Probable pitchers and starting lineups, KC Royals vs. LA, May 9

The new season is only a little over a month old, but for Michael Wacha it's not sizing up they way he or the KC Royals want it to. After Texas pounded him for seven runs in just 3.2 innings last Saturday, the veteran right-hander who the Royals coaxed to Kansas City in December with a deal that pays him $16 million this year and, if he exercises a player option, will pay him another $16 million next season, is 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA. While not impossible to anticipate, those numbers are disappointing.

And after pitching seven scoreless innings against the White Sox April 6 to earn his first — and only — victory of the year, he's 0-4, 7.01 in six starts.

So it is that Wacha and the Royals hope he turns things around when the club opens a four-game road series with the Angels tonight. Game time is 8:38 p.m. CDT at Angel Stadium.

Kansas City is 22-16 and, after Minnesota beat Seattle this afternoon, in third place in the American League Central. The Angels, weakened by the losses of free agent Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers and Mike Trout to the Injured List, and burdened by less-than-stellar results of their offseason acquisitions, are 14-23 and ahead of only Houston in the AL West.

Who starts on the mound for LA tonight?

Angel manager Ron Washington is sending Reid Detmers against Wacha and the Royals. Detmers is 3-3 with a 4.24 ERA in four starts; now in his fourth big league season, the left-hander has no decisions and a 5.91 ERA in two career starts against Kansas City.

Who's in Kansas City's lineup?

Here are manager Matt Quatraro's KC starters:

Who's playing for the Angels this evening?

The Angels hadn't released their lineup at the time this story published.

Is the game available on TV and radio?

Yes. Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports West, and FS1 are all televising the contest. Streamers can find options here. KCSP-AM 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City and the 50-affiliate Royals Radio Network are also carrying the game.

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