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Royals go for second straight win over rival Tigers
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 4/20/2016  at  8:00:00 AM
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By Brad Kallet

DETROIT TIGERS (7-5)

at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (9-4)

First pitch: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Detroit +100, Kansas City -110, Total: 7.5

Ian Kennedy and the World Series-champion Royals look to take the three-game set from Jordan Zimmermann and the division-rival Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.

The World Series-champion Royals (9-4) look like the team to beat in the American League—again. In first place in the American League Central, they sit 1 ½ games in front of the Tigers (7-5), with the White Sox sandwiched in between. In the first game of the series on Tuesday night, Kansas City edged Detroit, 8-6, in the clubs’ first meeting of the season. Kansas City is very difficult to beat at Kauffman Stadium (5-1 at home), though manager Ned Yost’s club will have its hands full against Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 SO, 5 BB in 13 IP), who hasn’t yielded a run in his first two career starts with the Tigers. His opposing pitcher, Royals RHP Ian Kennedy (2-0, 0.66 ERA, 14 SO, 3 BB in 13 2/3 innings), hasn’t been too bad himself. Detroit has the second-most runs (64), second-best average (.282) and second-best on-base percentage (.340) in the American League. For his career, Zimmermann is 1-0 against the Royals with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.173 WHIP. Kennedy is 0-2 lifetime against the Tigers with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.326 WHIP.

The Tigers are an incredibly dangerous offensive club, led by RF J.D. Martinez (.370, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .444 OBP, 3 2B, 7 BB), 3B Nick Castellanos (.357, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .349 OBP, 3 2B) and 2B Ian Kinsler (.345, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .362 OBP). Considering all of the talented hitters on this Tigers squad, it’s hard to believe that C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.300, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .364 OBP) leads the team in homers. 1B Miguel Cabrera (.255, 1 HR, 6 RBI), of course, remains the most fearsome bat in the lineup, but he’s yet to get going. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is also waiting for DH Victor Martinez (.265, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and LF Justin Upton (.245, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .286 OBP) to contribute. The Tigers haven’t seen much of Kennedy. In limited action, Cabrera (3-for-7 with 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB), Kinsler (5-for-7 with 2 RBI and 3 2B), Victor Martinez (2-for-6 with an RBI) and Upton (3-for-8 with 1 HR and 3 BB) have hit him extremely well.

1B Eric Hosmer (.308, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .345 OBP) is the only Royals starter hitting above .300. 3B Mike Moustakas (.220, 4 HR, 5 RBI) leads the club in home runs, and DH Kendrys Morales (.261, 2 HR, 7 RBI), C Salvador Perez (.256, 2 HR, 10 RBI) and Lorenzo Cain (.213, 2 HR, 6 RBI) are the only other Royals to have more than one long ball. We know that the Royals pitch well (3.13 ERA – 4th in AL), but how are they scoring runs? As we’ve seen over the past two years, they have an excellent approach at the plate. They’re smart and aggressive, they put the ball in play (99 SO – 12th in AL) and they consistently take the extra base. If a runner is on third with less than two outs, this club is almost always going to get him in. Zimmermann pitched in the National League from 2009-15, so the Royals are relatively unfamiliar with his stuff. 2B Omar Infante (.293, 0 HR, 2 RBI) is the only Royal with more than four at-bats against Zimmermann. He’s gone 3-for-17 against him with a homer, a triple and two RBIs.


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