Royals Shake Up Roster Before Series Finale vs. Orioles

After winning the first two games of their current series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Kansas City Royals found themselves unable to secure the overall advantage of the set on Saturday.

In Kansas City's 6-4 loss, a three-game winning streak was snapped. Starting pitcher Daniel Lynch was very sharp to kick things off, allowing just one run through five innings while recording a handful of strikeouts to boot. Things fell apart in the sixth inning, however, as a three-run homer promptly ended his night. Kansas City's bats weren't quite able to come back in the end, and the Royals left the ballpark with a 2-1 series lead.

On Sunday, the 20-38 Royals are back at Kauffman Stadium and will host the 25-35 Orioles for the final game of their four-game set in Kansas City. With a win, the Royals can clinch the series win for the first time since mid-May against the Colorado Rockies. After this, the Royals head to California for a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. Pitching probables for those outings are Brady Singer, Kris Bubic and Jonathan Heasley.

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

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City: RHP Brad Keller (1-7, 4.19 ERA)
Baltimore: RHP Dean Kremer (0-1, 6.23 ERA)

Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup

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

Royals announce flurry of roster moves on Sunday

On Sunday morning, the Royals shared that LHP Amir Garrett had returned to Kansas City from his brief rehab assignment in Triple-A Omaha and that he's being reinstated from the Injured List ahead of Sunday's game. Garrett, who was on the IL since May 26, will look to provide some hard-throwing magic in the back-end of the Royals' bullpen. In corresponding moves, LHP Angel Zerpa was sent back down to Double-A Northwest Arkansas and LHP Jake Brentz was transferred to the 60-day IL. Brentz, who has a left flexor strain, did not have a setback and the move gives the Royals the opportunity to do some things with their 40-man roster until he returns.

Will Brad Keller build on quality start last time out?

Brad Keller was solid in his last outing, yet the Royals couldn't provide enough run support for him to get the win in the end. It was Keller's fourth straight loss in as many appearances, and his 1-7 record is among the worst in baseball. With that said, Keller did turn in a quality start on June 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays by going six-plus innings and allowing a total of three earned runs. His home ERA (2.75) is significantly better than his road one (6.26), so there's reason to believe — again — that he's in store for another solid outing. If he can stymie the Orioles' lineup, the Royals very well could clinch the series on Sunday.

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First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. CST
TV: Bally Sports Kansas City
Radio: KCSP 610 AM

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