Kansas City Royals: Game Preview vs The Cincinnati Reds

Today the Kansas City Royals will take on the Cincinnati Reds at Surprise Stadium at 2:05 pm. The Royals will look to keep the loss column at zero while they continue to evaluate players for the 25-man-roster. Eric Skoglund will take the mound against Sal Romano.

The Royals

The offense for the Royals has been on fire since Spring Training has started. They will look to continue that. Right now it is looking like Adalberto Mondesi is fighting hard to make a roster spot. Jorge Soler and Bubba Starling have started to show signs of life at the plate as well. With the offense this hot the Royals will have tough decisions to make the Opening Day Roster.

Eric Skoglund will look to improve on his 2017 season. He made five starts and two relief appearances. His first start he pitched 6.1 innings and only gave up a walk and two hits. He looked like he could compete for a spot in the rotation but over his next two starts, his ERA shot up to 5.59. The Royals are hoping he can take the next step this season.

The Reds

The Cincinnati Reds as of late have seemed to be in a perpetual rebuild mode. They are hoping to take a step forward this year and build on last years last place finish. Last year they suffered some major injuries and are hoping everyone is healthy this year.

Sal Romano is looking to build off of his 16 starts last year. Last year, the rookie put up a 4.45 ERA. He is hoping to work his way back into the rotation with the return of Anthony DeSclafani and Brandon Finnegan.

Keys to Success

The offense needs to stay hot. This is still Spring Training so wins do not matter too much but by getting on base and keeping the bats swinging it shows what the offense is capable of. As spring drags on and pitchers get in their routines it will likely cool down. The Royals need to learn whatever they can until that happens.

Skoglund needs to show some confidence and work from the mindset of his first start in 2017 for those first couple innings. The rest of the staff needs to settle in and work on allowing fewer runs.

Tune In

The game will be broadcast on KCSP 610 radio, MLB.com, and the MLB At Bat app. Follow us on twitter for updates throughout the game and recap afterward.