Hiroki Kuroda (4-3, 4.27 ERA) goes head to head against James Shields (6-3, 3.68 ERA) in an afternoon pitching duel in KC. Kuroda is coming off arguably his best start of the year. He limited the A’s to just one run and two hits in 6 2/3 innings Tuesday at the stadium. It was his second longest start of the year since pitching into the eighth on May 6th against the Angels. In his last three starts he is averaging just one walk.
Hiro is 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA when pitching on four days rest compared to 1-3 with a 4.83 ERA otherwise. “I don’t dwell on that, but I think having four days of rest on a consistent basis between starts will help me as the season goes on,” Kuroda said. He is unbeaten in his last six starts, going 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in that span. It’s the longest unbeaten streak for Kuroda since a seven game streak in 2012. “I feel like I’ve been getting sharper.”
Shields has given up 17 runs (15 earned) in three straight no decisions. The Royals ended up winning all three games but his ERA went from 2.67 to 3.68. Before that he had won six of his seven starts. A former Ray, he has faced the Yankees more than any other team in the league, starting against them 28 times. “Whew, that’s a lot,” Shields said. It’s always fun to pitch against the Yankees. They’re a good team top to bottom, their lineup is always good. They’ve got some guys in there that can swing it.”
Notes on the game
Derek Jeter is 25-85 against Shields (.294)
Shields is 8-15 against the Bombers and has pitched 182 2/3 innings in that span.
Alex Gordon is 6-8 against Kuroda, Billy Butler is 4-9 and Omar Infante is 4-10. The only homer off Kuroda by a current Royal is from Mike Moustakas, who is 1-6.
First pitch at 2:10 PM on Yes
