Keller, Royals Aiming to Grab Second Win Against Guardians

It may be just one game into the 2022 MLB season, but the Kansas City Royals are undefeated.

On Opening Day, the Kansas City hosted the Cleveland Guardians in a classic American League Central battle. Runs were hard to come by for the majority of the game. Both starting pitchers performed well, and Zack Greinke tossed 5-2/3 innings of five-hit, one-walk, one-run ball. The Royals' bullpen didn't surrender another run for the remainder of the outing, and phenom prospect Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the club's go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning to ultimately seal the deal.

On Saturday, the Royals are back at Kauffman Stadium for game two of a four-game series against the Guardians. Temperatures are slated to exceed 60 degrees, which is a marked improvement over Thursday's ugly-weather game. Kansas City will look to grab its second straight win of the year, while Cleveland aims to get to .500 through two contests.

Here's how the Royals will line up in this afternoon's game:

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City: RHP Brad Keller (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Cleveland: RHP Zack Plesac (0.0, 0.00 ERA)

Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup

Whit Merrifield (R) - RF
Bobby Witt Jr. (R) - 3B
Andrew Benintendi (L) - LF
Salvador Perez (R) - C
Carlos Santana (S) - 1B
Hunter Dozier (R) - DH
Adalberto Mondesi (S) - SS
Michael A. Taylor (R) - CF
Nicky Lopez (L) - 2B

Brad Keller looking to bounce back in 2022

A couple of months ago, many expected that Brad Keller would be the Royals' Opening Day starter. He had prior experience doing so, and there was no one else on the staff worthy of the honor. The addition of Greinke knocked Keller down a rung on the depth chart, though, and it may be for the best. Without the expectations of being an "ace," Keller will look to round back into form after a rough 2021 season and a spring training that saw him post a 7.36 ERA in 7-1/3 innings over the past few weeks.

No matter how you slice it, Keller's last season was his worst. Across 26 starts, the righty surrendered a career-high 80 runs and posted the worst ERA (5.39), ERA+ (85), FIP (4.72), WHIP (1.661), H/9 (10.6) and BB/9 (4.3) of his career. He gave up more home runs than ever, too. Something may have clicked from July to the end of August when Keller was shut down for the year, as he posted a 3.42 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 52-2/3 innings over his final nine starts. If that is more indicative of the pitcher he'll be this season, that's good news. It all begins with his first start of the 2022 campaign.

What will Bobby Witt Jr.'s second act look like?

The Royals needed a hero on Opening Day, and no one stepped up bigger than Witt. Until his eventual game-winning hit, the top prospect in all of baseball had a quiet day outside of one flashy play at third base. When combining that play with a clutch moment, it's easy to see how impactful the shortstop-turned-third-baseman will be for the Royals in 2022. Stars tend to shine the brightest in the most important moments, and that's exactly what Witt did on Thursday afternoon.

In game No. 2, everyone in attendance and watching from home will be keeping an eye on how Witt follows up his big debut. It's unreasonable to expect two highlight-reel plays every game — or even one, for that matter — from him every time out, and him sustaining that is virtually impossible. With that said, continuing his good start could help him remain on track for the remainder of his rookie season. On a team with limited star power, Witt will always be counted on to come through.

Follow Along

First Pitch: 3:10 p.m. CST
TV: Bally Sports Kansas City
Radio: KCSP 610 AM