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Kansas City Royals vs Miami Marlins Game One Preview

By Charles Lam

Aug 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) receives congratulations from Christian Colon (24) after he hits a home run in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) receives congratulations from Christian Colon (24) after he hits a home run in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Kansas City Royals open a three game series against the Miami Marlins in South Florida tonight. The Royals and Marlins are both playing above .500 baseball. Who has the edge tonight?

The Kansas City Royals are looking to continue their hot streak. The Royals have won eight games in a row and 13 of the last 15 games played. The team is coming off two straight sweeps against the Detroit Tigers at Detroit and the Minnesota Twins at home.

The KC Royals will need to continue to play great baseball to continue to stay in the playoff hunt in the American League. Kansas City sits four games out of the final Wild Card slot currently held by the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals are 8.5 games out of first place in the American League Central Division behind the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers.

The good news is the Royals are playing wonderful baseball right now. It seems as if everything is clicking for the team for the last couple of weeks at least.

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The bullpen has adjusted after both Luke Hochevar and Wade Davis went down. The defense continues to make mind-boggling plays daily and the offense has scored more points recently.

Kendrys Morales isn’t in the lineup due to the pitcher hitting in the National League. He should be a viable weapon off of the bench for the Royals tonight.

Paulo Orlando returns to centerfield for the Kansas City Royals tonight. He missed two of the previous three games. I was a little concerned about a possible injury but I suppose he got a few days off due to rest and/or bad match-ups.

Having Orlando back in the lineup will help the offense overcome the loss of Morales. Hopefully pitcher, Yordano Ventura, will be able to lay down a key bunt in the game. Heck, maybe even get a clutch hit. He did get a hit against Philadelphia on July 3 this season. Anything is possible.

Eric Hosmer returns home to Miami. He’ll want to impress his friends and family in the stands. Look for “Hoz” to put on a show tonight and throughout the series at Marlins Park. Hosmer’s slashed .277/.334/.438 this season. The last week he’s been lava hot. He slashed .421/.500/.684 including a game winning hit on Saturday morning vs the Twins.

The most important thing for the Royals is getting another quality start from pitcher, Yordano Ventura. Ventura has pitched well recently. Since the second half began, Ventura has a 3.00 earned run average (ERA) in seven games started and 45 innings pitched.

Ventura’s struck out 39 and walked 17 for a 2.29 strikeout to walk ratio. Not the best ratio but he should pitch better against a National League team. Ventura has a walks hits divided by innings pitched (WHIP) of 1.156 in the second half.

He will pitch to a Marlins team without stud hitter, Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is currently healing from a grade three groin strain. He could be back sometime in September.

Stanton hit 25 home runs for Miami this season and added 19 doubles and one triple as well. He can change a games outcome with one swing of the bat. Lucky for the Royals, he will not play against them this season.

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A hitter Ventura will have to worry about is ageless, Ichiro Suzuki. The Marlins right-fielder continues to prove the league he can hit no matter his age (he’s 42-years-old by the way). He’s slashed .308/.380/.384 for Miami this season.

Suzuki has hit 15 extra base hits this season. He’s mainly a singles guys but he gets on base a lot. He’s accumulated 73 hits this season helping him eclipse the 3,000 hit marker in his illustrious career.

The final Marlin to watch is starting pitcher, Andrew Cashner. Cashner has struggled since coming over from the San Diego Padres in a trade earlier this season. He’s put up a 5.48 ERA in 21 1/3 innings pitched for Miami. He’s struck out 13 and walked ten batters for a 1.30 K/BB ratio. That’s not every good.

He also sports a rather high WHIP at 1.734 with a 4.2 walks per nine statistic as well. The good news for Cashner is that Royals players love to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone quite often.

My prediction is that the Kansas City Royals win this game. Cashner doesn’t have to make too many mistakes for the Royals to take advantage of him quickly. Also the Royals bullpen (3.19) is nearly a half a run better than the Marlins bullpen (3.64). If it comes down to the battle of the bullpens, advantage Royals.

Next: Royals Ten Best Closers of All-Time

Overall, I think the Royals have the better chance to win this game. They are on fire right now and I don’t see that ending at Eric Hosmer’s hometown. He will rally the team for another win. Bring home three W’s, Hoz.

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