KC Royals Preview: 4 factors to focus on in NL East matchup

The KC Royals have done something no one thought would happen this season, and that is win six games in a row while sweeping the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets. The team is hitting on all cylinders for what seems to be the first time all year, with both hitting and pitching being hot at the same time.

The Royals just faced the Mets and face another National League East team fighting for a playoff spot when they open a three-game road series with Philadelphia tonight, The Phillies are in a bit of a different boat than the Mets as the Phils are in second place in the NL East.

The KC Royals go to Philadelphia for the first time since 2016

It has been a while since the Royals went to Citizens Bank Park and there are not many holdovers from either side from the last time (Salvador Perez and Aaron Nola still play for their respective teams). In the 2016 series, the Royals lost 2-1 with the win coming from an 8.2-innings outing from Danny Duffy which was closed out by Joakim Soria.

With the Royals' offense looking good, a visit to Philly may continue their win streak, but the Phillies are a solid team built on a lot of balance both in the rotation and starting lineup. The biggest weakness, so to say, for the Phillies is probably their bullpen mainly due to injuries.

This series will be an interesting one because the Phillies want to build up their Wild Card chances and the Royals want their hot play to continue. With that out of the way, let's take a look at four things to focus on in this series...

The KC Royals' rotation looks to remain hot in Philadelphia

The pitching for the Royals hasn't been the greatest this year but, with the trade deadline expired, the rotation seems to have taken a step forward. Since the start of Kansas City's recent homestand July 28, the rotation has a combined ERA of 1.65, including Brady Singer's eight shutout innings Thursday. In the six-game homestand, KC starters earned four decisions and lost none of them.

Kansas City's scheduled starters going into Philadelphia are Jordan Lyles Friday, Alec Marsh Saturday, and Zack Greinke Sunday. The worst start of the just-completed homestand was Lyles' as he went five innings giving up three earned runs. For the pitching to stay hot, the starters will have to shut down a balanced Philadelphia lineup that actually doesn't have a standout bat (more on that in a moment).

Adding to the positives of the Royals' starters is that they aren't walking too many batters recently, having walked only five. While they aren't really striking out many hitters (24 K's in six games for a 5.53 K/9), they are keeping the walks in check and limiting hard contact.

While the rotation has been hot, two outfielders have been intriguing since the All-Star Break...

The KC Royals will have their hands full with Philadelphia's balanced offense

While Kansas City's pitching has been good during this current and impressive winning streak. the important facts remain that the Mets, whom the Royals beat three times during the streak, don't have as potent an offense as they have had, but the Phillies do. The latter club's is a weird offense, though, at least in the sense that the usual suspects aren't overwhelmingly leading the charge. Instead, almost every regularly-starting hitter has an OPS+ over 100. The only two players who start often and don't have an OPS+ of at least 100 are Edmundo Sosa and Trea Turner (it has been a rough season for Turner).

Even f we take the OPS+ out of Philadelphia's offensive equation, the Phillies still have a balanced attack at the plate. They have their power hitters in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper (once the latter gets going power-wise), they have contact batters in Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh, and their OBP people in Schwarber, Harper and Alec Bohm.

The Phillies' offense is balanced through and through, but there is one pitching matchup to keep an eye on and it doesn't involve Aaron Nola...

Game 2 starters for the KC Royals and Philly present an interesting matchup

Saturday's game shapes up as a battle of two starting pitchers trending in opposite directions this season. KC's Alec Marsh has struggled a lot in his time in the majors while flashing some high strikeout stuff, while Cristopher Sánchez is having his best season after two rough ones to start his career.

Sánchez comes into this series with a 2.66 ERA, a 7.80 K/9, a 1.52 BB/9, and a 0.7 fWAR on the season. The biggest downside to his game is the fact that he gives up home runs at a high rate at 1.33 HR/9. While Sanchez has that low ERA, the deeper stats don't reflect as well—his xERA is 3.85 and his FIP is 4.16. To put it plainly, Sánchez throws strikes and some of them are quite hittable.

On the other hand, Marsh has been less than stellar this year, as his 6.75 ERA demonstrates all too well. The biggest thing he has shown is the strikeout upside with a K/9 of 10.50, but he also walks too many batters (5.63 BB/9) and gives up way too many home runs (3.38 HR/9). The key for him in Saturday's matchup, and for the rest of the season, is to limit both walks and hard contact if he is going to stick at the major league level.

This series with the Phillies will be an interesting one. The Phillies look to build a Wild Card lead while the Royals look to build on their six-game winning streak.