Kansas City Royals Kick off Homestand with Four-Game Set against Athletics: Stats and Trends to Keep an Eye on
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The Kansas City Royals have concluded their six-game West Coast road trip, and during that trip, they went 2-4 with a series win over the Angels. They now return home to begin a seven-game homestand with a four-game series against the Athletics of no particular city. Here are some stats and trends to keep an eye on, as well as probable starters.
Probable Starters
Game One: Michael Wacha (5-8, 3.47 ERA) vs. Mason Barnett (1-3, 6.16 ERA)
Game Two: Daniel Lynch IV (4-4, 2.88 ERA) vs. Jack Perkins (2-9, 7.27 ERA)
Game Three: Seth Lugo (5-7, 4.59 ERA) vs. Gage Jump (5-7, 4.50 ERA)
Game Four: Randy Dobnak (2-1, 1.73 ERA) vs. J.T. Ginn (8-7, 3.53 ERA)
Can the Dobnak Magic Continue
After having a dud outing against the Cubs, Randy Dobnak returned to his unusually dominant self against the Angels. He went 5.2 innings, allowing four hits, no runs, and walking two, while striking out a season-best six batters. While it was in a 1-0 loss for the Royals, Dobnak continues to show his proficiency since they picked him up.
He may not strike anyone out and walk too many batters at times, but he is still managing to put out his own fires and dominate on the mound. The two main reasons he has dominated so far in his Royals stint are his LOB% and ground ball rate. Of starters with at least 30 innings pitched, Dobnak has the third-best LOB% at 88.4 and the eighth-best ground ball rate at 54.0%. He is doing what he does best while also limiting damage and that has worked wonders so far.
He will start the finale and look to continue his form as a Royal against a team he has not faced a ton in his career.
The Daniel Lynch IV Return to Starting Hasn't Panned Out yet
The return to starting pitching hasn't quite worked for Daniel Lynch IV and the Royals. In his return, Lynch has started two games and has amassed an ERA of 13.50. He has pitched four innings in his two starts and it was against two good teams in the Cubs and Dodgers, but he hasn't quite looked like his dominant self.
In both starts, he allowed three hits and three runs through various methods. Against the Cubs, he had some control issues, walking two, and they hit him well to score their runs. Against the Dodgers, it was the long ball that felled Lynch IV, as he allowed two long balls in his 2.1 innings of work. The silver lining in both of his starts is that he is still getting Ks as he had five Ks through the two starts.
He has faced the A's before and has been effective against them, so maybe an easier opponent can get him going in the right direction again.
Carter Jensen's Struggles Have Been Immense
It has been a rough stretch of games for Carter Jensen since the month of August began. He is slashing .091/.245/.205 for an OPS of .450 and a wRC+ of 33. Everything seems to not be going his way at the plate recently, and the Royals offense is feeling that gap in the lineup. During this stretch, he hasn't hit many line drives (10.3%) and has hit a ton of fly balls (51.7%), while also struggling to hit the ball hard (37.9%).
The struggles could be a mix of things, but it seems he might need a mental reset at the plate. On the bright side, at least he is still walking a fair bit, with a 15.1% walk rate. He is on the struggle bus and maybe a solid series against the A's, who don't have a ton of stellar pitching options, could get him going again.
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Trey is no stranger to writing about the Royals as he has done it for 6 years now for various blogs (Kings of Kauffman, Inside The Royals, and Farm to Fountains). He is a graduate of Baker University with a degree in Mass Media with an emphasis in sports media. He enjoys watching and researching sports as well as gaming.
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