Mariners, Royals point toward postseason goal (Aug 05, 2017)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals are battling for postseason play.
The Mariners would like to sneak in as a wild-card team, but overtaking the Houston Astros for the American League West title seems impractical. The Astros own a 15-game lead.
The Royals still have practical aspirations of overtaking AL Central leader Cleveland. The Royals are 3 1/2 games behind the Indians.
The Royals, however, are virtually tied with the New York Yankees for the top wild-card spot. The Yankees have a .528 winning percentage and the Royals check in at .519. Tampa Bay is a half-game back. All three lost Friday.
The Mariners are lurking just 1 1/2 games in arrears of the second wild-card spot. The Royals and Mariners meet again Saturday night in the third game of a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium. Seattle beat the Royals 5-2 on Friday night.
"It's what you want to be at this time of the season," Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. "You want to be competitive. You want to be up there in the standings.
"Both teams are right at that point. We're getting close to the end of the season, a couple of months left. They are going to be big games. I know we've got some key games coming up on this homestand."
The Mariners received a setback when scheduled starter Felix Hernandez was placed on the 10-day disabled list Saturday with right biceps tendinitis.
Hernandez, a six-time All-Star, holds a 5-6 record with a 3.05 ERA against Kansas City. Seattle will now start left-hander Marco Gonzales, who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to make his Mariners debut.
The Mariners acquired Gonzales from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 21.
Gonzales, 25, made two starts with Tacoma, going 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA over 12 innings with nine strikeouts and five walks. In 13 combined starts with Triple-A Memphis and Tacoma this season, he is 8-4 with a 3.14 ERA over 80 1/3 innings with 66 strikeouts and 22 walks.
The Royals will counter with left-hander Danny Duffy, who is matching up for the second time this year against Hernandez. Duffy won 7-3 on July 4 at Safeco Field. He is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in seven career outings against Seattle.
Both teams are monitoring the health of two of their stars. Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz, who has 22 home runs and 80 RBIs, was a late scratch with neck, back and shoulder spasms.
"We'll see how he is (Saturday)," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "He's still pretty tightened up. Obviously, when he's not in our lineup, it's a different looking lineup. We miss him greatly."
Cruz said he had a similar injury a few years ago while in Cleveland.
"Like a huge bump in my back. I think this is in a different spot. Close to my lat," Cruz said. "Hopefully, I wake up and it's good. They worked a lot and hopefully that works, pays off tomorrow."
Salvador Perez, the Royals' All-Star starting catcher, did not come out in the seventh inning after feeling discomfort in his right side on a sixth-inning swing. He was taken for a MRI. Perez has felt pain in his side the past few weeks, causing him to leave games early.
"It's the right side, but it's a different spot, so it's a little more concerning," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We'll know tomorrow."
