Article: That's the Ticket: Your 1st Place Royals?!?

[John Bonnes]

Sponsored by Ticket King

Coming to town are the AL Central leading…..ROYALS?!?

Yup. 6.5 game back after the All-Star break, the Royals started their second half by losing their first four games – and have won 17 out of the 21 games since. Combine that with a Tigers team that has gone 2-7 on their latest road trip, and you have Royals wearing the division crown, albeit only since Monday.Leading their charge has been the same unit that has been doing so all year: their pitching. Overall, the Royals have a 3.56 ERA this year (compared to the Twins mark of 4.35) but they’ve been even better since the break, posting a 2.80 ERA over those 25 games. (You don’t want to know how THAT compares to the Twins.)

Given those numbers, the pitching matchups look a little better than you might have hoped. Let’s go through them each and figure out which ticket you like the best:

Friday – Danny Duffy vs Ricky Nolasco

Duffy is the 25-year-old tough luck southpaw with a 2.57 ERA but a 7-10 record. He seems to be good in shorter outings, which is fine give the solid KC bullpen.

But the real story here is the return of Ricky Nolasco to Target Field. Twins Territory is hoping that his first half struggles (5.90 ERA and 6.3 K/9) were due to a conceled elbow injury instead of Americanleaguitis. The organization would probably be happy just to confirm that the elbow injury really is just a strain, seeing as he’s still in the first year of that $49 million deal.

If you’re looking for the most important game for the Twins hopes in 2015, this is probably it.

Saturday – Yordano Ventura vs Phil Hughes

KC’s fireballer faces the Twins defacto ace. Hughes had an excellent outing this week versus the Athletics, finally ending the Twins losing streak versus Oakland. Ventura is no slouch (3.45 ERA) but if you looking for the game the Twins are most likely to win, this is your choice.

Sunday – Jeremy Guthrie vs. Tommy Milone

This is Twins fans first chance to see Tommy Milone pitch for their team in person. If you were distracted at the trade deadline, Terry Ryan absolutely stole this 27-year-old left-hander and his 3.52 ERA from the A’s for Sam Fuld. His initial outing was encouraging, giving up just two runs in six innings, albeit versus the punchless Astros.

Milone is not going to be an ace, but he could be a significant arm for the Twins for the next three years. Plus, his ERA is lower than that of any other starting pitcher currently in the rotation.

If you’re curious and risk-adverse this is the game to target. If you’re curious and a little more adventurous……

Monday – Jason Vargas vs. Trevor May

Twins fans waited a month or two longer than they hoped for May’s promotion from Rochester – and then wished they had waited a bit longer. With two outs in the second inning, May started walking the incredibly patient Oakland lineup and didn’t make it to the third inning, finishing with seven walks in two innings. Things went better in relief a couple of days later, but he still has twice as many walks as inning pitched.

Still, he’s just 24 years old and straight-up earned that promotion in Rochester with a 2.84 ERA and 94 K in 98.1 IP. He belongs here, but he’s going to need to show he can throw the ball past some hitters while it’s still in the strike zone. If you want to help a kid who looked like he could really use some support, bring your warmed up and enthusiastic vocal chords to this game. Twins fans need to make him feel at home.

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Wow, Friday night’s Twins tickets are a little scarce, but there are still some nice seats down the right field line. Saturday looks like the budget conscious night; there are lots of cheaper Target Field seats available in the third deck for Phil Hughes’ start. Sunday looks like a great day to work on that tan. Plenty of lower level Twins seats are available to feel the sun on your shoulders. But of all the games, Monday has the best Target Field seat selection. And don’t forget! All of your seats are 10% cheaper and support Twins Daily if you use the code DAILYDOUBLE. Whatever your needs (football is coming….), your local ticket supplier, Ticket King, can help.

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[stringer bell]

Oops. Pretty sure Milone made his Twins debut against the Astros.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I bashed Moore a bunch for trading for Shields. Honestly, I still think it was a mistake because they could have done the same thing this offseason for Price.

 

But part of me has to root for the Royals, if only for the fans who have suffered for so long. I still want Oakland to win a ring for Beane but an ALCS of Oakland/KC sure wouldn't make me angry... but MLB would probably have a fit.

[John Bonnes]

Oops. Pretty sure Milone made his Twins debut against the Astros.

 

I watched that whole game and somehow never noticed who the opposing team was. :-) Thanks.

[70charger]

I watched that whole game and somehow never noticed who the opposing team was. :-) Thanks.

 

A lot of people never notice the Astros.