Royals vs. Tigers Preview
The Tigers return to the friendly confines of Comerica Park for a brief two-game set with Kansas City Royals. After losing all three to the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox--the schedule would appear to lighten up on paper, although, in reality, it doesn't get any easier with Kansas City.
Quick video hits
The Royals(20-28) are riding a season-best six-game winning streak into Detroit and have an opportunity to leapfrog the Tigers into fourth place if they were to win today and tomorrow.
Taking a jump from last to fourth certainly doesn't have the same division implications as this week's heavyweight bout between the Twins and White Sox. However, two wins for the Royals would certainly embody manager Mike Matheny's mentality of finishing strong.
"I never lost that hope," Royals manager Mike Matheny said Sunday. "I never doubted this club. I've always said I don't think the rest of the baseball world understands how good of a group we have. That'd be great to get that acknowledgment, but I want these guys to see and believe what I see and believe about them."
Matheny said that after Kansas City's latest win, an 11-0 shutout win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. 25-year-old right-hander Brad Keller pitched a marvelous five-hit complete-game shutout, the first of his career.
The six-game winning streak is the best stretch Kansas City has strung together since 2018. They've only trailed for seven of the 54 innings during the six-game span.
Much like the Tigers, Kansas City has several young arms in their farm system that they think very highly of. Last week, three different rookie pitchers, Kris Bubic, Kyle Zimmer and Brady Singer all earned their first career wins. Amid their best stretch of 2020, the Royals also managed to flash a glimpse into what could be a bright future.
The Tigers (20-26) will start LHP Matthew Boyd (1-6, 7.63 ERA), who is looking to erase the memory of his last start. He surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits and handed out four walks on September 9th vs. Milwaukee.
Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was initially scheduled to start until he reportedly missed last night's team flight. Duffy caught a later flight and is with the team in Detroit, but today's started is listed as TBD.
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