Fresh off what ended up as a one-game road trip, the Kansas City Royals will be back home Thursday to begin a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers.
The Royals are looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
While the Royals’ finale of a two-game series set for Wednesday in St. Louis was rained out, the Tigers finished their season-opening six-game homestand with a second straight loss to Boston. Detroit lost two of three to the White Sox and the Red Sox.
After the Tigers scored a run in the first, the Red Sox scored one in the third and sixth in the fourth. They built their lead to 9-2 before the Tigers countered with two in the seventh and three in the eighth before going in order in the ninth.
The Tigers will send right-hander Casey Mize (0-1, 7.20 ERA) to the mound Thursday for his second start of the season. Against the White Sox, Mize allowed four runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. He pitched into the sixth inning but did not record an out, getting pulled after allowing a two-run homer.
“He’s a really good pitcher,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said of Mize. “He’s going to be frustrated because of the way the outing ended. After the first couple of runs, he kept us right in there. We just didn’t do enough to win the game, and they did. That had nothing to do with Casey.”
Mize was the first overall selection in the 2018 draft. He made his debut in 2020, going 0-3 with a 6.99 ERA. Last season, he seemed to find his stuff, going 7-9 with a 3.71 ERA. Against the Royals, he’s 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA in six career starts.
The Royals have not announced a starter, but it’s likely to be Zack Greinke. He was scheduled to start Wednesday’s game before the rainout.
Greinke, who won the 2009 Cy Young Award during his seven-year stint in Kansas City to open his career, said he picked the Royals as his latest landing spot because he saw promise with their young roster.
“This was a team I singled out that I wanted to play for,” Greinke said. “It was my No. 1 choice.”
Greinke has faced the Tigers 30 times in his career, third most against any opponent, with 27 of them as a starter, tied for second most. He has a 13-8 record and a 2.94 ERA against them, with two complete games.
Eating innings would certainly help the Royals bullpen, which has an ERA of 8.00 in the last three games, even with three scoreless innings Tuesday.
Greinke was the Opening Day starter for Kansas City, and he was everything the club hoped for after signing him to a one-year contract in the offseason. He allowed one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
“Good crowd, a lot of energy, the weather was nasty,” the typically understated Greinke said in his postgame interview. “The weather was a mess, both teams had to deal with it, and it was just tough conditions. I thought we played a great game defensively and pitched pretty good.”
–Field Level Media