we know, is KC’s kryptonite as they just cannot defeat him it seems.
Game 4: Volquez gutted out a victory Monday in Cleveland against a team he’s struggled against through his career. All signs point to Price making his debut Sunday afternoon versus Kansas City; which has been a mixed bag as he’s dominated our boys in blue and got battered.

Series Prediction – This series could be a playoff preview, which, if we flash back 30 years ago, that roadmap being repeated sounds fine. These teams played an odd series just a few weeks ago, one pitcher’s duel with a mid-level scoring game and then a wild 11-10 finale. It’s no secret that Rogers Centre plays big and with many runs being scored for both sides. Each team loaded up for postseason runs given moves made this past week. Prediction: Series split

2015 Meetings:
Kansas City took two of three games winning 3-0 and 11-10 with a 6-2 defeat in the middle. Duffy defeated Estrada while Buehrle got a decision over Chris Young, Wade Davis and Greg Holland finished off the wild finale.

Franchise History:
All-time Toronto leads 191-184 between these teams, KC in our neighbors to the north are just 85-102 which includes a mark of 50-64 at SkyDome/Rogers Centre.

TV/Radio Coverage:
Fox Sports Kansas City has all four games from Toronto with Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler calling the action. Prior to the games Joel Goldberg and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery host Royals Live before and after all the action.

MLB Network will pick up the game on Thursday for fans out of market.

The Royals Radio Network (610 Sports Radio in KC) will have Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart describing all the action from beautiful Ontario.

2015 Series Schedule/Results v. Blue Jays (KC 2-1)
July 10-12, Kauffman Stadium: W 3-0, L 6-1, W 11-10
July 30 – August 2, Rogers Centre:

Game Notes:
Toronto Blue Jays
Kansas City Royals

Next: Royals May Not be Done Upgrading Roster

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