Despite having most of their starting pitchers and half of their bullpen on the injured list through the beginning part of the season, and almost every player going through major slumps at one time or another or a bunch at once, the Dodgers still have somehow managed to make their way back up to the best record in baseball.
They are tied with the Tigers at 51-31 for top position of the MLB, and in the last two weeks have managed to open a six game lead over the Padres for the NL West lead. And now, they are finally in an easier part of their schedule, facing the Rockies, Royals, and White Sox in consecutive order. They deserve it after the gauntlet of early June.
Friday the Dodgers start a three game series in Kansas City, facing a team that has only scored one run in their last three games, and four runs in their last five.
The Dodgers will send Dustin May to the mound, who will be facing off against Noah Cameron. The lefty grew up just an hour from Kauffman Stadium, and has had an impressive start to his major league career. Cameron was only the second pitcher since 1893 with at least 6⅓ innings pitched allowing one run or less in his first four starts. Over eight games, the rookie is sporting a tidy 2.08 ERA and a 0.965 WHIP.
The Royals as a team do have the fourth-lowest ERA in all of the majors.
It will be a matchup of never have I ever — Mark Canha of the Royals has faced Dustin May eight times (with three singles), and other than that no batter on either team has faced the opposing starting pitcher.
When one thinks of the Royals, they first tend to think of Bobby Witt Jr. The young phenom is having a slump of his own, having only 28 hits over his last 30 games. His OBP is only .276 over the last month, also. He does however lead all of the majors with 27 doubles.
May has struggled over his last few starts, and the Royals are bound to get things turned around at some point. May allowed three homers to the Nationals in his last start, which were thankfully all solo shots.
The biggest issue might be that no one but Max Muncy wants to put together much offense lately. Freddie Freeman is finally showing signs of getting right, and being at Coors maybe helped both Tommy Edman and Michael Conforto move in the right direction. But until the big three get going again, the Dodgers offense is at a premium.
Friday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Royals
- Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City
- Start time: 5:10 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
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