Kansas City takes on Detroit in division matchup
Kansas City Royals (11-21, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Detroit Tigers (13-15, fourth in the AL Central)
Detroit; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Jorge Lopez (0-2, 5.08 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 31 strikeouts) Tigers: Matthew Boyd (0-2, 3.13 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 48 strikeouts)
LINE: Tigers favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Detroit will host Kansas City in a meeting of division rivals.
The Tigers are 6-7 against the rest of their division. Detroit has hit 21 home runs this season, the lowest total in the majors. Niko Goodrum leads them with three while slugging .447.
The Royals are 6-8 in division games. The Kansas City pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 5.10. Brad Keller leads the team with a 4.07 earned run average. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Castellanos leads the Tigers with 13 extra base hits and is batting .269. John Hicks has 14 hits and is batting .378 over the last 10 games for Detroit.
Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with 39 hits and is batting .298. Hunter Dozier has 15 hits and is batting .469 over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 4-6, .261 batting average, 6.09 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
Royals: 4-6, .238 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
Tigers Injuries: Jordan Zimmermann: 10-day IL (elbow), Matt Moore: 60-day IL (knee), Blaine Hardy: 10-day IL (forearm), Michael Fulmer: 60-day IL (elbow), Christin Stewart: 10-day IL (quad), Josh Harrison: 10-day IL (shoulder).
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Brian Flynn: 10-day IL (elbow), Lucas Duda: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).