The Detroit Tigers made a brief stop at home this week for a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. They finished it up on Wednesday, with a walk off bunt. The starters in this series — Jordan Zimmermann, Matthew Boyd, and Michael Fulmer — were outstanding, combining to throw 19 innings of three-run ball.
After this series, the Detroit starting rotation currently sits 5th in the American League with a 3.76 ERA.
UP NEXT
The Tigers (12-16) now hit the road once more for seven games, beginning with a four-game set at Kauffman Stadium against the Kansas City Royals (8-21). It is crazy how Detroit will have played 10 games against K.C. before seeing another division rival in the Minnesota Twins on the docket, but that is baseball for ya.
These two teams split a four-game set two weekends ago at Comerica Park, a welcome sign for the Royals after they entered that series losers of eight straight. Kansas City promptly lost five straight after they left town but have rebounded even more recently, winning four of their last five.
The Tigers split their 10 meetings with the Royals at the Big K last season.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1 | Mike Fiers (Tigers) vs. Eric Skoglund (Royals)
Mike Fiers (2-2, 3.91 ERA) turned in a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER) his last time out against the Orioles. Since tossing six scoreless in his season debut, Fiers over his last three starts has a 5.29 ERA. He will get a second look at the Royals on Thursday. Kansas City, back on April 21st, touched up Fiers for four runs (two earned) on a season-high 10 hits.
Eric Skoglund (1-2, 6.23 ERA) is coming off, by far, his best start of 2018 thus far. Skoglund against the Chicago White Sox on April 28 threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out a season-high nine batters. This will be his second start of the year against the Tigers, he allowed four runs in five innings back on April 22.
Game 2 | Francisco Liriano (Tigers) vs. Ian Kennedy (Royals)
Francisco Liriano (3-1, 3.38 ERA) continues to be a very pleasant addition to the Tigers’ rotation. Liriano against the Baltimore Orioles his last time out ended up being charged with three runs over 6.1 innings of work; he left the game with two runners on and both came around to score later in the frame. This will be the third start already for Liriano against the Royals this season, yielding four runs over 12 innings combined in his first two starts.
Detroit will get their first look at Ian Kennedy (1-3, 3.48 ERA) this season. Kennedy early on has shown considerable improvement from what may have been his worst season in 2017 (5.38 ERA in 30 starts). The 33-year-old allowed more than a home run per start in each of his previous two seasons with the Royals (67 HR in 63 starts) and has seen four leave the yard in six starts this season.
Game 3 | Jordan Zimmermann (Tigers) vs. Jason Hammel (Royals)
The last start for Jordan Zimmermann (1-0, 5.81 ERA) was not only his best of the season so far, but perhaps his best ever in a Detroit uniform. Zimmermann twirled seven shutout innings against the Rays. The biggest difference? Trading in slider usage for more changeups. That arsenal should come into play against a Royals team that he has owned since arriving in Detroit (1.50 ERA in 5 games).
The Royals’ Jason Hammel (0-3, 4.91 ERA) has been very up-and-down early on this season. Two weeks ago, he tossed nine innings of two-run baseball against the Tigers. Since then, he’s allowed 11 runs over 11.1 IP over his last two starts, including an eight-spot against a potent Boston Red Sox offense. Hammel has been better at Kauffman this season, a 3.75 ERA in two home starts.
Game 4 | Matthew Boyd (Tigers) vs. Jakob Junis (Royals)
Matthew Boyd (1-2, 2.48 ERA) rebounded from a rocky start against Pittsburgh by going six innings and allowing just one run against the Rays in his last start. It’s already the fourth outing of one run or fewer for Boyd, who has been the Tigers’ most consistent starter early on. He’ll get another crack at the Royals on Sunday; he was a tough-luck loser in his first start of 2018 against Kansas City (6 IP, 4 H, ER).
Jakob Junis (3-2, 3.29 ERA) on Tuesday held the Red Sox to just two runs on seven hits over six innings, a much-needed bounce-back for him after he was touched up for six runs in 5.2 innings against Chicago the start prior, an outing in which he gave up five (!) gopher balls. Perhaps seeing the Tigers will help get in a groove again. Junis in two starts against Detroit this season has registered a dazzling 1.20 ERA (2 ER in 15 IP).
HITTERS TO WATCH
Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario has been swinging a hot bat as of late. After a 1-for-5 performance against the New York Yankees on April 13, Candelario was sitting with an even .200. Since then, he’s hitting over .367 (22 for 60), with more than a third of his hits going for extra bases and an OPS approaching 1.100.
Royals catcher Salvador Pérez was not around for the Tigers’ first two meetings with Kansas City. The 5-time All-Star and 4-time Gold glove backstop returned on April 24 and has seemingly picked up where he left off. Pérez is hitting .287 his nine games since being activated from the disabled list, collecting at least one knock in all but two of those nine contests.
SERIES INFO
- Game 1 | Thur, May 3 @ 2:15 p.m. ET
- Game 2 | Fri, May 4 @ 8:15 p.m. ET
- Game 3 | Sat, May 5 @ 4:15 p.m. ET
- Game 4 | Sun, May 6 @ 2:15 p.m. ET
All games can be seen on Fox Sports Detroit unless otherwise noted. Be sure to check your local listings for regional radio broadcasts.
