Final
Tigers-Royals Preview
Sep 8, 2009 - 1:16 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS WriterDetroit (75-61) at Kansas City (51-85), 8:10 p.m. EDT
The Detroit Tigers' timely six-game winning streak has helped them put a stranglehold on the AL Central, and with three games this week in Kansas City, their lead could get even bigger.
Standout rookie Rick Porcello will take the ball as the club looks to equal its longest winning streak of the season in Tuesday's opener against the woeful Royals.
Minnesota's win Monday trimmed the idle Tigers' division lead to 6 1/2 games, but Detroit is feeling confident after a three-game road sweep of Tampa Bay over the weekend.
The Tigers (75-61) won Sunday's finale in dramatic fashion, with Brandon Inge's ninth-inning grand slam erasing a two-run deficit in a 5-3 victory. The team's last five victories have had a margin of two or fewer runs.
"That's just the kind of ball we've been playing the past few series," right-hander Edwin Jackson told the Tigers' official Web site. "Hopefully it's just a testament to how September is going to play out. Right now, everybody's having fun, everybody's loose, and we're out there like little kids again."
Detroit won seven straight games from May 15-22 and again from June 18-25, and they should have a good chance to match those streaks based on Tuesday's pitching matchup.
Porcello (12-8, 4.18 ERA) will be looking for his third straight win, and he can become the first rookie to win 13 games. The 20-year-old turned in seven-plus strong innings in a 4-2 win over Cleveland on Wednesday, allowing two runs and five hits without a walk.
"You look at him, and you realize he was striking out high-school kids two years ago," Tigers catcher Gerald Laird said. "He just gets better and better every time he pitches."
The right-hander has split two starts at Kauffman Stadium this year, winning the most recent one May 27 after giving up two runs in six innings of a 8-3 victory.
He figures to have the advantage against Bruce Chen, who will be making his first start since Aug. 6. That night, Chen (1-6, 5.24) tossed 6 2-3 innings in an 8-2 win over Seattle to earn his first victory since 2005.
"It feels forever, very long," Chen said. "Every time I was out there, people kept reminding me, last win in October 2005. Now they have to say it was Aug. 6, 2009. Let's start a new streak now."
The left-hander has been pitching out of the bullpen since then, but he'll start in place of the injured Brian Bannister. In his previous start against the Tigers on July 7, he allowed seven runs in 4 2/3 innings of an 8-5 loss.
The defeats have been frequent for the AL-worst Royals (52-85) lately, as they've dropped 13 of 18. But after scoring four total runs in the first three games of their series against the Los Angeles Angels, they won 6-3 on Monday to avoid a sweep.
"You don't want to be swept by anybody, so, yeah, there's significance," manager Trey Hillman said.
The Royals haven't won back-to-back games since July 27-28 at Baltimore, and they are 5-20 at home since the All-Star break.
The Tigers are 4-2 at Kauffman Stadium this year and 8-4 against the Royals overall.
- Royals 7, Tigers 5 - FINAL
DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Raburn cf-lf 4 2 3 1 0 1 0 .280
vc-C Guillen ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .244
P Polanco 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .279
M Ordonez rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .284
C Thomas rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .244
M Cabrera 1b 3 1 2 0 2 0 0 .338
M Thames
Sep 8 11:04 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY DAVID DEJESUS SCORED YUNIESKY BETANCOURT
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, W BLOOMQUIST ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 5
KANSAS CITY 7 BOTTOM,8TH
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M MAIER (.248, 1-FOR-3, HBP, RBI)
Tigers 5, Royals 7 Bot 8, 0 OutsSep 8 10:52 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MIKE JACOBS SCORED MITCH MAIER
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, M JACOBS ON FIRST, B BUTLER ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 5
KANSAS CITY 6 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: A CALLASPO (.297, 1-FOR-3)
Tigers 5, Royals 6 Bot 7, 0 OutsSep 8 10:23 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BILLY BUTLER SCORED DAVID DEJESUS
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B BUTLER ON FIRST, M MAIER ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 5
KANSAS CITY 5 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M JACOBS (.235, 1-FOR-2, BB)
Tigers 5, Royals 5 Bot 7, 0 OutsSep 8 10:21 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY BILLY BUTLER SCORED MITCH MAIER
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 5
KANSAS CITY 4 BOTTOM,5TH
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M JACOBS (.235, 1-FOR-1, BB)
Tigers 5, Royals 4 Bot 5, 0 OutsSep 8 9:42 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY AUBREY HUFF SCORED MIGUEL CABRERA AND RYAN RABURN
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, A HUFF ON FIRST, C GRANDERSON ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 5
KANSAS CITY 2 TOP,5TH
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: B INGE (.232, 0-FOR-2)
Tigers 5, Royals 2 Top 5, 0 OutsSep 8 9:31 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY MARCUS THAMES SCORED PLACIDO POLANCO
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, M CABRERA ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 3
KANSAS CITY 2 TOP,3RD
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: A HUFF (.243, 0-FOR-1)
Tigers 3, Royals 2 Top 3, 0 OutsSep 8 8:55 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY RYAN RABURN (11) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN THE
3RD OFF BRUCE CHEN.
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 2, KANSAS CITY 2
DUE UP FOR DETROIT: P POLANCO (.277, 0-FOR-1)
Tigers 2, Royals 2 Top 3, 0 OutsSep 8 8:47 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY YUNIESKY BETANCOURT SCORED ALBERTO CALLASPO
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, B PENA ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 1
KANSAS CITY 2 BOTTOM,2ND
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: J ANDERSON (.245, 0 HR, 20 RBI)
Tigers 1, Royals 2 Bot 2, 0 OutsSep 8 8:42 PM - AL
AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY BRAYAN PENA SCORED MIKE JACOBS
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B PENA ON SECOND, A CALLASPO ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 1
KANSAS CITY 1 BOTTOM,2ND
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: Y BETANCOURT (.235, 5 HR, 37 RBI)
Tigers 1, Royals 1 Bot 2, 0 OutsSep 8 8:39 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 1 1 3 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: DET - RICK PORCELLO
KAN - BRUCE CHEN
DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: D DEJESUS (.276, 12 HR, 65 RBI)
M MAIER (.247, 3 HR, 22 RBI)
B BUTLER (.299, 17 HR, 72 RBI)
Tigers 1, Royals 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsSep 8 8:18 PM
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