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manchild98
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TIGERS (15-7):
Davis CF
Kinsler 2B
Miggy 1B
VMart DH
JD RF
Cespedes LF
Castellanos 3B
McCann C
Iggy SS
Simon P
ROYALS (14-7):
Gordon LF
Moustakas 3B
Cain CF
Hosmer 1B
Morales DH
Perez C
Infante 2B
Dyson RF
Colon SS
Duffy P
The Tigers open a four-game series at Kansas City on Thursday night with first place in the American League Central up for grabs. Both teams have a bit of a score to settle from 2014 as well, as the Tigers won 13 of 19 games against the Royals last year and won the division by a game, but Kansas City advanced to the World Series as the AL champion.
McCann is back in the starting lineup Thursday -- a day after he hit an inside-the-park home run. It was the first inside-the-park home run by a Tigers player since Austin Jackson had one Aug. 10, 2012. The last Tigers player to hit an inside-the-park home run for his first major league home run was pitcher Frank Lary on April 17, 1956. McCann is the 3rd catcher in history whose 1st career home run was inside the park (Angel Encarnacion 1995, Chad Moeller 2000)
Things to know about this game
? The Tigers will send right-hander Alfredo Simon to the mound. Simon has been one of the surprise stories in the AL, posting a 4-0 record and 1.65 ERA in four starts. He's the first Tiger to win his first four starts of a season since Frank Tanana won five in a row in 1988. Simon hasn't faced the Royals since 2011 with Baltimore. Career vs Royals 3-1 3.18 era.
? The Royals will counter with left-hander Danny Duffy, who's 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA. Duffy has pitched at least five innings in each of his four starts, and in his last outing, he allowed no earned runs over 5 1/3 innings, but did not factor in the decision in a 3-2 loss to the White Sox.
? Duffy has held the current Tigers lineup to a .184 batting average in 87 at-bats. Miguel Cabrera has had the most success, going 5-for-18 (.278) with three doubles. Duffy is 1-6 with a 3.42 ERA in nine career starts against the Tigers, losing all five decisions over six home meetings.
Detroit won eight of 10 at Kansas City last season, batting .319 and averaging 6.6 runs. That dominance was a big reason why the Tigers finished one game ahead of the Royals (14-7) for their fourth consecutive Central crown. Despite that success, Cabrera went 7 for 37 (.189) with 10 RBIs at Kauffman Stadium in 2014.
Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar suffered a bruised left cheek when he was struck in the head with a pitch in the fifth inning Wednesday night and won't be in the lineup tonight.
Today's forecast in Kansas City calls for sunny skies and temps around 70 degrees around first pitch. There's no chance for rain. In other words, it's going to be a perfect night for a baseball game.
Will KC try and brawl with us???
Davis CF
Kinsler 2B
Miggy 1B
VMart DH
JD RF
Cespedes LF
Castellanos 3B
McCann C
Iggy SS
Simon P
ROYALS (14-7):
Gordon LF
Moustakas 3B
Cain CF
Hosmer 1B
Morales DH
Perez C
Infante 2B
Dyson RF
Colon SS
Duffy P
The Tigers open a four-game series at Kansas City on Thursday night with first place in the American League Central up for grabs. Both teams have a bit of a score to settle from 2014 as well, as the Tigers won 13 of 19 games against the Royals last year and won the division by a game, but Kansas City advanced to the World Series as the AL champion.
McCann is back in the starting lineup Thursday -- a day after he hit an inside-the-park home run. It was the first inside-the-park home run by a Tigers player since Austin Jackson had one Aug. 10, 2012. The last Tigers player to hit an inside-the-park home run for his first major league home run was pitcher Frank Lary on April 17, 1956. McCann is the 3rd catcher in history whose 1st career home run was inside the park (Angel Encarnacion 1995, Chad Moeller 2000)
Things to know about this game
? The Tigers will send right-hander Alfredo Simon to the mound. Simon has been one of the surprise stories in the AL, posting a 4-0 record and 1.65 ERA in four starts. He's the first Tiger to win his first four starts of a season since Frank Tanana won five in a row in 1988. Simon hasn't faced the Royals since 2011 with Baltimore. Career vs Royals 3-1 3.18 era.
? The Royals will counter with left-hander Danny Duffy, who's 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA. Duffy has pitched at least five innings in each of his four starts, and in his last outing, he allowed no earned runs over 5 1/3 innings, but did not factor in the decision in a 3-2 loss to the White Sox.
? Duffy has held the current Tigers lineup to a .184 batting average in 87 at-bats. Miguel Cabrera has had the most success, going 5-for-18 (.278) with three doubles. Duffy is 1-6 with a 3.42 ERA in nine career starts against the Tigers, losing all five decisions over six home meetings.
Detroit won eight of 10 at Kansas City last season, batting .319 and averaging 6.6 runs. That dominance was a big reason why the Tigers finished one game ahead of the Royals (14-7) for their fourth consecutive Central crown. Despite that success, Cabrera went 7 for 37 (.189) with 10 RBIs at Kauffman Stadium in 2014.
Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar suffered a bruised left cheek when he was struck in the head with a pitch in the fifth inning Wednesday night and won't be in the lineup tonight.
Today's forecast in Kansas City calls for sunny skies and temps around 70 degrees around first pitch. There's no chance for rain. In other words, it's going to be a perfect night for a baseball game.
Will KC try and brawl with us???
