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The Royals and Tigers were expected to be among the worst teams in American League this year. The Royals have lived up to that billing, but the Tigers have played surprisingly mediocre, with a 13-16 record going into this series. This will be the third series between these two teams already this year, and the Tigers are the only team the Royals don’t have a losing record against, having split the previous six games.
Game times and pitching matchups are as follows:
- Thursday, May 3 - 1:15 PM CDT - Mike Fiers versus Eric Skoglund (L)
- Friday, May 4 - 7:15 PM CDT - Francisco Liriano (L) versus Ian Kennedy
- Saturday, May 5 - 3:15 PM CDT - Jordan Zimmerman versus Jason Hammel
- Sunday, May 6 - 1:15 PM CDT - Matt Boyd (L) versus Jake Junis
Royals/Tigers pitching matchups
Thursday | W-L | ERA | FIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | fWAR | rWAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday | W-L | ERA | FIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | fWAR | rWAR |
RHP Mike Fiers | 2-2 | 3.91 | 4.76 | 23.0 | 5.87 | 1.57 | 1.57 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
LHP Eric Skoglund | 1-2 | 6.23 | 4.59 | 21.2 | 7.89 | 2.49 | 1.25 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
Friday | W-L | ERA | FIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | fWAR | rWAR |
LHP Francisco Liriano | 3-1 | 3.38 | 4.49 | 29.1 | 6.44 | 4.30 | 0.92 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
RHP Ian Kennedy | 1-3 | 3.48 | 3.99 | 31.0 | 8.13 | 2.90 | 1.16 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
Saturday | W-L | ERA | FIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | fWAR | rWAR |
RHP Jordan Zimmermann | 1-0 | 5.81 | 4.26 | 26.1 | 9.23 | 2.05 | 1.71 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
RHP Jason Hammel | 0-3 | 4.91 | 4.17 | 36.2 | 4.66 | 2.95 | 0.74 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Sunday | W-L | ERA | FIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | fWAR | rWAR |
LHP Matthew Boyd | 1-2 | 2.48 | 4.09 | 29.0 | 6.52 | 2.48 | 0.93 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
RHP Jake Junis | 3-2 | 3.29 | 5.50 | 38.1 | 7.04 | 1.88 | 2.11 | -0.1 | 1.1 |
This is like the fifty-sixth time the Royals have seen all these pitchers this year. Zimmerman’s peripherals actually suggest he’s been better than his ERA. Matt Boyd, Francisco Liriano, and Mike Fiers look to have been lucky thus far—ERA-FIP are -1.61, -1.11, and -0.85. The Royals get to miss Michael Fulmer again, which is always a nice draw, especially in a four-game series.
Detroit Tigers position players
Name | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
Jeimer Candelario (S) | 129 | 4 | 18 | 12 | 0 | .287 | .364 | .513 | .378 | 137 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
Miguel Cabrera | 104 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 0 | .326 | .413 | .528 | .398 | 151 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
Leonys Martin (L) | 114 | 4 | 18 | 13 | 1 | .267 | .325 | .467 | .342 | 113 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
JaCoby Jones | 83 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 4 | .280 | .337 | .467 | .347 | 116 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
Nicholas Castellanos | 128 | 2 | 15 | 18 | 0 | .297 | .352 | .441 | .341 | 112 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
James McCann | 93 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 0 | .259 | .301 | .412 | .308 | 90 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
John Hicks | 35 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | .219 | .286 | .469 | .325 | 102 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
José Iglesias | 107 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 4 | .210 | .245 | .300 | .240 | 45 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
Niko Goodrum (S) | 55 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | .204 | .291 | .347 | .285 | 75 | -0.1 | 0.0 |
Dixon Machado | 109 | 1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | .200 | .257 | .310 | .252 | 52 | -0.2 | -0.3 |
Victor Reyes (S) | 17 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | .118 | .118 | .118 | .104 | -47 | -0.3 | -0.2 |
Victor Martinez (S) | 102 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 0 | .222 | .294 | .344 | .279 | 71 | -0.4 | -0.3 |
Mikie Mahtook | 35 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .129 | .200 | .161 | .156 | -12 | -0.5 | -0.6 |
The Tigers’ position players are actually a middle of the road 17th in fWAR in baseball, worth 3.0 so far. Their 91 wRC+ puts them one spot ahead of the Royals at 22nd. Their defense (per both -3 DRS—Royals are -8—and 1.4 UZR—Royals are 0.4) looks to be better than the Royals’ defense. Cheslor gonna Cheslor? The Tigers clearly aren’t world-beaters, but Miguel Cabrera looks to have woken from a slumber.
Poll
How will the Royals fare against Detroit?
This poll is closed
-
11%
Royals sweep
-
27%
Royals take three of four
-
49%
Split
-
7%
Tigers take three of four
-
3%
Tigers sweep