Lynch, Royals Head to Minnesota for Inter-Division Series With Twins

The Royals will look to start things off on a high note against their division rivals.

After splitting a four-game series in Baltimore with the Orioles, the Kansas City Royals continue their road trip as they join the Minnesota Twins at Target Field for the first of three contests.

The Twins (62-78) are currently the fifth-ranked team in the American League Central standings but trail the Royals (63-77) by just a single game. A Minnesota win would put Rocco Baldelli's squad in a tie with Kansas City in the cellar of a not-so-good division. 

Last night, the Royals looked great en route to a 6-0 victory. Carlos Hernandez was good, as was Nicky Lopez. It was a quality win over an opponent that, to be brutally honest, Mike Matheny's bunch should've taken more than two out of four games from. Nevertheless, it's a new day and that brings a new series along with it. 

Here's how the Royals will line up in this evening's game.

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City: LHP Daniel Lynch (4-4, 5.29 ERA)
Minnesota: RHP Griffin Jax (3-3, 6.79 ERA)

Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup

1. Whit Merrifield (R) - 2B
2. Nicky Lopez (L) - SS
3. Salvador Perez (R) - DH
4. Andrew Benintendi (L) - LF
5. Carlos Santana (S) - 1B
6. Adalberto Mondesi (S) - 3B
7. Michael A. Taylor (R) - CF
8. Hunter Dozier (R) - RF
9. Sebastian Rivero (R) - C

Lynch looking to bounce back from last start

In his last outing, Royals young lefty Daniel Lynch surrendered six runs in just 2-2/3 innings of work. With that said, he did have a cut on his finger that led to his slider command being impacted negatively. It was clearly an issue throughout. Now that the injury seems to have healed, he will look to put that start in the rearview mirror. When he's on, Lynch is one of the most promising players on the roster. When he's off, he struggles as much as anyone. The Royals will hope for a quality performance on Friday night. 

Perez gets a day off from catching

Catcher Salvador Perez will get a well-deserved day away from fielding on Friday, as he'll serve as the team's designated hitter. Perez currently has 42 home runs on the season, just six away from tying Jorge Soler for the franchise's record in a single campaign. Taking Perez's place behind the dish will be Sebastian Rivero, who has just two hits in 20 at-bats this season. This is a great opportunity for Rivero, 22, to possibly audition for a more prominent job among the ranks of the Royals' backup catchers in 2022. It's a win-win for both he and Perez today.

Follow Along

First Pitch: 7:10 p.m. CST
TV: Bally Sports Kansas City
Radio: 610 Sports Radio

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