With Medlen on mound, Royals go for second win against Orioles
Manny Machado extended his lengthy season-opening hit streak in Baltimore's opener against Kansas City, but Mike Moustakas overshadowed him with another stellar performance against the Orioles.
Moustakas will try to stay hot Saturday night while leading the Royals to another win in this early matchup of division leaders.
Machado's sixth-inning homer gave him a career-best 15-game hit streak, but Moustakas also went deep while registering a pair of doubles in a 4-2 victory. The third baseman has four of his six home runs in the past seven games and is 7 for 12 in his last three.
"I'm just seeing the ball good right now, just trying to get good pitches to hit and putting good swings on good pitches," he said.
Moustakas is also batting .469 with five homers, four doubles and 21 RBIs in his last eight matchups with the Orioles (10-5) after driving in three runs Friday. He had a franchise-record nine RBIs in a 14-6 victory in Baltimore on Sept. 12, and Moustakas' nine homers versus Baltimore since the beginning of the 2013 season -- including the playoffs -- are his most against any opponent.
"I don't know what it is about that," he told MLB's official website. "Baseball is a funny game. Sometimes things like that happen."
Machado, batting .397 with six homers, will try for the Orioles' longest season-opening hit streak since Davey Johnson's 17-gamer in 1971. The last major leaguer to produce a 16-game streak or longer to begin a campaign was the Chicago White Sox's Alexei Ramirez, who hit safely in 17 straight in 2014.
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Machado is batting .319 in his last 12 games against the Royals (11-5) and has hit three homers in his past six. He has one double in three lifetime at-bats against Kris Medlen, Saturday's starter for Kansas City.
The right-hander gave up two runs and two hits in 6 1/3 innings Sunday in Oakland but didn't get enough support to earn his second consecutive win as the Royals lost 3-2. Medlen (1-0, 2.38 ERA) allowed two runs in five innings and fanned seven in his season debut, a 3-2 victory in Houston on April 12.
Medlen has issued four walks in each of his first two games but didn't give up one in his only start against Baltimore, an 8-3 victory Aug. 24. He allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, including Adam Jones' two-run homer in the first.
Tyler Wilson (0-0, 1.13) will try to get the Orioles back on track in his first start this season after three relief appearances and sixth of his career.
"He's not too far removed (from starting)," manager Buck Showalter said. "He had two innings, 40'ish pitches and two days off. He's right where he needs to be. Physically, he's in as good as shape as anybody. So, we'd like to get him out (there)."
The right-hander went 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA in his five starts in 2015 and will make his first appearance against Kansas City.
