Kansas City @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 7, 2011 ) Detroit 3, Kansas City 4
THE STORY: The Kansas City Royals did the Detroit Tigers a favor on Sunday by beating the Cleveland Indians. Now the Tigers will attempt to thank them by using the lowly Royals to pad their lead in the American League Central. Winner of eight of its last 10 games, Detroit has built up a comfortable lead in the AL Central and has a chance to put the division race away over the next two weeks. The Royals are still in evaluation mode as a slew of rookies on the roster get ready to finish the longest season of their professional careers on a strong note. The Tigers will be looking to take advantage of that youth when they send Max Scherzer to the mound in the opener of a four-game series on Monday night at Comerica Park.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSKC (Kansas City), FSD (Detroit)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Max Scherzer (13-7, 4.21 ERA) vs. Royals RH Luke Hochevar (8-10, 4.91 ERA).
Scherzer yielded two runs and four hits at the Tampa Bay Rays last Wednesday but lasted only five innings in a no-decision. The 27-year-old righthander has allowed two earned runs or less in seven of his last nine outings. Scherzer’s worst start in that stretch came at Kansas City on Aug. 7, when he was touched for four runs in five innings to absorb the loss. He is 4-3 with a 2.85 ERA in eight career starts against the Royals.
After a strong five-start stretch following the All-Star break, Hochevar has begun to slow down. The former No. 1 overall pick is nearly 30 innings past his prior major league high and appears to be tiring, posting an 0-2 record with a 6.00 ERA in his last three turns. Hochevar has faced Detroit three times already this season, going 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA.
ABOUT THE TIGERS (73-60): One of Detroit’s biggest concerns at the moment is figuring out what to do with its starting rotation down the stretch. Justin Verlander, Scherzer and Doug Fister appear to be locked in as the top three starters in the rotation and would likely get the ball in a potential playoff series. Should the Tigers need a fourth starter, that role would come down to either Rick Porcello or Brad Penny. Penny did not do himself any favors on Sunday, allowing seven runs in five-plus innings to suffer a loss at the Minnesota Twins. Detroit leads the Chicago White Sox by six games and will host them in a three-game series next weekend.
ABOUT THE ROYALS (55-79): Kansas City suffered one-run losses in the first two games of its series at Cleveland but avoided the sweep on Sunday with a 2-1 triumph. Rookie Mike Moustakas had his string of five straight multi-hit games come to an end but did drive in the go-ahead run with a single in the third. Moustakas has hit in 11 straight games overall, raising his batting average from .182 to .232 in the process. The Royals won two of three at Comerica Park in April, but have lost seven of nine to the Tigers since then.
FINAL PITCH: With such a large lead in the division, the Tigers have the luxury of letting players rest nagging injuries. Brennan Boesch sat out his fourth straight game Sunday with a sprained right thumb and has been in and out of the lineup with the injury for three weeks. Ryan Raburn is dealing with a jammed finger and also sat out on Sunday. Carlos Guillen, who has been on the disabled list with a sore left wrist, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Monday.