Royals vs Phillies Game 148 Gamethread

The vibes are down. The Royals are 4-6 in their last 10 games and just dropped three games of four to the competing Guardians. The Royals need a miracle winning streak to pull back into the playoff picture now that they have multiple teams to leapfrog and the Mariners have won six games in a row. It will not be easy tonight.

The 74-73 Royals start a series in Philadelphia against the 87-60 Phillies. They’re coming in kind of limping. Witt has dealt with some back issues, multiple pitchers are on the IL, and they’ve nearly dropped to .500. The Phillies, on the other hand, are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are on a four-game winning streak. Their run different of +124 is third in MLB. They are a good team.

The Phillies will send Walker Buehler to the mound tonight to make his first start as a Phillie. The 31-year-old has had a rough go this season in Boston. His last MLB action this season was August 24th, in which he gave up two runs in 2.1 innings of relief. He made one start in AAA for Philly and gave up one run in three innings. You have to go back to August 19th for his last MLB start, in which he lasted only four innings. He’s not striking many guys out and he’s having control problems. This is a prime game to get the offense going.

They need it so badly. Over the past 14 days, the Royals are dead last in wRC+. They have barely been able to score any runs at all the past few games. They need an opposing starter to come in and just get whacked.

For their part, the Royals will send Biceps Lorenzen to start. He was last seen starting against the Twins this past Sunday, a game which I attended in person and sat through three hours of whining children to watch the Royals get blasted. Lorenzen has been kind of dependable, in a way - he’ll get through roughly five innings and give up roughly three-to-four runs. It’s not great for this version of the Royals offense, but I’d probably rather have Lorenzen than Buehler on the mound for my team.

The game starts at 5:45pm US Central time, being an east coast game. You can watch on FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City or listen on the Royals Radio Network.

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