Kansas City will wrap up its three-game series in Detroit on Thursday afternoon. The Royals came up short in a thriller to open the series, as the Tigers picked up a 4-3 win in 10 innings. This story was published prior to Wednesday night’s second game of the series.
Kansas City has already concluded the home portion of its schedule, finishing things off with a 13-12 win over Seattle on Sunday. The Royals are on the road for the final nine games of their campaign, with six games at Cleveland coming up beginning on Friday. They have virtually been out of the playoff hunt since before the All-Star break, but that has not stopped them from being competitive over the past week. Kansas City swept a three-game series against Minnesota before winning two out of three against Seattle over the weekend. The Royals have the third-worst record in the American League this season.
John Wathan, who has spent 47 of his 51 years in pro baseball with the Royals as a player, manager, broadcaster, assistant coach, scout, roving instructor, and special assistant to player development, announced he will retire after this season. pic.twitter.com/D DiXQKidHd
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 28, 2022
They have been a decent offensive team, ranked No. 14 in batting average (.245). Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. leads the way with 144 hits, including 20 home runs, while veteran catcher Salvador Perez has hit a team-high 22 homers. They are facing a Detroit pitching staff that is No. 20 with an ERA of 4.06. Right-handed pitcher Jonathan Heasley is set to start for Kansas City on Thursday afternoon. He allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks across six strong innings against Minnesota last Thursday. Heasley has turned in consecutive quality starts, and he has a 3.26 ERA since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Aug. 9. He still has a 4.87 ERA overall (94.1 innings) this season, though.