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The Kansas City Royals will attempt to avoid a sweep on Sunday when they face the Detriot Tigers at Kauffman Stadium in their final home game of the year.
Jeremy Guthrie will start the game for the Royals, which is not really a sentence you want to type in a critical game. Guthrie has posted a 4.35 ERA with a 4.34 FIP, but has managed to throw 190 1/3 innings this season. Detroit lit up Guthrie the last time he pitched against them, scoring eight runs on ten hits over 2 2/3 innings.
Rick Porcello will take the mound for the Tigers. Porcello has turned in the best campaing of his career, compiling a 3.19 ERA with a 3.55 FIP over 197 2/3 innings. The right-hander has shown impressive control all year, only walking 4.5% of batters faced.
The Royals are currently 2 1/2 games back of Detroit in the AL Central, so they pretty much need to win today to stay in the AL Cetral race. Kansas City currently has a 1/2 game lead over the Seattle Mariners for the WC2 spot, and trails the Oakland Athletics by 1/2 game for the WC1 position. It seems like nobody wants to win the Wild Card down right now.