Probable pitchers and starting lineups, KC Royals vs. Toronto, April 29

STORY UPDATE: After this story was published, the KC Royals announced that back tightness has forced catcher Salvador Perez out of the starting lineup. Now, DH Nelson Velázquez will move from sixth to fourth in the lineup, and Freddy Fermin, who's replacing Perez behind the plate, will bat sixth. The rest of the original lineup shown below remains intact.

Salvador Perez, one of the hottest batters in the American League this season, finally cooled off Sunday. On a day the KC Royals could have wrapped up another series win with a victory over Detroit, Perez went 0-for-3; the quiet effort ended his hitting streak at six games and marked only the fourth time he's gone hitless in his last 19 games. The Royals lost 4-1.

But the chill that struck Perez permeated Kansas City's entire lineup — no Royal mustered more than one hit, and only Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Massey, Dairon Blanco and Garrett Hampson reached based via something ther than a walk. The lack of offense magnified the impact of Michael Wacha's less-than-stellar performance — he gave the Tigers all their runs in the 5.2 innings he lasted.

The Royals, now 17-12, need to heat back up tonight when they open a three-game series with the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, especially if they want to duplicate the 3-1 series win they scored against the Jays last week. They're still in second place in the American League Central, but the Tigers trail them by just half a game.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. CDT. What's critical to know about this evening's game?

Who are tonight's starting pitchers?

But for the forearm contusion that forced him to the Injured List last week, tonight's starting assignment would have been Alec Marsh's. Opening against Toronto instead will be Jonathan Bowlan, who the Royals have officially recalled from Triple-A Omaha.

Tonight's will be Bowlan's second big league start — as one of his two appearances during his late-season major league debut last year, he opened for two innings against Detroit and, despite giving up only one run, took the loss in the Tigers' 8-0 win. He threw a scoreless frame against the Yankees in his other appearance.

Bowlan is 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in four starts at Omaha.

Starting for Toronto is Yariel Rodríguez, who lost to the Royals last Wednesday. He surrendered three runs in four innings that day and is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA.

What does Kansas City's lineup look like?

Here it is:

Who's playing for Toronto tonight?

Here's Blue Jay manager John Schneider's lineup:

How to watch or listen to the game

Fans can watch tonight's contest on Bally Sports Kansas City or stream it on the sources identified in our guide to following the Royals. Listeners in the KC area can find the game on KCSP-AM 610 Sports Radio, and it's also on the affiliate stations of the Royals Radio Network.

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