previous four starts. Now he gets to face the powerful Tige

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A forgettable weekend series ended a forgettable month for the Kansas City Royals.Mitch Moreland homered for the fifth time in his last five starts and Lucas Harrell won in his Texas debut as the Rangers beat the Royals 5-3 on Sunday to finish a sweep of the four-game series.Eric Hosmer and Drew Butera homered for Kansas City, which has lost eight of its last nine games and 10 of its last 11 road games. The defending World Series champions went 7-19 in July, their worst month since recording the same record in July 2012, and havent won consecutive games since June 29-30.We take probably the last couple of weeks and try to forget that, Hosmer said. Times are rough. ... Everyones doing what they need to do to try to win. Its just not happening.Dillon Gee (3-5) gave up two-run homers to Moreland and Nomar Mazara and allowed seven hits over six innings in his longest start of the season. He had a 6.43 ERA in six previous starts.Made a couple mistakes that they obviously capitalized on, said Gee, who pitched collegiately at Texas-Arlington and makes his off-season home in nearby Fort Worth. He said he went to the well, too often on Mazara, with a curveball that had previously fooled him. Gee said the scouting report on Moreland was to pitch him down and in. Moreland sent such a cutter just inside the right-field foul pole.Seems like now hes changed his approach a little bit, Gee said.Moreland was 8 for 13 with four homers in the series, including a walk-off winner on Saturday night.Im trying to go up there and have good at-bats, he said. It definitely worked out well for me this series.The Royals hit 2 for 25 with runners in scoring position during the sweep. Their 17-36 road record is the worst in the majors and is only one loss short of last seasons total.Kansas Citys 12-game deficit in the American League Central is its largest since closing the 2012 season 16 games out.Just waiting for it to pick up, manager Ned Yost said. Efforts not the issue. Its the production.Before the game, the Royals placed closer Wade Davis on the 15-day disabled list with what Yost called a mild flexor strain. Yost said its the same injury that sent Davis, who has converted 21 of 23 save opportunities this season, to the DL in early July.Hopefully hell be back around the end of the 15 days, Yost said.BIZARRE DAY FOR HOSMERHosmers first-inning home run was an opposite-field shot that struck low off the left-field foul pole 332 feet away. He couldnt recall hitting the opposite foul pole in his career.Later, his bat snapped on a foul tip and flew into the stands, leaving him holding only the knob.I barely touched the ball, Hosmer said. I guess the bat was due to go at some point. It was one of the weirder feelings Ive ever had.SHORT HOPSThe temperature was 96 degrees at first pitch and reached 99. ... Rangers manager Jeff Banister gave CF Ian Desmond and SS Elvis Andrus the day off ahead of Mondays travel day. ... The Royals released Triple-A Omaha OF Travis Snider. He hit a combined .232 last season playing 87 games for Baltimore and Pittsburgh.TRAINERS ROOMWith Davis put on the DL, LHP Matt Strahm was brought up from Double-A Northwest Arkansas and made his major league debut. He faced three batters and allowed one earned run. ... Rangers RF Shin-Soo Choo (back) did rehab work Sunday for the second straight day and reported no discomfort. He hopes to be ready when eligible for re-activation on Thursday.UP NEXTRoyals: LHP Danny Duffy (6-1) will start the series opener at Tampa Bay on Monday. Duffy has five wins and four no-decisions in his last nine starts, most recently losing on June 6.Texas: RHP Yu Darvish (2-2) will make his seventh start since starting his season in late May following Tommy John surgery when the Rangers open a series at Baltimore on Tuesday. Both losses have come since returning from the disabled list on July 16 following shoulder discomfort.---This version has been corrected to show the Royals were 2 for 25 with runners in scoring position for the series. Serge Aurier Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Christian Eriksen Hotspur Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.footballhotspurstore.com/Women-Hugo-Lloris-Tottenham-Hotspur-Jersey/ .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Eric Dier Hotspur Jersey . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Custom Hotspur Jerseys This Monday slate will be busier than usual, with only four clubs enjoying a day off. The slate is balanced, with solid options for DFS play at all levels, along with a couple pitchers likely available to get your seasonal league week off to a strong start. Coors Field is back in the picture, but with a couple of talented hurlers on the hill, theres good reason to look elsewhere as well. Well point you in the right direction with Mondays Daily Notes.PitchingEliteSince July 1, Jose Fernandezs surface stats are rather pedestrian, with a 4.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. However, a 12.5 K/9 in combination with a 2.33 BB/9 over that span suggests something is amiss. The culprit is a bloated .385 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), which is rendered even more curious because his hard hit rate against during this time is well below average. This is a reminder that Lady Luck doesnt play favorites. Next up for the Miami Marlins?righty is a date with the New York Mets at Citi Field. Expect another big game from Fernandez, as the hosts offense is below average versus right-handers and prone to striking out.Jake Arrieta, on the other hand, has enjoyed some good fortune, as he carries a .242 BABIP for the season. To his credit, he has induced more soft contact and less hard contact than league average. However, the jury is still out with regard to how much of that is under the pitchers control and how much is happenstance. Regardless, its fortuitous that Arrietas hits allowed are low, as his walk rate is well above league average and he is fanning fewer batters than he did last season. Facing the Pittsburgh Pirates?at Wrigley Field, Arrieta is fine for DFS cash games. If youre paying for tournament pitching, stick with Fernandez.SolidCarlos Martinez has supplanted Adam Wainwright as the leader and stabilizing force for an injury-riddled St. Louis Cardinals rotation. The Redbirds righty begins the week on the road at Miller Park, facing a Milwaukee Brewers club that strikes out more than 25 percent of the time versus righties. His consistency usually provides a solid cash game floor, and the strikeout upside means hes in play for tournaments as well.After six straight efforts with no more than one walk, Yu Darvish issued five free passes his latest time out. Consider this a blip -- not a concern. What is worrisome is a home date with a Seattle Mariners club that is loaded with solid lefty swingers. The risk takes the 30-year-old righty out of cash game consideration, but with a 11.2 K/9, Darvish is always in play for GPP deployment.Trevor Bauers strikeouts arent as plentiful now as they were earlier in the season, but that has been balanced by his pitching into the seventh frame in three of his past four outings and walking only a pair in each. The Minnesota Twins have been a league average club with a righty on the hill for the past month, with a strikeout rate a bit above average. One-lineup gamers might not want to click on Bauer, but theres ample upside to get some exposure for those opting to diversify their portfolios.Matt Shoemaker continues to get the job done, despite a precipitous drop in strikeout rate spurred by his inducing fewer swinging strikes. The Los Angeles Angels right-hander sets up nicely for cash play, as the Halos welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Anaheim for an interleague set. The Reds get to employ a designated hitter, but thats balanced by a park hit.The projected game score algorithm is very good, but its hard to generate a one-size-fits-all metric that captures everything of importance intrinsic to all the formats covered in this space. Thats a fancy way of saying Rick Porcello has been shortchanged because his strength, going deep into games, isnt enough to make up for a pedestrian strikeout rate. We rarely override the algorithm, but in this instance, lifting Porcello out of the streaming tier is justified. The Boston Red Sox righty has a chance at a few extra whiffs against a Tampa Bay Rays lineup that fans at a 24 percent clip when facing right-handers, providing sufficient motivation to give him a boost in the rankings.SteamersRemember Rafael Montero? He was supposed to be the next Mets ace before guys such as?Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom were even on the radar. Still just 25 years old, Montero has fought his way through a demotion to Double-A to earn another shot with the big club. Theres obviouusly some risk, but at least Montero comes back to the Big Apple with some confidence, spinning a 1.dddddddddddd57 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 20 whiffs in his past 23 innings for Double-A Binghamton, a span of four starts. The righty draws a Marlins club that is league average against righties but is without Giancarlo Stanton and Derek Dietrich.Aside from an elevated home run rate, Matt Boyd has filled in well for an injury-depleted Detroit Tigers rotation. The Chicago White Sox visit Comerica Park for the opener of an AL Central set toting one of the lowest home run rates versus lefties in the league. Boyd is owned in only 23 percent of ESPN formats, so hes likely available if you want to get a jump-start on the week.Like Boyd, Dillon Gee has helped fortify an injury riddled rotation. The Kansas City Royals will toe the rubber at Kauffman Stadium against a New York Yankees squad that has been bringing it lately. Still, at home, Gees in play.AvoidIt usually pays to be aggressive early in the week, but everything is contextual. Granted, only a few streaming options were featured, but depending on your scoring, format and needs, others are viable. If you want to run your scenario by me, Ill gladly share my opinion in the comments below or via Twitter to @ToddZola.With that as a backdrop, there are only two hurlers to avoid at all costs. Wade Miley is a blow-out waiting to happen, as he faces the daunting power of the Toronto Blue Jays?at Camden Yards. The other is Jake Thompson, a promising Philadelphia Phillies prospect. Just 22 years old, Thompson will continue to mature, but for now, hes walking far too many to use him against a Washington Nationals lineup thats beginning to click.HittingThe Colorado Rockies are home all week entertaining the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. There will be plenty of chances to take advantage of weak pitchers at altitude. Monday looks like a good time to fade Coors Field, with Jon Gray and Kenta Maeda toeing the rubber for their respective clubs. Feel free to use Rockies and Dodgers, especially in DFS cash games. The focus here will be some of the better alternatives for DFS tournament action.Wade Mileys HR/9 is 1.5. That doesnt bode well with the likes of Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki visiting Camden Yards. In fact, theres a good chance that a Blue Jays stack against the Baltimore Orioles southpaw is a popular pivot from Coors.A way to go contrarian is to not worry about platoon edges and focus on good hitters facing lesser hurlers. It helps if the pitchers control is suspect. Thats the exact scenario at Citizens Bank Park, with the Nationals facing Jake Thompson and the Phillies. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy should have high exposure, so the swerve is clicking in Trea Turner, Jayson Werth, Anthony Rendon, Wilson Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman, all capable of doing damage against the inexperienced Thompson.So much for James Shields getting back on track. The White Sox righty has returned to form, serving up 11 gophers in his previous four starts. Now he gets to face the powerful Tigers in Motown. Heres another instance to throw platoon advantages out the window, with righty swingers Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton all threats to pad their home run totals. Dont forget the switch-hitting Victor Martinez.Continuing the right-on-right trend, several Red Sox righties are in play against Tampa Bay righty-hander Matt Andriese?at Fenway Park. Lets start with lefties Brock Holt,?Travis Shaw?-- and?David Ortiz. Including Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts or Hanley Ramirez could get some GPP differentiation.Most likely to hit a homer: A bigger challenge could be picking a Blue Jay who wont go deep. No one has hit more homers than Edwin Encarnacion over the past calendar year, so lets give him the nod to send one out of Camden Yards.Most likely to swipe a bag: Part of the trick here is finding someone with a good chance to get on, as well as the ability to run. Trea Turner has drawn only six walks all season, but hes facing Jake Thompson and his generous 6.1 BB/9. Turner has quietly been successful on 17 of 20 stolen base attempts. Hes in a great spot to improve that impressive mark even more. ' ' '