Probable pitchers and starting lineups, KC Royals vs. Detroit, May 20

After what KC Royals starters Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Brady Singer did to Oakland over the weekend, Michael Wacha has tough acts to follow when Kansas City opens a three-game series with Detroit this evening at Kauffman Stadium.

Ragans, Lugo, and Singer all started and won to fuel the Royals' sweep of the A's, three wins that pushed the club to 10 games over .500, a place it hasn't been since the magical World Series Championship season of 2015. To keep them there, Wacha, tonight's KC starter, may have to pitch as well as he did in his last two outings — after the Rangers blasted him for seven runs in just 3.2 innings May 4, he gave up only two in six innings to beat the Angels May 9, and just one in six in defeating the Mariners six days ago.

He's 3-4 with a 4.71 ERA in nine previous starts.

Who will take the mound for Detroit?

Right-hander Reese Olson is manager A.J. Hinch's choice to start against the Royals. He's 0-4 in eight starts; interestingly enough, he lost all those games between a first-outing no-decision, and a similar result in each of his last three assignments.

That Olson's 2.09 ERA suggests he's pitched well but without much run support is borne out by an ugly Detroit statistic: the Tigers are averaging 2.125 runs when he starts.

This is Olson's second big league season. He was 5-7, 3.99 as a rookie last year. He started twice against the Royals without earning a decision, but struck out 15 in 11.2 innings.

Who else is playing for Kansas City tonight?

Manager Matt Quatraro's lineup:

Who's in Detroit's lineup?

Here's how Hinch is deploying the Tigers tonight:

Where do the two clubs stand?

Behind excellent starting pitching and an offense powered primarily by Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr., the Royals, 29-19, are in second place in the American League Central, 1.5 games behind first place Cleveland and four games ahead of third place Minnesota.

The Tigers, 23-23, won five straight to begin the season but are 18-23 since. They're in fourth place in the Central, one game behind the Twins but a comfortable 9.5 games in front of last-place Chicago. Detroit's best feature so far is starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, who's 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA; he's scheduled to face the Royals Wednesday afternoon.

What outlets are carrying tonight's game?

Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Detroit, and FS1 will all televise the 6:40 p.m. CDT contest. Streamers can find options for the Royals here. KCSP-AM 610 Sports Radio has the Kansas City area broadcast, as do the other stations of the Royals Radio Network.

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