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Royals-Tigers Preview

Aug 25, 2010 - 3:45 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Kansas City (53-72) at Detroit (62-63), 1:05 p.m. EDT

The Detroit Tigers probably won't make the playoffs this season, but at least they'll have Johnny Damon in the lineup as they continue an unlikely push.

They'll also have plenty of momentum Wednesday afternoon as they try to complete a 6-0 homestand and an emphatic three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals.

Damon was claimed on waivers this week by Boston, but the veteran outfielder exercised a no-trade clause in his contract on Tuesday, choosing to remain with Detroit.

He was rewarded with an ovation in his first at-bat Tuesday night, and reached base three times in a 9-1 win.

"It's good for us. He stays here and we can play more together and see what happens. We can do a lot of things," teammate Miguel Cabrera said. "We can win more games, we can get more support in the lineup. If he stays here for some reason, it's because he likes it here, he believes in us. That's good."

The third-place Tigers (63-63) are nine games behind AL Central-leading Minnesota, but they've been doing their best to make up ground during this homestand, improving to 43-24 at Comerica Park with five straight victories over the bottom two teams in the division. Only one of the games was decided by fewer than six runs.

Detroit has outscored the Royals 21-4 while winning the first two games of this series. Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn have made the biggest impact for the Tigers, combining to go 10 for 15 with seven RBIs against Kansas City.

The pitching matchup for the finale may produce another lopsided affair.

Detroit's Armando Galarraga (4-5, 4.21 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.97 ERA in five career starts against the Royals. The right-hander was also sharp Friday night against Cleveland, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out eight in seven innings of a 6-0 victory.

It was his first start against the Indians since June 2, when he lost a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning on a blown call. Between those two stellar outings, Galarraga went 1-4 with a 5.12 ERA in 12 starts and was sent briefly to Triple-A Toledo.

"It has been a battle to find my mechanics, but now everything is coming together again," Galarraga said.

The Royals counter with Sean O'Sullivan (2-4, 5.14), scheduled for his first official start since he allowed three home runs in an 8-3 loss to the Yankees on Aug. 14.

The right-hander started and pitched one inning Friday against the White Sox before the game was rained out. O'Sullivan picked up a win in relief Sunday, but remains 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts since Kansas City acquired him from the Angels last month.

O'Sullivan's first inning may be especially important. Detroit has scored at least one run in the first inning of six consecutive games, the club's longest such streak since a seven-game run May 14-22, 1984.

The Royals (53-73) have lost six straight and 15 of 18 on the road, although they haven't suffered a three-game sweep at Detroit since July 23-25, 2002.