Detroit Tigers vs KC Royals Sunday Night Baseball Preview, Lineup

Detroit Tigers (19-12) vs Kansas City Royals (19-11) – 8:05 PM ET

Comerica Park – Detroit, MI

TV: ESPN

Radio: 97.1 The Ticket (click for affiliates)

Weather: 69 degrees, chance of thunderstorms

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Game Preview

For the second straight game, the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals tangle on national television with the Tigers looking for a win to claim the series and climb back into first place. The game will be played on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball since, conveniently, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are not playing, opening up the game for other teams.

When We Last Met

Anibal Sanchez had a rough first inning, and bumpy remainder of the game, and the Tigers’ bats could not get the team back in the game despite the usual favorable matchup against Jeremy Guthrie. The result was a 6-2 loss to the Royals, allowing them to climb back into first place by a half game.

Pitching Matchup

Shane Greene‘s (3-2, 5.56) season has not been trending in the right direction. After three starts the Tigers’ starting pitcher held a 0.39 ERA. In the three starts since, it has ballooned above five and a half. This has been because he’s been rocked for 20 earned runs in his last three games, not allowing less than five runs in any start. The five runs was in a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox in his previous start on Tuesday when he lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing five hits and walking four.

Chris Young (2-0, 1.06) kept Tigers’ batters in check in his last outing against them on May 1, in fact keeping them off the hit sheet through five innings before departing. That was Young’s only start of the season and he last appeared in a game on Wednesday, coming in in relief, throwing 2.1 perfect innings in a 10-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Tigers Lineup

1. Anthony Gose-CF
2. Ian Kinsler-2B
3. Miguel Cabrera-1B
4. Victor Martinez-DH
5. Yoenis Cespedes-LF
6. J.D. Martinez-RF
7. Nick Castellanos-3B
8. James McCann-C
9. Andrew Romine–SS

Injuries

• Jose Iglesias — Day-to-Day
• David Price — Day-to-Day
• Alex Avila — 15-Day DL
• Bruce Rondon — 15-day DL
• Justin Verlander — 15-day DL
• Joe Nathan – Out for the Season

Next: Lobstein has been Tigers unsung hero