Series Preview – Tigers (81-59) @ Royals (73-67)

Kansas City took three of four from Seattle to begin the homestand but now host division leading Detroit in an important series for the boys in blue. With little margin of error the next week is important with the Tigers and Indians appearing on the schedule the next two series.

James Shields gets the ball to begin an important series this weekend as the Royals host the Tigers at the K. Photo Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Series Preview –

Detroit is scuffling a little coming to the K as they dropped two of three in Boston being outscored 22-5 in the last two games at Fenway Park. KC is fresh off a 13-inning win against the M’s yesterday that clinched the series.

Franchise Series History –

The all-time mark reads Kansas City 302-to-299 with the Royals leading 158-140 in the City of Fountains and 148-126 at Kauffman Stadium. This is the second to last series in 2013 between the two teams.

Probable Pitching Matchups –

Friday, September 6 (7:10 pm/FSKC &610 Sports): Anibal Sanchez (12-7, 2.68) v. James Shields (10-8, 3.03)
– Shields is looking for his fifth straight win against Detroit, he’s 6-1 since July 26 with a 2.48 ERA
– Since 2011 “Big Game” James is 7-3 in starts in the month of September

Saturday September 7 (6:10 pm/MLB Network & 610 Sports): Justin Verlander (12-10, 3.59) v. Danny Duffy (2-0, 1.35)
– Duffy is looking for his first home win since May 3, 2013 against the Yankees
– Last month he shutdown the Tigers in six innings allowing just one hit

Sunday, September 8 (1:10 pm/610 Sports): Doug Fister (12-7, 3.66) v. Bruce Chen (6-2, 2.81)
– Took a no-decision against the Mariners despite a solid start on Tuesday
– His only start against Detroit was when the teams last met and where he took a loss

2013 Results –                               

Kansas City holds a slim 7-6 lead versus Detroit in the season series with the Tigers taking three of five last month at Comerica Park. This is the first of six meetings in the next two weeks between the two teams.

TV/Radio –

Fox Sports Kansas City carries tonight game with Ryan Lefebyre and Rex Hudler on the broadcast, Saturday night MLB Network will pick up the Tigers broadcast . Joel Goldberg and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery host Royals Live before and after the game. As always every game can be heard on the Royals Radio Network (610 Sports Radio) Royals Hall of Famer/2007 Ford C. Frick Award winner Denny Matthews being joined in the booth by Steve Stewart.

2013 Schedule/Results v. Tigers – Kansas City leads 7-6

April 23-25, Comerica Park – Teams split the series with Detroit winning game one, Kansas City game two
June 10-12, Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City took two-of-three with the final coming on a walkoff hit from Hosmer each game was 3-2
July 19-21, Kauffman Stadium – Royals took two of three games with Santana and Guthrie picking up wins and Shields taking the loss in the series finale
August 15-18, Comerica Park – Detroit took three of the five games, the Royals took the 8/16 doubleheader
September 6-8, Kauffman Stadium
September 13-15, Comerica Park   

Current AL Central and Wildcard Standings for September 6 –

GB = Games Back

AL Central: Detroit (81-59), Cleveland (74-65/6.5 GB), Kansas City (73-67/8 GB), Minnesota (61-77/19 GB), Chicago (56-83/24.5 GB)

Wildcard Standings (Top 2 make playoffs): Athletics (80-60, +2.5), Rays (77-62, -), Yankees (75-65, 2.5 GB), Orioles (74-65, 3 GB), Indians (74-65, 3 GB), Royals (73-67, 4.5 GB), Angels (65-74, 12 GB)

Game Notes –

Detroit
Kansas City