Detroit Tigers (78-57, first in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (69-65, second in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Chris Paddack (5-11, 4.98 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 97 strikeouts); Royals: Seth Lugo (8-6, 3.99 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 120 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Tigers travel to the Kansas City Royals looking to end a four-game road slide.
Kansas City has a 69-65 record overall and a 36-30 record at home. The Royals have gone 35-7 in games when they scored five or more runs.
Detroit has a 78-57 record overall and a 34-32 record in road games. Tigers hitters have a collective .423 slugging percentage to rank ninth in the majors.
The teams square off Friday for the 11th time this season. The Tigers lead the season series 7-3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with a .298 batting average, and has 41 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs, 44 walks and 74 RBIs. Vinnie Pasquantino is 13 for 41 with six home runs and 14 RBIs over the last 10 games.
Riley Greene has 26 doubles, a triple and 32 home runs while hitting .266 for the Tigers. Wenceel Perez is 9 for 35 with two doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 6-4, .266 batting average, 4.34 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs
Tigers: 5-5, .242 batting average, 4.39 ERA, outscored by two runs
INJURIES: Royals: Bailey Falter: 15-Day IL (biceps), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (abductor), Steven Cruz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Jac Caglianone: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Tigers: Matt Vierling: 10-Day IL (oblique), Paul Sewald: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Reese Olson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Parker Meadows: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Sean Guenther: 60-Day IL (hip), Jackson Jobe: 60-Day IL (flexor), Jason Foley: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Cobb: 60-Day IL (hip), Ty Madden: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
