Kansas City Royals: Game Preview Versus The Seattle Mariners

The Kansas City Royals will face off against The Seattle Mariners today at 2:10 CST as they head back to Surprise, Arizona. The Royals offense was hot yesterday as they beat the Giants 10-6 and they will look to keep that moving through this game. Wily Peralta will get the start against Andrew Moore.

The Royals

The offense has been hot this spring for Kansas City, and nearly everyone has been contributing. This is Spring Training though, so we have to take this with a grain of salt. The Royals have to be excited about how well most of the guys have been on the offensive side of the ball though. However, those quick starts are too early to make judgments on. The Royals will still be evaluating who is going to make the roster well into March.

Newly acquired pitcher Wily Peralta will get the start for the Royals. When Peralta signed this offseason it was believed he would be primarily working as a bullpen arm. The Royals want to get him some work early, likely against some of Seattle’s better players.

Last year, Peralta had an ERA of 7.85 over his 22 appearances. The Royals are hoping they can turn him into a reliever to help the team regain a dominant bullpen. Kelvin Herrera will likely pitch after Peralta, getting some early work in as well. Herrera struggled last year as the closer and is looking to bounce back and have a great 2018.

The Mariners

The Mariners will be playing a split-squad game against the Royals and San Diego Padres. Seattle was busy this offseason, acquired Dee Gordon from the Miami Marlins to play center field and Ryon Healy from the Oakland Athletics to play first base. The Mariners had their share of injuries as they have five players listed on their injury report, most recently star pitcher Felix Hernandez.

Andrew Moore will get the start for the Mariners. Last year Moore got his chance in the big leagues appearing in 11 games, starting nine games, posting a 5.34 ERA. So far this Spring he has made one appearance where he pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one walk and striking out three.

Keys to Success

Spring Training is not about wins and losses but rather playing time and getting ready for 2018.

1. Continue moving players around: Yesterday the Royals had Whit Merrifield in center field to evaluate him in that position. By moving players around more, they will start to see how to shape the 2018 roster.
2. Keep cycling through pitchers: To start developing a dominant bullpen, the Royals need to figure out what they have. Be ready to see a lot of names of pitchers you may know very little about.

Related Story: Whit Merrifield placement

Tune In

Today’s game will not be televised or on the radio. If you want to listen though you can tune in at mlb.com and use the MLB At Bat app. Follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the game and check back here for a recap of the game.