Detroit @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2011 ) Kansas City 11, Detroit 8

THE STORY: The Detroit Tigers continue their push for home-field advantage in at least the American League Division Series when they play the first of two games against the host Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. The AL Central champion Tigers, who are 14-2 since opening the month with a loss to the Royals, trail the New York Yankees by 3 1/2 games for the league's best record, but are one game ahead of Texas for the No. 2 seed. Kansas City has won seven of its last eight games.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, FS Kansas City

PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Brad Penny (10-10, 5.07 ERA) vs. Royals RH Luis Mendoza (0-0, 0.00).

Penny has been the beneficiary of a strong Detroit lineup, putting up some of the worst numbers of any starting pitcher this season. He has been particularly poor in recent weeks, allowing 24 runs in his last 21 innings over four starts (though eight of those runs have been unearned). Penny is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three career outings against Kansas City after throwing eight shutout innings in a May 14 victory. Mendoza is making his first big league start of the year after an impressive campaign with Triple A Omaha, where he went 12-5 and was the Pacific Coast League's runaway leader in ERA (2.18). He appeared in four games with the Royals last season, giving up 10 runs in four innings of relief. His career numbers (4-9, 8.43) aren't impressive, but 2011 has been far and away his best season in the minors.

ABOUT THE TIGERS (89-64): On the morning of Aug. 19, Detroit was 1 1/2 games in front of Cleveland and four games ahead of Chicago atop the AL Central. The Tigers swept the Indians that weekend to begin a stretch that has seen them win 24-of-30 to seal their first division title since 1987. Righthander Justin Verlander is a lock for AL Cy Young honors and should be strongly considered for MVP. He leads the league in wins (24), ERA (2.29) and strikeouts (244).

ABOUT THE ROYALS (67-87): Kansas City boasts an explosive young lineup with four different players that have driven in at least 83 runs - designated Billy Butler (90), left fielder Alex Gordon (86), center fielder Melky Cabrera (83) and right fielder Jeff Francoeur (83). Pitching, however, has prevented the Royals from becoming a contender - the team ranks 28th in the major leagues with a 4.49 ERA and has issued an AL-leading 538 walks.

FINAL PITCH: The Tigers have won five of their last seven games in Kansas City and nine of their last 13 against the Royals overall.