Tigers at Royals
The Detroit Tigers escaped with a series victory following - of all things - a walk-off bunt down the first-base line while the Kansas City Royals effectively were done in by a trio of homers by the same player. The Tigers (13-16) vie for the third straight win on Thursday afternoon when they open a four-game series versus the American League Central-rival Royals (8-22) at Kauffman Stadium.
John Hicks' alert bunt caught both Tampa Bay infielders and Detroit's JaCoby Jones by surprise, but the latter was able to score from third base in Wednesday afternoon's 3-2 victory. The furious finish capped a three-hit performance for the 25-year-old Jones, who is 7-for-21 in his last five games overall and 5-for-15 with two homers and five RBIs in the season series versus Kansas City. The clubs have split six encounters thus far, with Royals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert going a robust 7-for-22 with four runs scored in that span. The 25-year-old Nicaraguan went deep for the third time in four days with a solo homer in Wednesday's 5-4 setback to Boston, but Mookie Betts launched a trio of solo shots to send Kansas City to its seventh loss in 10 outings.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Mike Fiers (2-2, 3.91 ERA) vs. Royals LH Eric Skoglund (1-2, 6.23)
Fiers improved to 2-3 with a 4.55 ERA in his career against Kansas City despite allowing four runs (two earned) on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 12-4 win on April 21. The 32-year-old answered that performance six days later by surrendering two homers for the second time in three outings to take the loss in a 6-0 setback at Baltimore. Lucas Duda (5-for-10), Alcides Escobar (7-for-16) and Mike Moustakas (5-for-11) have enjoyed their fair share of success versus Fiers, who is allowing the current Royals roster to bat .333 against him.
Skoglund recorded career-best numbers in both strikeouts (nine) and innings pitched (seven) on Saturday as he picked up his first win in nearly a calendar year with a 5-2 triumph over the Chicago White Sox. The 25-year-old allowed just one run on two hits in that encounter, although he was taken deep for the third time in four outings. Skoglund, who has limited the Tigers' roster to a .171 batting average, has flummoxed left-handed batters this season (.167) while right-handers are a more respectable .257.
WALK-OFFS
1. Detroit 1B Miguel Cabrera could return to the lineup following a three-game absence due to a biceps strain.
2. Kansas City C Drew Butera has a double in back-to-back contests after going just 2-for-17 with seven strikeouts in his previous six games.
3. Tigers C James McCann has 17 hits over his last 13 contests after mustering five in his previous nine.