The Tigers come to Kansas City this weekend, giving the Royals an opportunity to vault ahead of them in the mediocre Central Division. Detroit was considered by many to be the favorites to win the division title, but have had an up-and-down start and have dropped six of their last nine. The Tigers’ rotation was thought to be a strength, but they have been decimated. Tarik Skubal had elbow surgery this week, Framber Valdez was suspended for throwing at Trevor Story, and they were already missing Jackson
Jobe, Casy Mize, Reese Olson, Justin Verlander, and Troy Melton due to injury.
Detroit Tigers (18-20) vs. Kansas City Royals (17-21) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Tigers: 4.34 runs scored/game (17th in MLB), 4.18 runs allowed/game (9th)
Royals: 4.13 runs scored/game (22nd), 4.55 runs allowed/game (17th)
The Tigers have hit just 36 home runs, three fewer than the Royals. They are hitting .238/.323/.375 on the road. Only two teams have stolen fewer bases. Kevin McGonigle is on his way to being in the mix for Rookie of the Year after a blazing start to his career, and he is hitting .338/.410/.486 in road games this year. Riley Greene is hitting .362/.463/.580 in his last 20 games.
Spencer Torkelson has the tenth-highest strikeout rate in baseball at 31.3 percent. Kerry Carpenter is just a .212/.274/.303 career hitter against the Royals in 39 games. Colt Keith is a 7-for-20 (.350) hitter against Michael Wacha. The Tigers are without Gleyber Torres, Javier Báez, and Parker Meadows.
Keider Montero will go in the opener after winning his last start against the Rangers, allowing one run in 6.2 innings. Montero had a 3.72 ERA in 12 starts last year, with a 5.51 ERA in eight relief appearances. Salvador Perez is 4-for-7 in their career matchups, while Bobby Witt Jr. is 3-for-8 with a walk.
Ty Madden has not been announced as the starter on Saturday, but seems like a likely option after he tossed five shutout innings in his season debut last week. Madden was drafted by the Royals out of high school in Texas, but elected to attend the University of Texas where the Tigers made him a first round pick. The 26-year-old has battled injuries and missed all of last year, and was promoted after putting up a 4.71 ERA in 21 innings at Triple-A.
The Tigers have had a solid bullpen the last few seasons despite not having a lot of big name relievers, and have the 11th-lowest ERA in baseball at 3.76. Top reliever Will Vest is out with injury, but the Tigers have gotten good innings from former Royals pitcher Burch Smith. Kenley Jansen has 482 career saves, but has blown his last two opportunities, and is 6-for-9 in converting saves this year. Brant Hurter has a 59.6 percent groundball rate this year. Kyle Finnegan has a minuscule ERA despite the 8th-highest walk rate in baseball.
The Tigers swept the Royals in Detroit a few weeks ago and took 9 of 13 from them last year. The Royals seem to have the offense going better than it was operating when they last saw the Tigers. They had a missed opportunity to win a series against Cleveland, they could really use a series win this weekend against Detroit.
