Welcome back to Thursday baseball. I had a couple of weeks off to recharge the ol\u2019 game thread and recap batteries. The Royals played every other day of the week, so let\u2019s see how they di\u2014<\/p>\n
Well, on the bright side, they took the series from the Reds in Cincinnati. Going into tonight\u2019s series opener in Minnesota\u2014the first of four, I should add\u2014the Royals are 24-38, 11.5 games back of the Guardians in the Central and 6.5 back of the last Wild Card spot.<\/p>\n
They also have the second-worst record in the American League (thank you, Arte Moreno) and are tied with the Giants for the fourth-worst record in the Majors.<\/p>\n
Is this season lost? I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s hard for me to definitively say that on June 4. There are still a ton of games to be played. If the Royals reached the postseason, they\u2019d join a list of many teams that started slowly<\/a> only to rebound and make the playoffs.<\/p>\n The Twins, meanwhile, are 29-34, and just won a home series against the White Sox despite getting blanked yesterday, 8-0. Their three series before that one: swept in Pittsburgh, lost three of four to the White Sox in Chicago, and swept the Red Sox in Boston.<\/p>\n Baseball in 2026, am I right?<\/p>\n The Royals will send to the mound tonight Seth Lugo, who\u2019s pitched pretty well his last three outings against the Red Sox, Mariners, and Rangers. Over those starts, Lugo\u2019s tossed 18-and-1\/3 innings while allowing six earned runs with 14 strikeouts versus four walks and 17 hits.<\/p>\n The Twins will counter with righty Andrew Morris, a rookie making just his second start and 18th appearance. Morris is 1-2 with a 4.07 ERA, 3.06 FIP, and 1.521 WHIP. His first start of the year came nearly a month ago on the road against the Guardians. He pitched\u2026one inning.<\/p>\n