Houston Astros (3-2) vs. Kansas City Royals (1-3), April 7, 2017, 6:10 PM CDT

TV: ROOTSW
Radio: KBME 790AM, La Nueva 94.1 FM
Online: MLB.TV
Royals SBNation Blog: Royals Review

Pitching Matchup

LHP Dallas Keuchel (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP) vs. LHP Danny Duffy (0-0, 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP)

Preview

LOOKOUT! The sky is falling. The Astros have lost two games in a row. The offense is flat. The team is batting .276 (36x166) with 86 OPS+. We all could worry or realize the sample size is small and frankly, it could have worse. The starting rotation covered up a slow start for the offense. Which speaks to the Astros depth.

Now the starting pitcher gets` their second crack this season on the mound. Dallas Keuchel looked like his old self in his first start of 2017. Keuchel won his third straight opening day start by pitching seven shutout innings against the Mariners.

Keuchel was 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in one start against the Royals in 2016. He 3-1 with a 3.74 ERA in five career starts against Kansas City.

Keuchel faces another lefty on Saturday, Danny Duffy. Duffy was the talk of the offseason for trades with limited control left for the Royals before Kansas City signed him to a long-term contract.

Duffy rewarded the Royals with their faith with success in his first start. He allowed just one earned run over six innings in a 7-1 loss to the Twins on Opening Day. He had 11 flyball outs compared to two ground ball outs in that start.

Duffy is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in four appearances (one start) at Minute Maid Park.

Matchup to watch: George Springer vs. Danny Duffy

Springer has proved to be the spark for the Astros offense to start the season. He has the only two home runs by a current Astro again Duffy. He is 3-for-6 with a triple and two home runs.