The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers only know about playing close games against each other this season.
After the Royals earned a comeback, walk-off win in the opener of a three-game series on Friday, they will look to hand the visiting Tigers a fifth consecutive defeat Saturday night.
When these American League Central foes met in mid-April at Detroit, the Tigers won back-to-back 2-1 games to open the set, then posted a wild 10-9 victory for the series sweep.
On Friday, the Royals trailed 3-1 but scored twice in the eighth inning to tie the score. Kyle Isbel’s second RBI of the night — a two-out single with a runner on second in the ninth — produced a 4-3 victory for the hosts.
Kansas City is 11-5 since losing eight games in a row.
“Everyone’s locked in, getting their work done. It’s an exciting group,” Isbel, batting .342 in his past 13 games, told Royals.TV. “We’re out there playing hard every single night.”
Saturday’s scheduled Royals starter, Michael Wacha (3-2, 3.05 ERA), allowed 10 runs over 10 1/3 innings of his previous two starts before giving up only a second-inning, two-run homer, and three other hits with a walk over seven in a 6-2 home win against Cleveland on Monday.
“You get ahead (in the count), good things usually happen,” said Wacha, who threw 54 of his 79 pitches for strikes against the Guardians. “Throw that next strike and get back in the zone.”
The right-hander, who will turn 35 in July, is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in three home starts vs. Detroit since joining the Royals in 2024. He is 2-3 with a 3.32 ERA overall in 10 starts against the Tigers.
Detroit has only 10 runs during its current four-game losing streak. On Friday, the Tigers stranded nine and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
“We didn’t finish the game,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “You want to keep giving yourself as many opportunities as you can.”
Despite the Tigers’ recent offensive struggles, Riley Greene had three hits Friday and is batting .423 in seven games this month. He’s hitting .301 in 26 games at Kansas City but just 2-for-11 vs. Wacha since the start of last season.
Hinch announced that Burch Smith (0-1, 1.59 ERA) will serve as the probable opener Saturday for the Tigers, but Ty Madden is slated to get a bulk of the workload. Madden, who made his first six career appearances and one start for Detroit in 2024, missed all of 2025 with a shoulder injury.
The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Toledo earlier this week after superstar ace Tarik Skubal was placed on the injured list with an elbow issue that’s slated to keep him out up roughly six to eight weeks.
On Monday against Boston, Madden made his return to the majors by throwing five scoreless innings, after Tyler Holton served as a one-inning opener, and allowed four hits without a walk, while striking out seven, during his team’s 5-4 defeat.
“It just feels good, all the hard work to get back here,” said Madden, who has never faced Kansas City.”It’s nice to be back out there.”
–Field Level Media
