In the second of a three-game series between the Detroit Tigers (51-55) and the Kansas City Royals (63-42) at Comerica Park, Matt Boyd (0-2, 14.85 ERA) and Johnny Cueto (7-6, 2.70 ERA) take the mound. The Royals won the last game 5-1 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 7:08 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 5 and will air on FSKC and FSDT.
Miguel Cabrera (.350, 43 Rs, 15 HRs, 54 RBIs, 1 SB) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 2 with one RBI. The Royals were unsuccessful to the Blue Jays 7-6 the last time Cueto pitched. He went 6.0 innings, giving up three runs, striking out seven and walking two.
Detroit, a +153 underdog, will look to capitalize at home against Kansas City. The matchup currently has an eight-run Over/Under (O/U). The Tigers are 21-31 as the underdog and have an overall money line of -622. They have done well SU (4-6), but performed poorly as the underdog (4-5) against their division opponents. Detroit has averaged 4.9 runs per game during divisional play, higher than its season average of 4.4. The Tigers lead the AL in hits with 9.6 per game. Whenever an AL Central opponent shows up on the calendar, the Tigers pitch better. They allow an average of 4.8 runs per game, but allow just 4.3 against teams from their own division.
Switching to the opposing bench, the Royals come into this game with a solid win percentage of .623 when playing as the favorite (33-20) and an overall money line of +1,985. Over the past 10 matchups, they are 6-4 SU and have an unblemished 2-0 record when they were the favorite. One of the top hitting teams in the AL are the Royals, who average 9.2 hits per game. The Royals average just 5.8 strikeouts per game, good for least in the AL. Kansas City’s pitching staff tends to perform well when they play division rivals. They’ve allowed an average of 3.3 runs per game against teams from the AL Central, lower than their season average of 3.7.
The Royals have gotten the better of the Tigers in head-to-head matchups this season, going 5-3. The Tigers will take on a right-hander (Cueto) in this game and have a 37-44 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Royals will be the right-hander Boyd. Right-handed starters haven’t been a big issue for them as they sport a 44-26 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
Detroit is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games.
Detroit is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Detroit’s last 17 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit’s last 7 games when playing Kansas City.
Detroit is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing Kansas City.
Detroit is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
The Royals sit at 27-16 against their divisional rivals, while the Tigers are 27-18.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Tigers are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Royals have a 23-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Tigers are 6-39. The Royals have a 7-35 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 25th in home runs, Kansas City has hit 84 this season. Detroit ranks 11th with 106 home runs.
Detroit ranks at the top of the league when it comes to hits with 9.57 per game this season. Kansas City ranks in the top five at second with 9.19.
Ranking 10th, Kansas City is in the top 10 of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.728). Detroit ranks in the top five at fourth with an OPS of .762.
When the Royals allow at least one home run, they are 27-31. When the Tigers allow one or more homers, they have a 24-44 record.
