What to watch for against the Rays today

The Tampa Bay Ray denied the KC Royals their third straight win last night. After a tough 12-1 loss , the Royals will look to take the series Thursday afternoon.

Here is some info for the KC Royals game.

Time: 12:10 CT

TV: FSKC

Radio: KCSP

Online: MLB.TV

Rays FanSided Blog: Rays Colored Glasses

Pitching Matchup

LHP Jason Vargas (4-1, 1.19 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) vs. RHP Jake Odorizzi (2-1, 2.88 ERA, 0.76 WHIP)

What to watch for

Their could possibly be some drama for the KC Royals tonight. Nonetheless, it should be a fun matchup to watch.

Retaliation

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The last couple of innings got quite dramatic for a 12-1 loss last night. This was because of Rays ace Chris Archer drilled Salvador Perez with a fastball in the side. The pitched looked very intentional, which many KC Royals players stated after the game.

Based off history from the past couple of years, there could easily be some retaliation today. Let’s just put it this way, if someone is drilled, it won’t be because it got away from them.

Some Rays players might want to where some extra protectors.

Jason Vargas Changeup

Getting to the actual game, the KC Royals will be sending lefty Jason “Cy” Vargas to the hill today. Pitching in his second straight day game, Vargas will look to put together his third straight impressive start.

You’ve heard it before. This success so far has been based off his wicked changeup.

This should be quite the matchup for Vargas, as the Rays are the 4th best hitting changeup team in the majors.

Eric Hosmer Home Run?

My pick for a homer today is Eric Hosmer. Swinging a scorching hot bat, I liked a couple of things about this matchup for Hosmer. First to start off with the obvious, Hosmer is 5 for 12 off of Odorizzi with a homer and a double.

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In his past matchup, Odorizzi has thrown lots of fastballs to Hosmer. Opposing batters are hitting Odorizzi’s fastballs at a launch angle of 25.4 degrees.