Royals v. Angels – Two Franchises On Opposite Paths

Monday: RHP Ian Kennedy (2-1, 1.35 ERA) v. Garrett Richards (0-3, 3.00 ERA)

Ian Kennedy has been nothing short of spectacular thus far in his newly wed Royals career.

Through three starts, he has given up just three runs in 20 innings, while striking out 21 and posting a measly 0.90 WHIP.

He was tacked with his first loss of the season last Wednesday, albeit a tough luck loss, being out-dueled by Jordan Zimmermann in a 3-2 loss.

He gave up just two runs in 6.1 innings.

In his three starts for Kansas City, Kennedy has racked up a 0.6 fWAR, which is very close to the 0.8 fWAR he posted last season in 30 starts.

His 9.45 K/9 would also be a career high if the season ended today. Needless to say, his season is going well so far.

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Richards, on the other hand, is one of the lone survivors from the 2014 squad that has not been shipped out or dried up.

He is still only 27 and is coming off a season in which he posted a 3.65 ERA in over 200 innings of work.

In his one start against the Royals in 2015, he went six innings and gave up three runs on eight hits.

He figures to be a pretty decent matchup for the Royals, being a high-velocity fastball guy with a fairly limited arsenal.

He throws gas, with a fastball that will sit in the 95-97 range and touch triple digits, who relies primarily on his slider for his main breaking pitch.  He also throws a sinker (!!), which sits in the upper-90’s and is more than likely just a variation of his fastball.

He is essentially a two-pitch pitcher, but those two pitches can be pretty dominant at times.

Must-See Matchup – Garrett Richards v. Mike Moustakas

I couldn’t resist. And he’s been so hot of late, I thought I might as well try to make myself look smarter.

The presence of a sinker is enough to warrant excitement. With it being just a variation of his fastball, that means his fastball has some of that natural, arm-side run which plays into Moustakas swing path perfectly.

Even if he doesn’t throw the sinker, he will still probably match up well with Moustakas.

Moose has also been fairly fond of Anaheim in the past.

Next: Game Two - Edinson Volquez Is Feeling Sexy