Kansas City plays Detroit, aims to build on Duffy's strong performance
Detroit Tigers (25-39, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (21-46, fifth in the AL Central)
Omaha; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Matthew Boyd (5-4, 3.08 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 105 strikeouts) Royals: Homer Bailey (4-6, 5.90 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 55 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City heads into the matchup fresh off a strong showing by Danny Duffy. Duffy went seven innings, surrendering two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts against Detroit.
The Royals are 9-16 against AL Central teams. The Kansas City pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 5.13. Brad Keller leads the team with a 4.29 ERA.
The Tigers are 12-13 against opponents from the AL Central. Detroit's team on-base percentage of .291 is last in the American League. Miguel Cabrera leads the club with an OBP of .347. The Tigers won the last meeting 3-2. Nick Ramirez notched his third victory and Ronny Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Detroit. Jake Diekman took his third loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 17 home runs and has 47 RBIs. Cheslor Cuthbert is 11-for-33 with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
JaCoby Jones leads the Tigers with eight home runs home runs and is slugging .467. Christin Stewart is 15-for-41 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Detroit.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 2-8, .231 batting average, 4.71 ERA, outscored by 26 runs
Tigers: 3-7, .261 batting average, 5.28 ERA, outscored by 21 runs
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Lucas Duda: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Hunter Dozier: 10-day IL (chest), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
Tigers Injuries: Jordan Zimmermann: 10-day IL (elbow), Tyson Ross: 10-day IL (nerve), Matt Moore: 60-day IL (knee), Michael Fulmer: 60-day IL (elbow), Jordy Mercer: 10-day IL (quad), Josh Harrison: 60-day IL (hamstring), Niko Goodrum: day-to-day (knee), Jeimer Candelario: 10-day IL (shoulder).
