Game XXXIX: Royals at Angels

It’s gonna be a late night

This Royals squad is a weird bunch. And by weird I mean that over ¹⁄₃ of their runs have come in the 6th and 7th innings. This team can be looking lost at the plate for six innings and then hit you with an eight spot. It’s one of the reasons they are 13/15 in wRC+ in the American League while being 5th in runs scored.

They are weird.

But weird works when you have functional starting pitching, and J.J. Piccolo’s offseason mission to rebuild the rotation has paid off thus far. They have avoided The Big One so far in 2024, without a single losing streak of more than three games. This is thanks largely to a pitching staff keeping them in games even when the offense struggles.

They head to the West Coast for a three-game series with the Angels in what could be a get-right offensive set. Only the Astros and White Sox have a worse team ERA than the Angels and their bullpen has been a disaster so far.

We are nearly halfway through May and the Royals have the third-best run differential in the AL, including a better differential than the AL Central-leading Guardians. They are 2.5 games back of Cleveland for the division and currently hold the 3rd Wild Card spot.

Michael Wacha is back on the mound looking to rebound from his rough start last week that coincidentally ruined my bachelor party. Here are your lineups for today’s late-night action.