The Detroit Tigers face the Kansas City Royals with both teams looking to improve on rough seasons. The Tigers have a 41-51 record and are in third place in the American League Central Division while the Royals have a 27-67 record and with only two wins in their last 10 games, they have the worst record in the division and the second-worst record in the American League. For the upcoming game, the Tigers will turn to Matt Manning as their starting pitcher who hopes to build off a scoreless outing while the Royals will turn to Jordan Lyles to start the game
The Tigers are having a rough season and hope to improve ahead of the trade deadline to make a push in the division. Matt Manning is coming off a strong start but he's having an awful season, allowing 12 runs in 29 innings pitched. Moreover, with a .421 expected opponent Slugging Percentage, a 45.2 Hard-Hit Percentage, and a 4.41 expected ERA, opponents are making hard contact and powering the ball against Manning to easily drive in runs.
Along with Manning struggling, the lineup has been one of the worst in baseball, scoring only 3.92 runs per game. Riley Greene is slashing .300/.369/.452 with 98 total bases while Matt Vierling is slashing .275/.338/.413 with 99 total bases but the rest of the lineup has struggled. Only three batters have an OPS+ over 100 and opposing pitchers can eliminate the hapless lineup as a result.