Gamethread CXXXVIII - Royals at Astros

There will be some new boys in blue today. Tommy Pham will be leading off and Gurriel is the DH. That has shuffled the lineup a little bit. Pham is in the lead-off spot, and the Royals are hoping his .348 career OBP can get Bobby Witt some more RBI opportunities. Yuli has been in the minors all season for Atlanta where he has slashed .292/.378/.485 at AAA. He will be the first 40+ year old player to get a plate appearance in 2024.

Alec Marsh will take the mound for the Royals as they try to end a four game losing streak. This is only his second start since being recalled from the minors. The first one went okay in Cleveland where went four and two thirds giving up two earned. If he can find a way to pick up the win it will be the biggest game he has ever thrown with the team needing to get out of the loss column to retain their playoff positioning.

Houston will throw Ronel Blanco who is 9-6 with a 3.14 ERA. It has been a breakout season for the right hander who turned 31 yesterday. Since the All-Star break he has struggled a lot more though, and has a 4.98 ERA over those seven starts. The Royals did not face Blanco when they played Houston early in the season.