Royals' Michael Wacha strives for elusive win in opener vs. A's

Right-hander Michael Wacha will have a tough act to follow on Monday night when he takes the mound for the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a four-game home series against the Athletics.

Noah Cameron fired a one-hit, complete-game shutout on Sunday afternoon in the Royals' 3-0 victory against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.

That performance helped the Royals win the decisive contest of that series and finish 2-4 on their road trip before they open a seven-game homestand.

Wacha (5-8, 3.46 ERA) has made eight straight starts without a win, going 0-3. Most recently, he allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in a 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter, but it wasn't enough to break the spell.

"Those guys feast on plus-counts," Wacha said of the two-time defending World Series champions. "As a pitcher, you try to stay on the offensive mindset, and work on getting ahead and making quality pitches, and being able to kind of expand after that."

Wacha made the second All-Star team of his 14-year MLB career this season after going 5-7 through the first half of the season with a 3.77 ERA. He threw a 1-2-3 third inning for the American League to help it to a 4-0 win in the All-Star Game on July 14, but personal triumphs have been difficult to accomplish.

Wacha's ERA has dipped from 3.48 to 3.46 since he last posted a victory on June 22 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He has made four starts against the A's in his career, going 1-2 with a 4.22 ERA.

Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia did not play for the Royals on Sunday. Manager Matt Quatraro said both have been working out and there's a chance they could return on Monday.

Pasquantino has been out since July 29 with right wrist soreness. He underwent surgery earlier this season to repair a fractured right hamate bone.

Garcia has been sidelined since June 23 with a muscle strain in his left hand, an injury that has bothered him for much of the season.

The A's, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-2 win against the visiting Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon, giving them their first home series win since taking two of three from the Royals at the end of April.

The A's plan to start second-year right-hander Mason Barnett in the series opener on Monday.

Barnett (1-3, 6.16 ERA) will make his fourth straight start since being elevated from the bullpen. The 25-year-old right-hander took the loss in his past two outings, most recently giving up six runs (five earned) and five hits in four innings of a 12-4 setback to the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday.

Barnett tweaked his hip during the game, and the A's hope he can continue to pitch with no further health setbacks.

"He pitched that fourth inning knowing that he wanted to go out and give us as much as he possibly could," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "Just the execution portion of his pitches (was poor)."

Barnett has not faced the Royals in his career.

--Field Level Media