Brady Singer has played the role of streak-breaker recently and will look to do precisely that on Saturday night when the Kansas City Royals host the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle contest of their three-game series.
In his last outing on July 13, Singer (4-3, 4.02 ERA) helped the Royals snap a nasty streak in a home win over the Detroit Tigers.
After Detroit got to him for one run in the top of the first, the right-hander regrouped and crafted five scoreless innings. Singer helped Kansas City to a 5-2 win and a 5-2 record during the seven-game homestand.
The triumph snapped a 0-for-23 streak when Kansas City trailed after the first inning. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, that span was the longest of its type to open a season in the modern era, which began in 1900.
Five other squads have matched the 23-game streak, but it was at some point in the season other than the beginning.
Singer, 25, said he was most pleased with manager Mike Matheny having the confidence to allow him to work out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth inning.
“Definitely was tired,” Singer said following his season-high 105-pitch performance. “Bending over breathing there for a while. But I’m glad (Matheny) left me in the game, let me have those at-bats there. It was good to have that.”
Singer will make his second start against Tampa Bay.
The Rays rocked Singer for six runs on four hits in just 2 2/3 innings in a 7-2 romp over the Royals on May 27, 2021.
In the series opener, Kansas City’s losing streak reached four games when Tampa Bay posted a 7-3 win.
The Rays have won seven of their last eight games and moved a season-best 11 games over .500. They are 10-4 at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium since 2017.
Yandy Diaz’s bases-clearing double to left in the fourth inning turned a tight one-run game into a 5-1 cushion on Friday.
“It definitely feels good after having a couple of days off,” said Diaz, who is hitting .383 with 14 RBIs and a 1.013 OPS in July. “It definitely feels good to hit it like that and keep it rolling and get those three runs when we needed them.”
Matheny lamented his team’s inability to come through in the clutch.
“We put up 12 hits but went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position,” Matheny said. “We just were missing the big hit. I saw some good at-bats all the way around, but we couldn’t get the ones right on top of each other to get a rally going.”
The Rays’ starter on Saturday, Luis Patino (0-1, 6.75), returned from a three-month rehab stint due to an oblique strain and tossed 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Baltimore Orioles on July 15.
The hard-throwing right-hander yielded two runs on four hits — including a pair of solo homers.
Patino, 22, will make his first career appearance against Kansas City. He went 5-3 with a 4.31 ERA in 19 games (15 starts) for the Rays in 2021.
–Field Level Media