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Having sold off Justins Verlander and Upton in the past week, it’s safe to say these aren’t your father’s Tigers. The future may look a bit brighter for the Tigers as they’ve begun to restock a previously barren farm system, but as the makeup of their roster pertains to this series, things couldn’t have worked out better for a Royals club that needs a lot of things to break the right way if they want to stay in the playoff picture.
Game times and pitching matchups are as follows:
- Monday, September 4, 12:10 PM CDT - Jake Junis versus Artie Lewicki
- Tuesday, September 5, 6:10 PM CDT - Jason Vargas (L) versus Aníbal Sánchez
- Wednesday, September 6, 6:10 PM CDT - Jason Hammel versus Matt Boyd (L)
Royals at Tigers pitching matchups
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
| Jake Junis | 14 | 63.1 | 57 | 20.7 | 18 | 6.5 | 4.41 | 4.62 | 4.83 | 4.35 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| Artie Lewicki | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jason Vargas (L) | 26 | 151.1 | 112 | 17.6 | 45 | 7.1 | 3.87 | 4.51 | 4.92 | 4.81 | 1.7 | 3.6 |
| Aníbal Sánchez | 22 | 77.2 | 68 | 19.1 | 21 | 5.9 | 6.95 | 6.20 | 4.77 | 4.40 | -0.4 | -1.3 |
| Jason Hammel | 27 | 155.2 | 119 | 17.6 | 41 | 6.1 | 4.80 | 4.47 | 5.01 | 4.72 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Matt Boyd (L) | 21 | 103.1 | 85 | 17.9 | 44 | 9.3 | 5.92 | 4.58 | 5.06 | 5.01 | 1.4 | -0.2 |
At this juncture, there aren’t many occasions in which the Royals can lay claim to holding an advantage in every pitching matchup, but with the Tigers having sold off Verlander and Aníbal Sánchez backing his way into the rotation, it’s easy to believe the Royals do in fact have that advantage in each matchup. Of course Artie Lewicki is making his first major-league start, which is the Royals’ kryptonite.
Detroit Tigers position players
| Player | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
| Ian Kinsler | 2B | 513 | 14 | 75 | 39 | 13 | .237 | .316 | .387 | .306 | 87 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| José Iglesias | SS | 427 | 5 | 50 | 50 | 7 | .263 | .297 | .375 | .290 | 76 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| James McCann | C | 311 | 13 | 35 | 41 | 1 | .264 | .332 | .448 | .334 | 106 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| Mikie Mahtook | LF | 333 | 10 | 44 | 32 | 3 | .275 | .330 | .452 | .334 | 106 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
| Nick Castellanos | 3B/DH | 558 | 19 | 63 | 76 | 3 | .252 | .306 | .451 | .320 | 97 | 1.0 | 0.3 |
| John Hicks | C | 139 | 4 | 21 | 18 | 1 | .302 | .360 | .492 | .362 | 126 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Alex Presley (L) | RF | 175 | 1 | 18 | 12 | 4 | .304 | .349 | .379 | .319 | 96 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Bryan Holaday | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .600 | .600 | .800 | .597 | 286 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Jeimer Candelario (S) | 3B | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .292 | 78 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Andrew Romine (S) | Util | 286 | 4 | 42 | 21 | 5 | .239 | .299 | .363 | .288 | 75 | 0.0 | -0.5 |
| JaCoby Jones | CF | 88 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | .167 | .261 | .244 | .233 | 37 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Dixon Machado | IF | 135 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 1 | .287 | .331 | .352 | .299 | 82 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Efrén Navarro (L) | 1B | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .175 | -2 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
With Miguel Cabrera serving a suspension (along with Alex Wilson), the already thinned out Tiger herd is even thinner. If ever there were a series that even a struggling Royals club should coast through, it would be this one. Let’s hope they don’t get swept.
Poll
How will the Royals fare in Detroit?
This poll is closed
-
57%
Royals sweep
(27 votes) -
29%
Royals take two of three
(14 votes) -
8%
Tigers take two of three
(4 votes) -
4%
Tigers sweep
(2 votes)
All stats courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference through action on Sunday, September 3.
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