KC Royals Need To Keep Bryce Harper Cool
By Scott Dillon
Tuesday, May 3rd – 7:15 Central Time
Tanner Roark has never faced a Royals’ hitter so it will be uncharted territory for both hitters and pitcher.
This season so far he’s been up and down. In two starts against Miami, he’s 0-2 in 10 innings pitched. He’s given up 16 hits and five walks and allowed seven earned runs in those starts.
In his other three starts, he’s been pretty darn good. He’s pitched seven innings in each of those starts giving up a total of eight hits, and eight walks across 21 innings. He’s also struck out 25 batters and allowed no earned runs.
His other three starts came against the Twins, Phillies, and Braves and 15 of those 25 strikeouts came in the one outing against the Twins. Good hitting teams have hurt him, and he’s taken advantage of poor hitting teams. So where do the Royals fall right now in that regard?
Chris Young may have a tough time ahead of him against the Nationals. They are a combined 19-70 against him which is good for a .271 batting average. He’s also allowed five home runs in that span.
Wilson Ramos is 2-2 against Young and both of those hits went over the fence. Bryce Harper is 4-8 with a home run. Hopefully, facing Chris Young isn’t enough to get Harper back on track.
Chris Young has looked much better in his last two starts after shaky outings in Houston and Oakland. Against Baltimore, Young struck out ten batters across six innings. He allowed four hits and a walk and only allowed two runs.
He was pitching very well against the Angels also. He gave up three hits, but two of them found their way over the fence. Hopefully, a return to spacious Kauffman stadium will mean great things for Young.
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