KANSAS CITY, Mo — It promises to be a day filled with the usual pomp and circumstance. Thursday is Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium, where Brad Keller will make the start for the Kansas City Royals.
He and "the Boys in Blue" are ready to try and surge back into playoff contention after enduring the second-most losses in franchise history last season.
"I talked to Danny (Duffy), I talked to Wily (Peralta), and Homer (Bailey) — I'm fortunate enough to have three guys who have all been through it to pick their brains," Keller said of his first Opening Day start. "With all they did with the media and what they did with pre-start routines, especially with all the stuff going on the field, they were very helpful in that. I'm taking some advice from all of them and (will) formulate a plan."
It's not just fun and games for Royals manager Ned Yost, who is eager for the hometown fans to see the 2019 club's official debut.
"I love Opening Day for our fans," Yost said. "I love it. I really do, because our fans are great baseball fans. The excitement has even thrown me back a little bit on how excited our fans were in spring training, how excited our fans were in Fan Fest. So, I'm looking forward to Opening Day for them."
The curtain lifts on the 162-game marathon at 3:15 p.m. against the AL Central rival Chicago White Sox.
