Kansas City Royals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Pick & Prediction SEPTEMBER 15th 2024
Preview and Prediction
Amidst the crowded American League playoff race, the Kansas City Royals are showcasing some of their finest performances of the season leading up to Sunday's final game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Royals (82-67) trail the Cleveland Guardians by three games in the AL Central and are just two games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the top wild-card spot. They also hold a comfortable 3 1/2-game lead over the Minnesota Twins for the third and final wild-card position.
On Saturday, the Royals secured a 5-1 victory over the Pirates, clinching the weekend series and guaranteeing their first winning season since 2015 - the last time they made it to the postseason.
According to Royals manager Matt Quatraro, the winning record is not a significant achievement for the team. He believes that the players have set their sights on a higher goal - winning the division. With just a few games left in the season, the Royals may need to reach 90 wins to achieve this goal.
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Bobby Witt Jr. continued his impressive season on Saturday, recording two hits and hitting his 31st home run of the year. He also drove in three runs, bringing his total to 100 RBIs for the first time in his career. Witt Jr. currently leads the majors with a .333 batting average, 198 hits, and 121 runs.
In Sunday's game, the Royals will rely on Brady Singer (9-10, 3.42 ERA) to help them complete the sweep. The 28-year-old right-hander is coming off a no-decision against the New York Yankees, where he allowed three runs in five innings. Singer has not recorded a win since August 18 and has only faced the Pirates once in his career, earning a 10-5 win on June 1, 2021.
For the Pirates (70-78), a victory on Sunday would salvage their second-to-last series at PNC Park this season. After Sunday, they will only have three home games left out of their remaining 13. It will also be one of the last chances for shortstop-turned-center-fielder Oneil Cruz to get comfortable in his new position.
Playing in his first full season, Cruz has driven in 74 runs, second only to teammate Bryan Reynolds' 84. However, he made some costly mistakes in center field on Saturday, resulting in two Royals runs. Pirates manager Derek Shelton acknowledged that there would be some challenges as Cruz adjusts to his new position.
On Sunday, the Pirates will start right-hander Jared Jones (6-7, 3.82 ERA), who is coming off an impressive performance against the Washington Nationals. In his last outing, Jones allowed just two runs in seven innings while striking out nine batters. This will be his first career appearance against the Royals.
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Kansas City Royals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Recap SEP 15TH 2024
Isiah Kiner-Falefa finished 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, helping lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Pirates starter Jared Jones went four innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, while striking out five and walking three. The Pittsburgh bullpen allowed just two hits over five scoreless innings as the Pirates (71-78) snapped a two-game skid.
Brady Singer (9-11) pitched five innings of four-run, six-hit ball, striking out six and walking four for Kansas City. Maikel Garcia went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Michael Massey also had two hits, as the Royals (82-68), who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Kansas City is in possession of the American League's second wild-card berth, and stands two games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the battle for the top spot.
Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as Kiner-Falefa's leadoff single was followed by Bryan Reynolds' RBI double.
Kansas City loaded the bases in the top of the second as Massey led off with a walk, before Paul DeJong's single and Frazier's base on balls. Yuli Gurriel then drove in Massey with a game-tying sacrifice fly.
Still tied at one in the top of the fourth, Gurriel and Garcia hit consecutive one-out doubles to push the Royals ahead, 2-1.
Nick Gonzales tied the score again for Pittsburgh with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth.
Carmen Mlodzinski (3-5) replaced Jones for the top of the fifth, throwing a perfect inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Billy Cook led off with a single. Taking off for second with the pitch, Cook then scored the go-ahead run on Kiner-Falefa's single to center field. Singer then struck out Reynolds, before walking Oneil Cruz and striking out Andrew McCutchen.
After walking Joey Bart to load the bases, Singer issued his third walk in four batters to Rowdy Tellez, giving the Pirates a 4-2 advantage.
With Colin Holderman pitching the top of the sixth, Bobby Witt Jr. drew a bases-loaded walk to trim Kansas City's deficit to 4-3.
In the top of the ninth, Aroldis Chapman retired Witt on a grounder, struck out Salvador Perez and got Robbie Grossman to ground out for his ninth save of the year.