The Royals and Tigers were expected to be among the worst teams in American League this year. The Royals have lived up to that billing, but the Tigers have played surprisingly mediocre, with a 13-16 record going into this series. This will be the third series between these two teams already this year, and the Tigers are the only team the Royals don’t have a losing record against, having split the previous six games.
Game times and pitching matchups are as follows:
- Thursday, May 3 - 1:15 PM CDT - Mike Fiers versus Eric Skoglund (L)
- Friday, May 4 - 7:15 PM CDT - Francisco Liriano (L) versus Ian Kennedy
- Saturday, May 5 - 3:15 PM CDT - Jordan Zimmerman versus Jason Hammel
- Sunday, May 6 - 1:15 PM CDT - Matt Boyd (L) versus Jake Junis
Royals/Tigers pitching matchups
| Thursday | W-L | ERA | FIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | W-L | ERA | FIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | fWAR | rWAR |
| RHP Mike Fiers | 2-2 | 3. |