Royals vs. Tigers, Game 14 Game Thread

Yordano Ventura had another short outing last night, but he muddled through five innings before handing it off to the bullpen. The bullpen was fairly shaky with Danny Duffy and Joakim Soria being charged runs, but luckily the Royals held on for their ninth win of the season.

The Royals have the best record in the AL, which isn't saying much right as the White Sox sit only a half-game behind the Royals just in the AL Central. The AL West has had a rough start with the Rangers as the only team above .500, and the Orioles have cooled off from their hot start in the AL East. The Central has four teams above .500 as of this writing - it's a competitive division as it currently stands. I'm sure this will not stand for the whole year. Not enough time for separation just yet.

Tonight, Ian Kennedy faces Jordan Zimmerman. Both received huge contracts this offseason, though Kennedy's has an opt-out while Zimmerman's does not (as far as I can remember). A workhorse control pitcher, Zimmerman has not given up any runs yet through his first two starts. I think that will change tonight.

Kennedy on the other hand has been pretty good. He's given up but one run but has struck out 14 in his 13.2 innings of work with few walks (3). This ought to be a good pitching matchup.

Lineups:

Bumps and bruises #Tigers lineup: Kinsler 2B, Upton LF, Cabrera 1B, V-Mart DH, JDMart RF, Castellanos 3B, Salty C, Gose CF, Iglesias SS

— Catherine Slonksnis (@CSlonksnis) April 20, 2016

#Royals Game 14 pic.twitter.com/3raSkzOty5

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) April 20, 2016