Tigers at Royals
The Kansas City Royals have gone as Jorge Soler has gone, and he has been tough to stop lately. The red-hot Soler and the Royals look to continue their recent solid play Saturday when they play the third of a four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers.
Soler’s two-run single keyed a four-run eighth inning to lift Kansas City to a 4-2 win on Friday. The Royals have won four straight at Kauffman Stadium following a 10-game home losing streak, and they’ve won five of their last seven overall to pull even with the Chicago White Sox for fourth place in the American League Central. Detroit has lost six straight road games against division opponents and is 27-38 against Kansas City since 2015, including a 3-5 mark this season. The Tigers placed veteran slugger Miguel Cabrera on the disabled list Friday with a strained right hamstring suffered while running out an infield single in Thursday’s game.
TV: 4:15 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Jordan Zimmerman (1-0, 5.81 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jason Hammel (0-3, 4.91)
Zimmerman posted his first quality start of the season Monday against Tampa Bay, allowing two hits over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision. The 31-year-old kept the ball in the park after allowing five homers over his previous two starts. Zimmerman is 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA in six games (five starts) against the Royals with all three wins coming at Kauffman Stadium.
Hammel is coming off his worst outing of the season after allowing eight runs over 4 2/3 innings in a loss at Boston on Monday. The 35-year-old had posted a 2.33 ERA over his previous four starts, including a complete-game loss at Detroit on April 20. Hammel is 3-3 with a 5.78 ERA in 16 games (13 starts) against the Tigers.
WALK-OFFS
1. Soler is 15-for-39 with eight extra-base hits during a career-high 10-game hitting streak and has reached base in 19 straight games.
2. Tigers 3B Jeimer Candelario, who is 9-for-24 during a six-game hitting streak, is 5-for-12 with a double versus Hammel.
3. The Royals promoted Jason Adam from Triple-A Omaha before Friday’s game and optioned fellow RHP Scott Barlow to Omaha.