The Kansas City Royals face off against their division rivals in the Detroit Tigers at home to begin a three-game series in Kansas City. Both these teams wish they ended up with different seasons but both teams are also still playing for something. These teams want to gain some momentum going into the offseason because they both honestly believe they are just a step or two away from competing for the first time in a long time. Individual players are also competing for roster spots for next season. Both these teams will have more than a few positions ready to be decided in Spring Training, so playing well in September is their start to Spring Training in a sense.
The Tigers have been much worse than the Royals lately though in multiple aspects of the game. The Tigers are 9-17 and 5-8 on the road in the last 30 days while the Royals are 11-16 in their last 30 days. However, they are 7-7 at home and they are much better at home this season. The Royals are 33-39 at home this season while the Tigers are 22-45 on the road. The Royals are 8-5 against the Tigers this season including 4-3 at home. The Royals have also won 8 of the last 11 games between these teams if you discount the Tigers first two wins to start the season. The Royals are also 8-3 this season when coming off an off day while the Tigers are one of the worst teams in the league coming off an off day.
Joey Wentz is starting for the Tigers, and he is making just his 3 rd career appearance. He won’t go deep in the game and the Tigers have the 19th ranked bullpen in the league behind him. Daniel Lynch is starting for the Royals, and he has actually struggled a bit lately. He also allowed four earned runs in five innings pitched against the Tigers in his last rotation turn. However, the Royals are ranked 14th in the league in the last 30 days in wOBA against lefties while the Tigers are ranked 20th . The Royals have their whole bullpen available while the Tigers could be missing a reliever or two.
I really like the Royals to continue playing well at home this series, and I think they will end up knocking Joey Wentz out early.
