KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
DOMINANT IN DETROIT: The Royals survived a 1-0 win over the Tigers last night to even this series, marking their 4th shutout victory of the season, 3 of which have come in their last 19 games…Daniel Lynch dominated the Tigers over 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit on 78 pitches to earn his 1st win since last Aug. 1 in Chicago, snapping a 15-start drought…the lone hit was a 1-out single by Andy Ibañez in the 4th, after which he retired 10 of 11 through the 7th…Aroldis Chapman walked the bases loaded in the 8th but escaped the inning with the lead, and Scott Barlow worked around a 1-out double by Javier Báez to secure his 8th save.
Maikel Garcia had 3 of Kansas City’s 6 hits and scored the game’s only run on Matt Beaty’s RBI double in the 6th, Beaty’s 1st RBI as a Royal…it was Garcia’s 4th 3-hit effort of the season and 2nd in 3 games, a stretch in which he’s scored 4 runs and has raised his season batting average 28 points, from .254 to .282.
Last night marked Kansas City’s 1st road win since May 29 in St. Louis, snapping an 8-game losing streak.
PITCHING IN: Royals starting pitchers have completed at least 5.0 innings in each of their last 8 games since the start of the last homestand, including quality starts in each of the 1st 2 games this week in Detroit…Jordan Lyles, who allowed 3 runs in 6.0 innings on Monday night, and Daniel Lynch, who held the Tigers to 1 hit over 7.0 scoreless innings last night, ended a drought in which the Royals had just 1 quality start in their previous 28 games…Lyles and Lynch are the first duo of Royals starters to record quality starts in consecutive games since last Sept. 27-28—also in Detroit—when Zack Greinke and Lynch turned the trick…Brady Singer will attempt to make this 3 straight quality starts today, something the Royals haven’t done since last Sept. 5-7 vs. Cleveland.
Lynch last night became the first Royal to complete 7.0 scoreless innings on 78 pitches or fewer since Bob Milacki needed only 73 pitches to complete 7.0 scoreless frames on June 18, 1994, almost 29 years ago to the day…last night marked the first time a Royals lefty allowed no more than 1 hit over 7.0 scoreless innings since Aug. 1, 2016, when Danny Duffy set a club record with 16 strikeouts in 8.0 innings at Tampa Bay.
Last night was Kansas City’s 71st 1-0 win in franchise history and 1st since their 1-0, walk-off win on April 9, 2022 vs. Cleveland…last night was Kansas City’s 2nd 2-hit shutout this season—following May 29 in St. Louis—tied for the 2nd most in the Majors in 2023, trailing only the Cubs, who’ve done it four times.
SERIES SPEAKING: After splitting the 1st 2 games of this series, the Royals will play their 7th rubber game of the season today in Detroit…they are 1-5 in their previous 6 series-deciding games, including a loss to these Tigers on May 24 at Kauffman Stadium…that loss was the Royals 1st in a series-deciding game vs. the Tigers since 2019, snapping a 5-game win streak…a win today would mark the Royals first series victory over Detroit since last Sept. 2-4 here at Comerica Park, and would snap a run of three losing series to the Tigers since.
RAYS UP: Following today’s finale in Detroit, the Royals will fly south to St. Petersburg to begin a 4-game series tomorrow night with the Rays, who own the best record in the Majors at 51-25 (.671)…this will mark a homecoming of sorts for Royals first-year Manager Matt Quatraro, who spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the Rays organization, including the last five seasons from 2018-22 on Kevin Cash’s staff.
They will be seeking their first series win at Tropicana Field since 2017, as they’re 3-11 in four sets since.
LEADS LOST: The Royals blew a 4-0 lead in Monday night’s 6-4 defeat in Detroit to mark their 26th blown lead loss of the year, most in the Majors ahead of the Cardinals (24), Athletics (24) and White Sox (23)…the Royals have held a lead in 31 of their last 44 games (70.5%) since the start of May, but they’re 13-31 during that stretch with 18 blown lead losses, including 8 blown lead losses in 17 games this month, in which they’re 3-14.
The Royals 26 blown lead losses are nearly three-fourths of the way to matching their 36 from last season.
The Royals are 5-20 when scoring in the 1st inning with 10 consecutive losses—including such defeats in 3 of their last 9 games—and have not won when scoring in the 1st frame since May 10 vs. the White Sox.
On the flip side, Kansas City’s 7 comeback wins are the fewest in the Majors, 3 fewer than the next-closest team, the Cardinals (10), and 18 fewer than the Angels, Orioles and Reds, who lead with 25 comebacks.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Today’s 1:10 p.m. ET start marks the 1st of 3 day games on this 7-game trip, including a pair of matinees this weekend in St. Petersburg…today marks Kansas City’s 32nd day game of the season and the 38th for the Tigers, who lead the Majors in that category…the Royals are scheduled for 64 day games this season, which would match 2021 for their 2nd most in a single season, trailing only the 2022 Royals (69).
The Royals are 10-21 in day games, but are 7-8 in their last 15 matinees after starting the season 3-13.
NO-HIT WONDER: Royals rookie Austin Cox pitched a scoreless 7th inning on Sunday vs. the top of the Angels lineup, and has now faced 28 batters without allowing a hit over 5 scoreless outings (8.2 IP) to begin his Major League career…that includes 4 plate appearances vs. Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout over the weekend, who combined to go 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts against Cox…he’s retired 25 of his 28 batters, allowing just 3 walks, and the 28 batters faced without allowing a hit is the 5th-longest streak to begin a career in the Expansion Era (since 1961), according to Elias…it’s four batters shy of matching the longest such streak, shared by Mark Rogers and Joel McKeon, who each faced 32 batters before allowing a hit in 2010 and 1986, respectively.
TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP BRADY SINGER (4-6, 6.33)
BRADY SINGER is making his 15th start of the season and 78th of his career today vs. Detroit…it’s his 12th start vs. the Tigers and 2nd this season…Singer is in his fourth season in the Majors and was selected by Kansas City in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida.
THE LAST TIME: Singer suffered his 6th loss of the season in Kansas City’s 3-0 defeat vs. the Angels last Friday night at Kauffman Stadium, in which he allowed 2 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 5.1 innings with 5 strikeouts…only two of the 10 baserunners he surrendered scored, both on RBI hits by Brandon Drury in the 1st and 6th innings…Singer escaped a two-on, 1-out jam in the 1st with a strike-’emout, throw-’em-out double play, and benefited from another caught stealing in the 3rd that helped him escape a two-on, no-out jam…he stranded a 2-out hit in the 4th and 5th, but allowed 3 hits to four batters in the 6th before exiting in favor of Carlos Hernández who retired consecutive batters to strand runners at the corners.
I’M STILL STANDING: Following a breakout season in 2022, Brady has struggled through ups and downs this year, as he’s been charged with 4 earned runs in 7 of his 14 starts, something that happened in only 5 of his 24 starts last season…the Royals, predictably, are 1-6 in games that he allows at least 4 earned runs…but on the flip side, he’s held opponents to 2 earned runs or fewer in the other half of his 14 starts, in which the Royals are 5-2…after going 2-4 with an 8.82 ERA (33 ER in 33.2 IP) and 7 HR allowed in his 1st 7 starts, he’s 2-2 with a 4.00 ERA (16 ER In 36.0 IP) with only 2 homers allowed in his last 7 starts…the Royals are 6-8 in his 14 starts overall.
WALK THIS WAY: Brady has recorded at least 5.0 innings without issuing a walk in 13 of his 38 starts since last season—including 4 such starts this year—matching Kevin Gausman, Aaron Nola and Jameson Taillon for the 2nd-most such starts in the Majors during that time, trailing only Corey Kluber (15)…but on the flip side, Singer has issued multiple walks in 9 of his 14 starts this season, 1 more than his total of multi-walk starts from all of last season, when he made 24 starts…he’s walked 28 batters in 69.2 innings this year for a 3.62 BB/9, up from his 2.05 BB/9 last season.
CALL ME MAYBE: In 38 starts since his recall on May 17 of last season, Brady has induced a called strike on 716 of 3,607 pitches (19.9%), 4th most in the Majors behind Logan Webb (752), Gerrit Cole (743) and Aaron Nola (728)…his rate of 19.9% called strikes since May 17, 2022 leads the Majors (min. 3,000 pitches), ahead of Sonny Gray and Rich Hill (17.6%), and since his 2020 debut season, Singer’s called-strike rate of 20.7% ranks 2nd in the Majors (min. 5,000 pitches), trailing Adam Wainwright (20.9%).
CAN’T TOUCH THIS: Singer has recorded 407 strikeouts in 415.2 innings since his 2020 debut for an 8.8 K/9, which is the best rate in Royals history among pitchers
who’ve started at least 70 games, ahead of Ian Kennedy (8.4), Jakob Junis (8.1) and Danny Duffy (8.1)…his 407 strikeouts are the most by a Royal through 80 career appearances, 1 more than Jakob Junis’ 406…to keep his lead through 81 career outings, he needs 2 strikeouts today to pass Junis (408) and 3 to pass Steve Busby (409).
EYE OF THE TIGER: In 11 starts vs. the Tigers—which are his most vs. any opponent— Singer is 6-0 with a 3.05 ERA (20 ER in 59.0 IP), and has held the Tigers to 2 runs or fewer in 8 of those 11 starts…he’s one of five pitchers all-time with at least 6 wins and no losses in at least 10 career starts vs. the Tigers, along with Joe Coleman (9-0), Aaron Civale (7-0), the late Yordano Ventura (7-0) and Pedro Martínez (6-0).
The Royals have won 8 of Singer’s 11 starts vs. the Tigers, including all 3 starts last season, in which he went 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA (3 ER in 17.2 IP) and 21 strikeouts…but in his most recent start vs. the Tigers last month at Kauffman Stadium, Brady allowed 5 runs on 7 hits in 3.2 innings en route to an 8-5 loss.
In 5 starts at Comerica Park, Singer is 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA (9 ER in 26.0 IP).
Singer’s 6 wins vs. Detroit account for more than 26% of his 23 career wins.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Singer is 2-2 with a 7.20 ERA (20 ER in 25.0 IP) in 5 road starts this season, including wins on April 25 in Arizona and May 16 in San Diego, and losses on April 30 in Minnesota and June 10 in Baltimore…he did not factor into the decision of Kansas City’s 6-5 comeback win on April 8 in San Francisco… Singer’s road ERA so far this year is more than 3 runs higher than the 3.99 ERA (26 ER in 58.2 IP) he recorded in 12 appearances (10 starts) on the road last season.
DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:
TIGERS SHUT OUT BY ROYALS: The Tigers were blanked by the Royals, 1-0, on Tuesday. Michael Lorenzen started for Detroit and turned in a solid outing, giving up one run on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Chasen Shreve and José Cisnero combined for 3.0 hitless innings in relief. Offensively, Javier Báez had a double, while Andy Ibáñez went 1×4.
JAVY NEARING 1,000 HITS: Javier Báez went 1×4 with a double in last night’s game, recording the 999th hit of his Major League career. Báez has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games, over which he is slashing .296/.304/.519 with two doubles, two triples, two home runs and eight RBI.
BULLPEN BITS: José Cisnero pitched 1.2 perfect innings in relief last night, striking out two. Cisnero has not allowed a run in 19 of his last 23 outings, posting a 1.25 ERA (21.2IP/3ER) dating back to April 24…Chasen Shreve walked one and struck out one in 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen last night. Shreve has not given up a run in 15 of his last 18 appearances, compiling a 1.53 ERA (17.2IP/3ER) in that span.
TIGERS AND ROYALS: The Tigers and Royals conclude their second series of the season this afternoon. The two teams will next meet for a four-game series from July 17-20 at Kauffman Stadium. Detroit has won three of the first five meetings against Kansas City this season. The Tigers went 10-9 against the Royals last season, including a 5-4 record at Comerica Park.
AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: The Tigers continue divisional play today against the Royals. Detroit is 13-9 against American League Central teams so far this season, going 3-4 vs. Chicago (AL), 4-2 vs. Cleveland, 3-2 vs. Kansas City and 3-1 vs. Minnesota.
AT COMERICA PARK: The Tigers are 1-1 on their current six-game homestand, which includes three games vs. Kansas City (1-1) and three games vs. Minnesota (June 23-25). Detroit is 16- 19 at Comerica Park this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .242/.317/.390 at home, while the pitching staff has a 4.68 ERA (321.0IP/167ER).
ON DECK: After an off day tomorrow, the Tigers continue their homestand on Friday as they welcome in the Twins for a three-game weekend series. The two teams met last weekend in Minneapolis with Detroit taking two-of-three games. The Tigers went 8-11 against the Twins last season, including a 6-4 record at Comerica Park.
INJURY REHAB UPDATES: Beau Brieske continued his injury rehab assignment with Triple A Toledo last night, tossing 1.2 hitless innings with a walk out of the bullpen…Trey Wingenter made an injury rehab appearance with the Mud Hens last night, allowing a hit and striking out one in 1.0 inning.
TIGERS ON THE IL:
- OF Akil Baddoo (right quad strain, 10-day IL on June 10)
- RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 60-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
- RHP Alex Faedo (right middle finger discomfort, 15-day IL on June 3, retroactive to May 31)
- OF Riley Greene (left fibula stress reaction, 10-day IL on May 31)
- RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 60-day IL on April 12)
- OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
- RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
- RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
- LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (left index finger pulley rupture, 15-day IL on May 30, retroactive to May 29)
- LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)
- RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 60-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)
- RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 60-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)
TODAY’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER – #48 Matthew Boyd • 4-5, 5.60 ERA (64.1IP/40ER)
- Boyd will make his 14th start of the season today in the series finale vs. Kansas City.
- Picked up his fourth win of the season on Thursday at Minnesota, giving up four runs on seven hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
- Has made 28 appearances, including 27 starts, in his career against the Royals, compiling a 7-11 record with a 5.32 ERA (135.1IP/80ER) and 109 strikeouts…faced the Royals on May 24 and received a no decision, giving up a run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in 4.2 innings…in 78 career appearances, ncluding 75 starts, at Comerica Park, Boyd has a 22-29 record with a 4.37 ERA (418.1IP/203ER) and 362 strikeouts.
- Struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed one run on three hits with no walks in 5.0 innings on June 4 at Chicago (AL).
- Is in his second stint with the Tigers…was with the organization from 2015-21, appearing in 147 games, including 143 starts, and compiling a 37-60 record with a 4.87 ERA (777.2IP/421ER) and 752 strikeouts.
