Chris Young (1-0, 1.86 ERA) and Kyle Lobstein (2-1, 3.50 ERA) take the hill in the second of a four-game series between the Kansas City Royals (15-7) and the Detroit Tigers (15-8) at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won the last game 8-1 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, May. 1 and can be seen on FSN-DET and FSN-KC.
Young is 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA in his appearances against the Tigers, but goes up against a quality Detroit offense which is batting .286 this season. Mike Moustakas (.356, 19 Rs, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs, 1 SB) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run and one RBI. Lobstein went 7.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out four and walking two in an 8-6 win over the Indians in his most recent start. Miguel Cabrera (.373, 12 Rs, 5 HRs, 17 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 2 yesterday.
Kansas City is a slim -114 favorite at home against Detroit. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently eight runs. The Royals have an overall money line of +717 and a record as the favorite of 6-5. Kansas City has had an impressive season against division opponents, earning 6-4 and 9-6 records as the favorite and SU respectively. The Royals lead the AL in hits with an impressive 10.7 per game. Kansas City is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 20 bases. Opposing batters know they’re in for a battle when they play Kansas City. The Royals are the top team when it comes to pitching, allowing a league-low 3.5 runs per game. The Royals are the second-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.11 so far this season.
As for their opponent, Detroit is coming in with an overall money line of +677 and an impressive record of 5-1 as the dog. They have managed to pull off a perfect record over their last ten games while playing as the underdog, and have a 5-5 SU record over the same span. Offensively, the Tigers have really picked up the pace in division games. They have exceeded their season average of 4.9 runs per game by averaging 6.1 in those contests. The Tigers are an excellent base stealing team with 24 stolen bases, ranking third in the MLB. The Tigers allow 4.1 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 5.5 runs per game during that span. When it comes to issuing walks, the Tigers have the third-fewest in the AL with an average of just 2.6 walks allowed per game.
The Royals have the edge in the season series, 1-0. The Royals have a perfect 4-0 record at home (7-2 overall) against left-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Lobstein takes the mound. Young (RHP) will be on the hill against the Tigers, who have a 10-6 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Kansas City is 7-1, while Detroit is 8-4.
The Royals are coming off of a hot pitching game where they recorded 10 strikeouts. The Tigers have a record of 4-4 when they are struck out that many times or more.
When outhit, both the Royals and the Tigers have records of 0-3.
Kansas City ranks in the top half of the league at 15th when it comes to home runs, hitting 18 this season. Detroit ranks in the top 10 at 10th with 22.
Kansas City ranks at the top of the league when it comes to hits with 10.71 per game this season. Detroit ranks in the top five at second with 9.73.
Kansas City and Detroit both rank in the top five of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. Kansas City sits at third with an OPS of .812 and Detroit ranks fourth with an OPS of .795.
The Tigers are 4-6 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Royals are 9-4 when they allow at least one homer.
