This Sunday the (53-85) Detroit Tigers and the (56-83) Kansas City Royals will play the final game of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 2:10 PM EST inside Kauffman Stadium. The last time these two matched up, the Tigers ended up stealing two of three games from the Royals.
The Detroit Tigers are coming into this one after losing their previous series to the Los Angeles Angels. The Tigers finished that series strong, but they were shut out in the first game. They will have to stay solid at the plate if they want to challenge the Royals on the road.
The Kansas City Royals are entering this one after losing their previous series to the Cleveland Guardians. They looked great on the mound in the final game of that series, though. They only allowed one earned run, as their pitching rotation was on fire.
This game was written/published before last nigh t's results.
The Detroit Tigers are currently in dead last place in the AL Central, as their poor play has put them 19.0 games back from the first place Cleveland Guardians. The Tigers are also 24.0 games back from the Seattle Mariners for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. In the last 10, the Tigers are 3-7, but they have won two games in a row.
At the plate, the Tigers are scoring 3.43 runs per game and they are hitting .230 as a team. This is the least amount of runs scored per game and the 25th lowest overall team batting average. They have struggled to consistently make contact with the ball, as this has made it much more difficult to score. The Tigers are being forced to string together base hits to score, as they also have very little power inside of their lineup. They are only hitting .65 home runs per game, which is the lowest average in the MLB. I also expect the Detroit Tigers to stay conservative once they have rea ched base safely. They have only stolen 38 bases this season, which is the second least in the league. They can't risk losing these base runners, as they have been rare for the Tigers this season.
According to MLB.com, the Tigers will be starting Tyler Alexander on the mound. He is 3-9 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 4.1 innings, but he gave up 10 hits and six earned runs. The Angels lit him up, as he has also struggled on the road this season. He is 1-6 with a 7.31 ERA outside of his home ballpark, as he has struggled inside his opponent's stadiums. The Tigers bullpen has been solid, though. They currently have the ninth lowest bullpen ERA in the MLB. As a team, they are allowing 4.59 runs per game, which is the 20th most.