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Royals, Tigers square off at Comerica Park

Apr 8, 2011 - 2:57 PM (Sports Network) - The first week of the 2011 season was a good one for the Kansas City Royals, but the second one could be a bit tougher.

The Royals begin a challenging five-game road trip with this afternoon's matchup against the Detroit Tigers, who'll be aiming to continue their 2010 success at Comerica Park in the team's first home game of this young season.

Kansas City, which has recorded only one above-.500 campaign since 1995, won four of six games on its season-opening homestand, with all four of those victories coming in the club's last at-bat. The Royals presently sit atop the American League Central standings at the moment, sharing that spot with both the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland.

The Royals couldn't maintain the magic in their last outing, however, as the team's four-game win streak came to an end with a 10-7, 12-inning loss to the White Sox on Wednesday.

Kansas City took a 6-3 lead into the ninth inning of that contest, but Chicago rallied for four runs off usually-reliable closer Joakim Soria to move in front. The Royals would answer in their half of the frame, though, when Kila Ka'aihue doubled home pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson with one out to tie the score.

The game remained deadlocked until the White Sox scored three times off Sean O'Sullivan in the top of the 12th.

The Royals were playing in their third consecutive extra-inning affair, having defeated the Angels in 13 frames on Sunday and edging Chicago in 12 innings in Tuesday's opener of that two-game set.

Kansas City now tries to continue its early success away from home, a place where the Royals struggled in compiling 29-52 road record a year ago. Following this series, the team heads to Minneapolis' Target Field for a pair of bouts against defending AL Central champion Minnesota.

Conversely, the Tigers were one of the majors' best home teams in 2010, with Jim Leyland's squad amassing an excellent 52-29 mark at Comerica Park. Detroit had its struggles on the road last season, however, and those problems continued in the team's initial trek of this season.

After dropping two of three games to the New York Yankees to begin the year, the Tigers were dealt defeats in two of their three encounters with upstart Baltimore earlier in the week. The Orioles scored five times in the bottom of the seventh inning in Thursday's rubber match to claim a 9-5 victory.

Relievers Brad Thomas and Enrique Gonzalez combined to allow all five Baltimore runs in the seventh while registering just two outs, with Thomas taking the loss after failing to retire either of the two batters he faced.

Detroit threatened in the top of the eighth, putting two men on with one out, but Orioles reliever Jim Johnson escaped out of the jam.

"We just couldn't get that timely hit when we needed it," said Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson, who finished 2-for-5 and briefly gave his team a 5-4 lead with an RBI double in the top of the seventh.

Detroit will attempt to rebound today behind Max Scherzer, a pitcher who usually shined when on the Comerica Park mound last season. The young right- hander amassed an 8-4 record and a 2.99 earned run average over 15 home starts in 2010.

Scherzer wasn't nearly as sharp in his 2011 debut, as he was tagged for four homers and a total of six runs in a five-inning stint against the Yankees on Sunday. He still wound up as the winning pitcher in Detroit's 10-7 verdict, however, thanks to a wealth of offensive support from his teammates.

The 26-year-old has made five career starts against the Royals and owns a 2-2 record with a 2.73 ERA over those games.

Kansas City hands the ball today to the inconsistent Kyle Davies, who'll also be out to better a shaky first showing of the season. The right-hander lasted only 5 1/3 innings against the Angels this past Saturday and was touched for four runs on seven hits, receiving a no-decision in an eventual 5-4 Royals' win.

Davies hasn't usually fared well when taking on the Tigers over his career, having produced just a 3-8 record and a 5.50 ERA in 12 starts against today's foe. In six previous Comerica Park appearances, he's 2-3 with a 5.35 ERA.

The Tigers won 10 of 18 meetings with Kansas City last season, including five of the nine matchups held in the Motor City.