A pair of American League Central division rivals will kick off a three-game set on Friday night. The Kansas City Royals (18-10) will travel up north to face the Detroit Tigers (18-11) at Comerica Park tonight at 7:08 p.m. ET in a battle between the teams' aces.
The Royals will send out Yordano Ventura (2-2 with a 4.94 ERA) to face David Price (3-1 with a 2.93 ERA) in the series opener. The 23-year-old Ventura has already been ejected twice this year for incidents against the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox. His 4.94 ERA is perhaps not indicative of what he's capable of, especially since that number is inflated because of two poor starts out of five.
On the other hand, Price was off to the best start of his career before running into the New York Yankees on Apr. 22. The Bronx Bombers tattooed the left-hander for eight earned runs on 10 hits and three walks in just 2 1/3 innings in his only loss of the season. However, Price is said to be seeking a $200 million contract once he hits free agency after this season, so he's determined to continue his dominance.
The 29-year-old Price has faced the Royals five times in his career (four starts) and owns a 2-0 record with a 1.16 ERA, 0.645 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 31 innings of work. He completely shut down Kansas City last weekend after tossing a complete game during which he gave up only one earned run on five hits.
Ventura has faced the Tigers only twice in his career, once in a start and once in relief. He's 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.269 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings and hopes to continue such success tonight after surrendering five earned runs on six hits and four walks against the Cleveland Indians on Apr. 29. He'll make his first start as he returns to action following his seven-game suspension for his involvement in the benches clearing brawl against the Chicago White Sox in April.
These two clubs split a four-game series last week and the battle for first place in the division will continue over the weekend. Kansas City leads Detroit by a ½ game for the AL Central lead thanks to an unprecedented offensive awakening in 2015. The Royals rank third in the MLB in runs scored (143), but Detroit is not far behind in ninth place (129). Kansas City also leads the league in batting average (.290) and the Tigers are third (.275).
Tonight's matchup is a must-watch, provided it's an intriguing pitching matchup as each starter will face a top offense.
You can check out the live stream for the game here as well as the live radio broadcast here (if you're a Tigers fan) or here (if you're a Royals fan).
