Kansas City Royals star pitcher could potentially return in convenient role..
After a weekend in Chicago with exactly zero home runs, the Yankees rode big flies from Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo last night to victory over the Royals. While Verdugo is the odd man out in the new outfield rotation today, New York will try to repeat the offensive output tonight against one of the AL’s better hurlers.
Yes, Seth Lugo is one of the five or so best starters in the American League this season, with a 4.0 fWAR and 3.05 ERA, and already 40 innings past his career high. The righty has prioritized contact control, with a wickedly low barrel rate that plays up in the large AL Central stadiums. That affect doesn’t always translate into the home-run-friendly parks in the East, and the Yankees have the A lineup out tonight.
That lineup includes Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Wells and Giancarlo Stanton in their now-customary 2-5 slots, but Jasson Domínguez once again finds himself batting seventh and in left field. The Yankees were adamant last week that they wouldn’t call up the Martian if he wasn’t playing every day, so it’s good to see they’re honoring that commitment. This is a legitimate starting nine that we could see come playoff time.
Marcus Stroman is tasked with shutting down the Royals lineup, and hopefully preventing another four-hit night from Salvador Perez. His ERA is almost exactly a full run higher than Lugo’s, and his starts vary from strong to terrible mostly in line with how many of the balls he allows in play find gloves. On the whole, Stroman’s been right around average for the club, but on any given night he seems to either go six, or allow six.
