Lopez Promoted to Leadoff Greinke and Ro

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18.10.2022 @ 08.01

The Kansas City Royals are riding a three-game winning streak and before they head to Seattle to square off in a series against the Mariners, they'll look to complete a sweep of the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.On Wednesday night, Kansas City won in a low-scoring battle. Lefty Daniel Lynch went five innings and didn't allow a single run, inducing eight swings and mi ses with a pair of strikeouts in the proce s. of how his lefty found consistency in his location despite varying his pitches. The 2-0 https://www.collegejerseyedg… win got the Royals back to .500 on the year, as their record stands at 5-5 in 2022.On Thursday, Kansas City is back at home and is finishing up their Twins series. The team announced on Thursday morning that outfielder Kyle Isbel was optioned to Triple-A Omaha following the conclusion of Wednesday's game. In his place, RHP Ronald Bolaos has been recalled to the big-league club.Here's how the Royals will line up in this afternoon's game:Kansas City: RHP Zack Greinke (0-0, 2.45 ERA)Minnesota: LHP Joe Ryan (1-1, https://www.collegejerseyedg… 2.70 ERA)Scroll to ContinueKansas City Royals Starting LineupNicky Lopez (L) - 2BWhit Merrifield (R) - RFAndrew Benintendi (L) - LFSalvador Perez (R) - CCarlos Santana (S) - 1BHunter Dozier (R) - DHBobby Witt Jr. (R https://www.collegejerseyedg… ) - 3BAdalberto Mondesi (S) - SSMichael A. Taylor (R) - CFThe Royals' lineup has struggled this season, failing to string together consistent at-bats for the sake of the club. At or near the top of the order, the duo of Whit Merrifield and Bobby Witt Jr. has struggled immensely. In a lineup shuffle ahead of Thursday's outing, second baseman Nicky Lopez is now batting leadoff and Merrifield is being moved down a rung on the ladder. Witt sees the biggest drop, now batting seventh.Lopez is arguably the Royals' best on-base hitter, currently boasting a .367 batting average and an on-base percentage of .406. He'll look to spark an order that also sees Salvador Perez return to his normal catching spot and Carlos Santana re-enter https://www.collegejerseyedg… the lineup after a couple of games off. Perhaps the changes will help Merrifield and Witt, who are hitting .150 and .128, respectively, this season.Despite pitching fairly well this season, Zack Greinke has yet to record a win. In his last start, he went 5-1/3 innings while surrendering five hits and a pair of earned runs. In 11 innings this season, the veteran right-hander has just one strikeout compared to two walks. He and his 2.45 ERA will look for a win against a Twins lineup that hasn't fared particularly well against Kansas City in https://www.collegejerseyedg… the past two games. Greinke is one of the Royals' steadiest pitchers and continues to serve as a leadership presence, so leading by example on Thursday could keep setting the tone atop the rotation.Follow AlongFirst Pitch: 1:10 p.m. CSTTV: Bally Sports Kansas CityRadio: KCSP 610 AM