Unexpected Sweep
The Kansas City Royals season-opening sweep of the Detroit Tigers resulted in optimism that Kansas City might surprise, and pessimism over the Tigers possibly underachieving. One line of that thinking turned out to be correct.
The Royals visit Detroit for the first time since early April when they open a three-game set Friday, with the struggling clubs looking to build some momentum heading into September.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Detroit -190 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 84% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -190 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Kansas City’s three-game sweep at Comerica Park from March 31-April 3 was unexpected considering that the Royals had finished last in the AL Central each of the last four seasons, while the new-look Tigers had been widely expected to contend for the pennant.
It didn’t take long for the Royals (56-77) to stumble, however, and after a dismal August, they appear headed for another fifth-place finish. They were swept at home by Texas this week, giving them 17 losses in their last 20 games, and are a major league-worst 6-18 in August.
The Tigers (64-69) haven’t been much better, going 9-16 this month. They’ve lost four straight, falling into fourth place in the division after being swept at home by Cleveland.
"You have the disappointment of the fans, obviously," Detroit manager Jim Leyland told his team’s official Web site. "Does it bother me? Yes. But it would bother me more if the effort wasn’t there and we were just going through the motions. And we’re not doing that. We’re trying right up until the end."
Though Detroit’s 4.57 ERA ranks 24th in the majors, a bright spot for the Tigers lately has been Zach Miner – especially against Kansas City. Zach Miner (7-4, 3.61 ERA) made 32 appearances out of the bullpen before joining the rotation after the All-Star break, and he’s 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA in seven starts.
The right-hander was chased after 1 1-3 innings against Baltimore on Aug. 17, but he bounced back to give up three hits in seven innings of a 4-0 win over the Royals on Saturday. In his first start of the season, he gave up three hits in six shutout innings of Detroit’s 19-4 win at Kansas City on July 21.
The Royals will counter with Kyle Davies, just as they did Saturday. Kyle Davies (5-5, 4.81) was called up after a brief stint at Triple-A Omaha for that start, but he continued to have control problems, walking four and allowing four runs in six innings.
"I would like to see more command," Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said. "Overall, six out of nine innings, the leadoff hitter was on, five of six when Kyle was in the game. It’s lucky he didn’t run into more damage than he did."
Davies has lost his last three starts, with a 6.75 ERA and 11 walks in 13 1-3 innings over that span. He’s lost both of his starts against the Tigers this year, falling to 1-3 with a 4.57 ERA against them.
Detroit dropped its first six games against the Royals this year, then won the next five before a 7-3 loss Sunday. The last nine games between the clubs have been in Kansas City.
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