Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals Live Streaming
Friday, July 16, 2010
Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals Live | Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals | Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals Streaming | Oakland vs Kansas City MLB Live Stream | Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals Live Webcast
8:10 pm EDT Fri Jul 16, 2010
Although the Kansas City Royals slumped into the All-Star break, they’re still playing significantly better than earlier this year. Zack Greinke’s return to the rotation should only help. Scratched from his last start, Greinke looks to win his fifth straight decision Friday night against the Oakland Athletics as they face the Royals for the first time this season. After opening 12-23 under manager Trey Hillman, Kansas City is 27-26 since Ned Yost took over on May 14. The Royals had won 10 of 13 before getting swept in a three-game series last weekend to AL Central-leading Chicago. Kansas City was outscored 28-8 - including 15-5 in Sunday’s finale. Still, the team still went into the break with a sense of optimism. DeJesus leads the Royals in hitting at .326, and the team ranks first in the majors with a .282 batting average. Greinke will be taking the hill on nine days rest. The right-hander was slated to start Sunday, but was replaced for precautionary reasons because of soreness in his back right shoulder.
He hasn’t pitched since allowing an unearned run and two hits while striking out nine in seven innings of a 3-2 win in Seattle on July 6. Though he hasn’t duplicated his AL Cy Young Award-winning season from 2009, Greinke is 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last five starts after going 1-8 with a 4.05 ERA in his first 13. Greinke also is 4-0 with a 2.98 ERA in seven career starts against Oakland. While the Royals have improved, Oakland has struggled in recent weeks. The A’s were 28-24 and atop the AL West on May 31, but have lost 22 of 37 since to drop well behind first-place Texas. They managed to take two of three from the Angels last weekend, including a 5-2 win Sunday. Injuries have played a big role in Oakland’s struggles, as three pitchers in the team’s original rotation are on the disabled list. While Justin Duchscherer is out of the year, Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson are expected to return shortly.
