Game One Hundred and Fifty-Eight: Kansas City Royals at Washington Nationals

I hope this is not the last game I cover this season.

The Kansas City people in a monarchy will take on the Washington people from a nation this evening at Nationals Park in the second game of this three-game set. Kansas City snapped an L7 last night thanks to the zombie runner rule strong performances from the lefties on the pitching staff. They will now look to take the series with a win tonight.

Michael Lorenzen will start tonight for the Royals. I covered Lorenzen’s last start — an August 27 outing that he departed in the second inning due to injury. He has been on the IL since then and makes his return tonight. In five starts for Kansas City, he posted a stellar 1.85 ERA but much less impressive 4.19 FIP. Lorenzen faced the Nationals twice in August last year as a member of the Phillies, throwing a no-hitter in the first before allowing six earned runs in 3.1 innings just nine days later.

Fun fact: Lorenzen was a quasi-TWP at one point. From 2015-19 with the Reds, he posted an 84 wRC+ in 145 plate appearances. This month, only four out of 14 Royals batters with at least ten plate appearances have a wRC+ of 84 or better.

The Nationals counter with DJ Herz. Acquired in a trade with the Cubs last summer, Herz joined Washington’s rotation for his big league debut in June and has remained there since. He doesn’t command his pitches too well nor work deep into games as he has crossed the 90-pitch threshold just four times in 18 starts. That said, he can miss bats and his 3.32 xERA indicates he has pitched better than his 4.30 ERA implies. He throws a four-seamer, changeup, and slider. The changeup was the headliner as a prospect but his four-seamer has been his best offering in the majors, aided by a deceptive delivery from the left side.

First pitch: 5:45 pm CDT

Royals lineup

Nationals lineup