Tigers at Royals
THE STORY: The Detroit Tigers continue their push for home-field
advantage in at least the American League Division Series when they play
the first of two games against the host Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.
The AL Central champion Tigers, who are 14-2 since opening the month
with a loss to the Royals, trail the New York Yankees by 3 1/2 games for
the league's best record, but are one game ahead of Texas for the No. 2
seed. Kansas City has won seven of its last eight games.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Brad Penny (10-10, 5.07 ERA) vs. Royals RH Luis Mendoza (0-0, 0.00).
Penny
has been the beneficiary of a strong Detroit lineup, putting up some of
the worst numbers of any starting pitcher this season. He has been
particularly poor in recent weeks, allowing 24 runs in his last 21
innings over four starts (though eight of those runs have been
unearned). Penny is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three career outings against
Kansas City after throwing eight shutout innings in a May 14 victory.
Mendoza is making his first big league start of the year after an
impressive campaign with Triple A Omaha, where he went 12-5 and was the
Pacific Coast League's runaway leader in ERA (2.18). He appeared in four
games with the Royals last season, giving up 10 runs in four innings of
relief. His career numbers (4-9, 8.43) aren't impressive, but 2011 has
been far and away his best season in the minors.
ABOUT THE TIGERS (89-64):
On the morning of Aug. 19, Detroit was 1 1/2 games in front of
Cleveland and four games ahead of Chicago atop the AL Central. The
Tigers swept the Indians that weekend to begin a stretch that has seen
them win 24-of-30 to seal their first division title since 1987.
Righthander Justin Verlander is a lock for AL Cy Young honors and should
be strongly considered for MVP. He leads the league in wins (24), ERA
(2.29) and strikeouts (244).
ABOUT THE ROYALS (67-87):
Kansas City boasts an explosive young lineup with four different players
that have driven in at least 83 runs - designated Billy Butler (90),
left fielder Alex Gordon (86), center fielder Melky Cabrera (83) and
right fielder Jeff Francoeur (83). Pitching, however, has prevented the
Royals from becoming a contender - the team ranks 28th in the major
leagues with a 4.49 ERA and has issued an AL-leading 538 walks.
FINAL PITCH: The Tigers have won five of their last seven games in Kansas City and nine of their last 13 against the Royals overall.