Detroit @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 14, 2010 ) Kansas City 7, Detroit 3
The Kansas City Royals probably wish Max Scherzer had spent a little more time in the minors.
Scherzer looks to build off an impressive performance as he leads the Detroit Tigers into the opener of a weekend series tonight against the Royals. The Tigers come in armed with a two-game winning streak, and Scherzer (2-4) is a decent bet to help extend that run to three.
The same couldn't be said last month, when the 25-year-old right-hander was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to work on his mechanics. Scherzer, who had come to Detroit in an off-season trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was winless in six starts prior to his demotion.
After allowing just one run over 15 innings in the minors, Scherzer returned to the Tigers' rotation five days ago and obliterated the Oakland Athletics lineup, recording a career-high 14 strikeouts in 5 2-3 scoreless innings. He had struck out just 16 hitters over his previous four outings.
His return coincided with the Tigers designating left-hander Dontrelle Willis for assignment, meaning that Scherzer is likely back with the big club for good. Expectations are high for the 2006 first-round pick, who showed glimpses of greatness with the Diamondbacks last season, striking out 174 batters in just 170 1-3 innings.
He'll be backed by a lineup that is coming off its most productive game of the season, a 12-6 drubbing of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez had home runs in the rout, with Ordonez finishing with five RBIs and Austin Jackson ended a 4-for-19 mini-slump with four hits.
With the hubbub surrounding Armando Galarraga's perfect game near-miss finally dissipating, fans are once again focusing on the AL Central race, where the Tigers have closed to within 2 1/2 games of division-leading Minnesota.
And while the Twins continue their West Coast journey with a series in Oakland, the Tigers are treated to a showdown with one of the worst teams in the AL.
In what has become a yearly ritual, the Royals are once again headed in the wrong direction. Since fashioning an impressive three-game winning streak, Kansas City has dropped five of six, including a 5-4 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. Reigning AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke took the loss to fall to 1-7 on the season.
Bruce Chen (1-0) will try to right the ship today. The journeyman left-hander surrendered a run on two hits in four innings in his previous start, an 8-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
The month gets more difficult for the Royals next week, as they embark on a six-game road trip that will see them face the Twins and Cincinnati Reds, both division leaders.