The Kansas City Royals will aim for their fourth straight victory on Monday night against the Rays, as left-hander Will Smith will take the mound to kick off a three-game series from Tropicana Field.
Winners of nine of their last 12 games dating back to August 7, the Royals are currently one of the American League's hottest clubs and enter Monday's game coming off two impressive series victories over Baltimore and the White Sox. Not to be outdone, the Rays also enter their pivotal series on commendable stretch of their own after wrapping up a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Smith, who sports a 4-4 record and 5.09 earned-run average, will make his 10th career start. The rookie hurler enters with two straight victories, and will attempt to slow down a Tampa Bay offense that racked up 37 runs in four games against Los Angeles pitchers.
Here are Monday's starting lineups:
Royals
1. Jarrod Dyson - CF
2. Alcides Escobar - SS
3. Alex Gordon - LF
4. Billy Butler - DH
5. Salvador Perez - C
6. Mike Moustakas - 3B
7. Lorenzo Cain - RF
8. Eric Hosmer - 1B
9. Johnny Giavotella - 2B
Will Smith - SP
Rays
1. Desmond Jennings - LF
2. B.J. Upton - CF
3. Ben Zobrist - DH
4. Jeff Keppinger - 1B
5. Ryan Roberts - 2B
6. Sean Rodriguez - 3B
7. Sam Fuld - RF
8. Jose Lobaton - C
9. Elliot Johnson - SS
Jeremy Hellickson - SP
Be sure to visit Royals Review for more Kansas City baseball coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more Rays analysis. Also check out Baseball Nation for more news from around the league.