KC Royals Series Preview: Interleague continues In Philly

The KC Royals will continue interleague play with a weekend series in Philadelphia, and will look to extend their winning streak versus the Phillies. After taking three of four versus St. Louis we’ll see if the Kansas City Royals can continue this in another National League ballpark.

Aside from Tuesday night start and Wednesday’s bullpen debacle it’s was a good series versus the Cardinals as the KC Royals offense continue to surge.

Probable Pitching Match-Ups
Friday, 6:05 pm – Ian Kennedy/RHP (6-6, 3.96) v. Jeremy Hellickson/RHP (5-6, 4.23)
Saturday, 4:35 pm – Danny Duffy/LHP (3-1, 3.24) v. Aaron Nola/RHP (5-7, 4.45)
Sunday, 12:35 pm – Yordano Ventura/RHP (6-5, 5.00) v. Vince Velasquez/RHP (6-2, 3.38)

Comments on Pitching Match-Ups – This series has three intriguing pitching match-ups between these two teams. With the start times hitters will be seeing three different type of hitting backgrounds that should help both staffs.

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Game 1: Kennedy looks to shake his road woes in the city of brotherly love with a hopeful strong start. Hellickson is a familiar name for fans as he previously pitched in Tampa Bay before being dealt.

Game 2: Duffy pitched eight strong innings for the KC Royals on Monday night at home against the Red Birds and hopefully it continues. Nola hasn’t gotten run support but his rookie season has been better than the numbers indicate and will be tough.

Game 3: Ventura returned from suspension and got roughed up by STL in the lone defeat of that series. Velasquez has been Philly’s best starter this season and could be another tough challenge.

Series Outlook – Philadelphia doesn’t have a strong offense or bullpen so getting around the starters could benefit our boys in blue a lot in each game. Only two players have double digits in HR’s and Maikel Franco has a team high 41 RBIs which compared to other teams is low. Kendrys Morales flashed the leather in right field while continuing to swing a hot bat. Will Ned Yost continue to put him on defense this weekend to help the offense?

Prediction – KC Royals take two of three

2013 Meeting
These two met in Philadelphia to open the 2013 season where the Kansas City Royals won two of three by the scores of 13-4 and 9-8 while dropping the middle contest 4-3.

Franchise History
All-time there have been only nine meetings between these teams with the KC Royals winning five of the nine. At Kauffman Stadium our Kansas City Royals are 2-1 and just 3-3 at Citizens Bank Park, this doesn’t include the 1980 World Series just regular season.

TV/Radio Coverage
FOX Sports Kansas City will broadcast all four games of this two city series with Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler. Joel Goldberg and Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery host Royals Live before and after the games.

On the Royals Radio Network (610 Sports in KC) will be KC Royals Hall of Famer/2007 Ford C. Frick Award winner Denny Matthews who’s joined in the booth by Ryan Lefebvre and Steve Stewart.

All-Time Series Schedule/Results v. Philles
June 18-20, 2004 at Citizens Bank Park: W 10-4, L 4-2, L 8-2
June 8-10, 2007 at Kauffman Stadium: W 8-4, L 4-0, W 17-5
April 5-7, 2013 at Citizens Bank Park: W 13-4, L 4-3, W 9-8

Next: Kendrys Morales: The Sleeping Giant Has Awakened

Game Notes:
Philadelphia Phillies
Kansas City Royals