Tigers... 1. Anthony Gose (L) CF 2. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 3. Miguel Cabrera (R) 1B 4. Victor Martinez (S) DH 5. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 6. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF 7. Alex Avila (L) C 8. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 9. Andrew Romine (S) SS ______________________________________Shane Greene vs Jeff Samardjiha White Sox... 1. Adam Eaton (L) CF 2. Melky Cabrera (S) LF 3. Jose Abreu (R) 1B 4. Adam LaRoche (L) DH 5. Avisail Garcia (R) RF 6. Conor Gillaspie (L) 3B 7. Alexei Ramirez (R) SS 8. Geovany Soto (R) C 9. Micah Johnson (L) 2B
__________________________________________________________________________________ Tigers are 17-10... good for 2nd place in the Central.
Tigers... 1. Rajai Davis (R) CF 2. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 3. Miguel Cabrera (R) 1B 4. Victor Martinez (S) DH 5. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF 6. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 7. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 8. James McCann (R) C 9. Jose Iglesias (R) SS ______________________________________ White Sox... 1. Adam Eaton (L) CF 2. Melky Cabrera (S) LF 3. Jose Abreu (R) 1B 4. Adam LaRoche (L) DH 5. Avisail Garcia (R) RF 6. Conor Gillaspie (L) 3B 7. Alexei Ramirez (R) SS 8. Tyler Flowers (R) C 9. Micah Johnson (L) 2B
AL CENTRAL Royals 17-10 .630 -- Tigers 17-11 .607 0.5 Twins 15-13 .536 2.5 Sox 10-14 .417 5.5 Tribe 10-16 .385 6.5
Tigers 1. Rajai Davis (R) CF 2. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 3. Miguel Cabrera (R) 1B 4. Victor Martinez (S) DH 5. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF 6. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 7. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 8. Alex Avila (L) C 9. Hernan Perez (R) SS ____________________________________Kyle Lobstein vs Jose Quintana White Sox 1. Adam Eaton (L) CF 2. Melky Cabrera (S) LF 3. Jose Abreu (R) 1B 4. Avisail Garcia (R) RF 5. Adam LaRoche (L) DH 6. Alexei Ramirez (R) SS 7. Gordon Beckham (R) 3B 8. Tyler Flowers (R) C 9. Micah Johnson (L) 2B
Big, BIG, BIGGER, series against KC starts tonight. Here's a preview; (AP) -- The AL Central won't be decided this weekend in Detroit, but it already seems like the teams battling at Comerica Park will be vying for that title all season. David Price matches up against one of his favorite opponents Friday night as the Tigers and Kansas City Royals meet in another early season showdown. Detroit won its fourth consecutive Central title last season, beating out Kansas City by one game but lost to Baltimore in the division series as the Royals came within one game of winning the World Series. This season is already shaping up to be another close race with Kansas City (18-10) entering Friday with the slightest of leads over the Tigers (18-11). These teams split a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium last week as Detroit took the first two before Price tossed a five-hitter in a 2-1 victory Saturday. He gave up four singles prior to surrendering Lorenzo Cain's two-out home run in the ninth inning. Price (3-1, 2.93 ERA) struck out three, walked none and recorded 16 of his outs on three pitches or fewer. "I always want to get 27 outs," Price said. "I want that every fifth day." That was the latest dominant performance by the left-hander versus the Royals. He's 2-0 with a 1.16 ERA in five appearances - four starts - for his best ERA against any opponent he's faced more than once. Alex Gordon and Kendrys Morales are a combined 4 for 27 against Price. The Tigers return home after salvaging a split of their 10-game trip with Thursday's 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Kyle Lobstein pitched into the eighth inning and Miguel Cabrera scored twice and drove in a run to help Detroit avoid the sweep. "You don't want to get swept by anyone and we have Kansas City coming when we get home," third baseman Nick Castellanos said. "So to go back home on a positive note is big." While the Tigers still rank among the league leaders with a .275 batting average, most of that damage came early in the season. They batted .303 with 14 home runs during an 11-2 start compared to hitting at a .250 clip with 11 homers during a 7-9 stretch. Detroit's hitters aren't too familiar with Yordano Ventura (2-2, 4.94), who makes his first start since serving a seven-game suspension for his role in a brawl with the White Sox. The right-hander last appeared April 29, allowing five runs and four walks over 5 1-3 innings in a 7-5 loss at Cleveland. Ventura won his only start against the Tigers on June 17, yielding three runs in seven innings of an 11-4 victory at Comerica Park. Kansas City also has cooled following a fast start, going 11-10 after winning its first seven games, but it's coming off a 7-4 victory over Cleveland on Thursday. Eric Hosmer hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Mike Moustakas had three hits and two runs. Hosmer is batting .366 with four homers and 13 RBIs in the last 10 games and is 23 for 53 (.434) over his past 14 against Detroit. The Royals are 9-0 in series openers, tying the 1983 team mark to start a season. Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias is unlikely to play Friday after aggravating a groin injury Wednesday.
Tigers 1. Anthony Gose (L) CF 2. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 3. Miguel Cabrera (R) 1B 4. Victor Martinez (S) DH 5. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF 6. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 7. Alex Avila (L) C 8. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 9. Andrew Romine (S) SS _______________________________Yordano Ventura (R) vs David Price (L) Royals 1. Alcides Escobar (R) SS 2. Lorenzo Cain (R) CF 3. Eric Hosmer (L) 1B 4. Kendrys Morales (S) DH 5. Alex Gordon (L) LF 6. Salvador Perez (R) C 7. Omar Infante (R) 2B 8. Paulo Orlando (R) RF 9. Christian Colon (R) 3B
AL Central Detroit 19 11 Kansas City 18 11 Minnesota 17 13 Chi. White Sox 10 15 Cleveland 10 18 Tigers tied with the Yankees for 2nd best record in AL.
As Will pointed out, this is a key series this weekend between the Royals and Tigers. Something else to look at prior to this weekend series, both the Tigers and Royals went 3-4 (DET:2-2 @ KC and 1-2 @ CWS___KC:2-2 vs DET and 1-2 vs CLE). KC has a chance to pad their then lead in the division. Now the Tigers have an opportunity to pad their lead. Hopefully they make the most of it.
By Matthew B. Mowery, The Oakland Press DETROIT >> David Price left Friday?s game after slipping on a bat backing up home plate. The left-hander tried a few warm-up throws to test his out, but bent over in pain, and was removed from the game. ?I guess I stepped on the bat with my heel, then it rolled toward the front of my foot. Felt like it kind of hyperextended my leg a little bit,? Price said after the game. ?I don?t know. We?ll see tomorrow.? Manager Brad Ausmus said the injury was actually diagnosed as an issue with Price?s right hamstring, rather than the ankle, as it first appeared. ?I mean, any injury is concerning when you?re talking about the ace of your staff,? Ausmus said. ?But I think I?m less concerned now than I was when I was in the dugout, and he was upstairs getting treated. Now that I know what the diagnosis is.? Price was heading to back up a throw from center field after giving up three straight singles in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie. Home plate umpire Alan Porter moved Alex Gordon?s bat from near the plate to behind it, to get it out of the way of the throw, but Price slipped on it there, and immediately pulled up, bent over in pain near the Royals dugout. It was a completely new sensation for the pitcher. ?I mean, if you feel something go on in your body that you?ve never felt before, you?re going to be concerned about it,? Price said. ?I guess we?ll know a lot more tomorrow.?
