Tigers play the Royals leading series 1-0

Detroit Tigers (79-57, first in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (69-66, second in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Jack Flaherty (7-13, 4.87 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 165 strikeouts); Royals: Stephen Kolek (4-5, 4.18 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 56 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Tigers take a 1-0 lead into the next game of the series against the Kansas City Royals.

Kansas City has a 69-66 record overall and a 36-31 record at home. The Royals have a 38-13 record in games when they did not give up a home run.

Detroit is 35-32 on the road and 79-57 overall. The Tigers are 55-10 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Saturday’s game is the 12th time these teams match up this season. The Tigers are up 8-3 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Maikel Garcia has a .297 batting average to lead the Royals, and has 32 doubles, five triples and 14 home runs. Bobby Witt Jr. is 16 for 44 with two home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games.

Riley Greene leads the Tigers with a .269 batting average, and has 27 doubles, a triple, 32 home runs, 39 walks and 101 RBIs. Dillon Dingler is 9 for 33 with a home run and three RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 5-5, .265 batting average, 4.55 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

Tigers: 6-4, .261 batting average, 3.84 ERA, outscored opponents by seven 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.