Royals kick off Western swing with three against Angels
Los Angeles Angels right-hander Garrett Richards has pitched opposite Jake Arrieta, Cole Hamels and Chris Sale during a career-high losing streak that dates back to October.
He draws another seemingly difficult matchup in the Kansas City Royals' Ian Kennedy, who will try to continue an encouraging start for his new team Monday night.
Richards (0-3, 3.00 ERA) has posted a respectable 3.30 ERA while going 0-4 in his last five starts -- four this season -- but has received a combined seven runs of support. He got four of those in Minnesota on April 15, but the Angels' bullpen couldn't hold a two-run lead in a 5-4 defeat.
Richards yielded two runs in 6 1/3 innings Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, but Sale gave up one unearned to saddle Richards with a 2-1 loss.
"I can only worry about one thing, and that's pitching," said Richards, who has fanned 25 batters in 24 innings. "Give myself a chance to win every single time I pitch, go deep into the game as possible and fill up the (strike) zone."
The Angels (8-11) have batted .177 and generated 14 runs while losing four of six, and 10 of those runs have come via homers. Albert Pujols tied Reggie Jackson for 13th on the all-time list with his 563rd home run in Sunday's 9-4 loss to Seattle while ending an 0-for-26 slump.
The Angels' breakthrough performance might have to wait for at least another day, especially if Kennedy (2-1, 1.35) remains locked in.
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A lack of support Wednesday against Detroit kept the right-hander from remaining unbeaten. He received no runs while giving up two in 6 1/3 innings in a 3-2 loss.
Kennedy fanned seven while walking two, giving him 21 strikeouts and five free passes in 20 innings. His average of 9.29 strikeouts per nine innings since 2014 ranks 14th in baseball.
"Great coaching staff, the players are all close-knit, and they made it comfortable for me to come over and join this culture that they have created," said Kennedy, who spent the past two-plus seasons with San Diego.
The Royals (12-6) are heading out on a six-game West Coast road trip after finishing a 4-2 homestand with Sunday's 6-1 victory against Baltimore. Eric Hosmer went 2 for 3 with a solo homer and reached base for an AL-best 26th straight game.
Hosmer is batting .176 in his last eight regular-season games in Anaheim but has a .343 average in his past nine overall matchups, including the playoffs.
Kendrys Morales hit .414 as Kansas City went 6-1 versus his former team in 2015.
Mike Trout's .362 career regular-season average against the Royals is his best versus any AL opponent by 25 points (.337 vs. the New York Yankees). Pujols is batting .155 in his last 15 matchups but did hit a pair of homers against Kansas City last season.
He's 2 for 7 with a home run lifetime versus Kennedy, who is 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in two career starts against Los Angeles with the most recent in June 2012.
Richards is 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA in his three games against Kansas City and gave up three runs in six innings in his lone matchup in 2015, a 7-6 victory Aug. 13. Lorenzo Cain is 5 for 11 with three doubles and a home run against him, and Alex Gordon is 4 for 6 with a double.
