The Kansas City Royals (53-78, 62-69 RL, 67-63-1 O/U) clash with the Detroit Tigers (50-80, 60-70 RL, 47-74-9 O/U) as the rivals begin a three-game divisional series on Friday night. The Royals will have Daniel Lynch on the mound. The Tigers counter with Drew Hutchison. The Royals lead the season series 6-4.
Daniel Lynch will make his 22nd start of the season. Lynch was subpar in his previous start, conceding four runs on nine hits in five innings against the Padres, and was hit with the loss to fall to 4-9. The young left-hander has fared reasonably well recently, posting a 3.94 ERA in August and has logged a 4.70 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP in 103.1 innings pitched on the season. Lynch allowed three runs (two earned) in four innings against the Tigers in the only meeting this season and has squandered seven runs (five earned) in 14.2 career innings against the foes.
The Royals continue a six-game road trip. They dropped two of three games against the White Sox this week, allowing 18 runs in the series. The squad has been somewhat competitive recently. The offense is producing however the pitching continues to be exploited.
Nicky Lopez has been a tough out against the Tigers pitching this season, logging a strong .303 average. The 27-year-old second baseman is having a subpar year, posting 17 RBIs and a poor .580 OPS. Lopez has two RBIs in his last six games.
The Royals are scoring an average of 3.93 runs per game, ranking them 24th overall. The pitching staff has logged a 4.74 team ERA, placing them 27th in the big leagues.