KC Royals Series Breakdown and Prediction: LA Angels

Game 3: RHP Ian Kennedy (0-2, 4.09 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) vs. LHP Tyler Skaggs (0-1, 8.71 ERA, 1.74 WHIP)

In the final game of this series, Ian Kennedy will be making his third start of the year. Kennedy is coming off of a decent Opening Day start against the Oakland A’s, providing 6 innings of 2 run ball.

Kennedy will be looking for his first win verse the Angels, being 0-4 lifetime with a 6.55 ERA. Last year, Kennedy gave up 5 runs in 6 innings.

So far this year, Kennedy is generating a lot of swings and misses in the zone. He is 6th in baseball with a in-zone swing percentage of 74.2%.

One good matchup for Kennedy should be Danny Espinosa. He has the worst in-zone contact% in baseball. You could see some strikeouts with him.

The final starter for the Angels in this series will be the lefty Tyler Skaggs. Some of us may remember his start against the KC Royals last year. After being out of baseball for about 2 years with injuries, Skaggs made his first start back against the Royals, making the hitters look silly. According to Game Score, it was the second best start of his career, as he tossed 7 scoreless innings, only surrendering 3 hits.

Skaggs has increased his curveball usage so far this year, so look for to throw it a lot with Royals hitters struggling to hit it last time.

Player to Watch – Albert Pujols: Pujols has liked hitting off of Kennedy in his career. He has faced him 14 times, collecting 5 hits, with 3 of those hits going over the fence.

Prediction

Royals take 2 of 3

"What’s Wrong with KC Royals reliever Matt Strahm?"

I think the Royals bats start to heat up a bit in this series. They’re facing some good pitchers in this  series, so for me, I’d take 2 of 3.Let’s hope the Royals can take the win from Thursday night and run with it.

Next: Jason Vargas has Impressed