Many teams have trouble finding a consistent fifth starting pitcher.
That is the case for the Washington Nationals, who will send Austin Voth to the mound as a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals begins Friday night in the nation’s capital.
Washington, coming off a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins, has won four in a row and eight of nine. Kansas City, which just dropped three in a row to the Cleveland Indians, has lost four in a row and seven of eight.
Brad Keller (4-9, 4.63 ERA) will start Friday for Kansas City.
The Royals will make their first visit to Washington since June 2010, when the Nationals won two of three. Washington also won two of three in the teams’ most recent meeting overall, at Kansas City in May 2016.
Voth (0-0, 4.35 ERA) will make his third start of the year in what will be his first career appearance against the Royals. He spent the first 2 1/2 months of the season with Triple-A Fresno in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, going 3-5 with a 4.40 ERA in 12 starts.
Voth made his latest appearance Saturday in Detroit. He went 4 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits but was not involved in the decision as Washington fell 7-5 — the team’s lone defeat since June 23.
“Did not have my best stuff,” Voth said after that outing.
Voth, who had not pitched in six days, hit 96 mph on his fastball against the Tigers.
“I know he works hard, he works really hard, but like I said, if he can continue to do that, he’s going to pitch here for a while,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters.
Voth made his major league debut last year with Washington and went 1-1 with 6.47 ERA in four games, including two starts.
Other fifth starters this year for the Nationals have included Jeremy Hellickson and Erick Fedde.
Hellickson has been on the injured list since late May due to a right shoulder strain. Fedde was optioned to Fresno in late June after going 1-1 with a 3.79 ERA in 11 outings, six starts.
Keller will start against the Nationals for the first time in his major league career. He made his major league debut last season with Kansas City and finished 9-6 with 3.08 ERA in 41 games, including 20 starts.
In his latest start, Keller gave up six runs on eight hits in five innings but still got the win as the Royals beat the host Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 on Sunday. It was his first victory since May 22, ending a six-start stretch in which he was 0-4 with a 4.11 ERA.
Keller hopes to get support from All-Star second baseman Whit Merrifield, who is batting .344 (21-for-61) during an active 14-game hitting streak.
“Four years ago, where I was in 2015, to get to this point and to be selected as an All-Star, there’s only a handful of people who were by my side in 2015,” Merrifield told MLB.com. “It’s special to have gotten to this point, and I’m excited to celebrate with them in Cleveland.”