Detroit @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 3, 2010 ) Detroit 9, Kansas City 5
Even with their playoff hopes dashed and a glut of injuries on their roster, the Detroit Tigers certainly aren't playing out the string.
For the second straight game, the Tigers erased a four-run deficit in the late innings, squandered a lead and rebounded to win in extra innings.
Rookie Will Rhymes rapped a two-run triple to spark a four-run 11th inning as Detroit posted a 9-5 victory in the opener of a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
More impressively, the Tigers accomplished the comeback without Miguel Cabrera, the major league leader in RBIs, in the lineup. And they did it against reigning Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, who has dominated Detroit in his career.
Cabrera, who left Thursday's 13-inning win over the Minnesota Twins with biceps tendinitis, is listed as day-to-day. Without his .336 batting average and 33 homers in the lineup, the Tigers had to rely on contributions from players such as Rhymes.
Called up in late July when Carlos Guillen made the first of two appearances on the 15-day disabled list, Rhymes carried a 10-game hitting streak into Friday's game.
He was hitless in four at-bats until coming to bat against Jesse Chavez with one out in the 11th and two runners aboard. Rhymes laced a triple to right-center to plate the go-ahead runs and extend his streak to 11 games, during which he is batting .360 (18-for-50).
A rejuvenated Rick Porcello takes the mound for the Tigers seeking his third straight victory in the middle game of the series on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium.
A 14-game winner as a rookie last year, Porcello has struggled mightily this season, earning a demotion to Triple-A Toledo in June. Even upon his return, Porcello had just one win in seven starts, but a visit from the Royals last month seemed to finally get him back on track.
The 21-year-old right-hander blanked Kansas City on two hits over seven innings in a 9-1 win on Aug. 24. Porcello followed that up allowing just one run on three hits in seven innings in a 10-4 win at Toronto last Sunday.
Opposing Porcello will be journeyman left-hander Bruce Chen (9-7), who has the second-highest victory total of his career. Chen was solid in his last start, giving up two runs and six hits in six innings of a 6-2 win over Cleveland.
However, the 33-year-old southpaw was hammered by Detroit on Aug. 23, allowing five runs on five hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings.
He has not had much success against the Tigers, going 1-3 with a 6.92 ERA in nine appearances (seven starts).