Turnbull gets the start for Tigers in series opener against Royals

Detroit Tigers (24-38, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (20-45, fifth in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Kansas; Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Spencer Turnbull (3-5, 3.01 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 68 strikeouts) Royals: Jakob Junis (4-6, 5.63 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 66 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City hosts Detroit to begin a three game series.

The Royals are 8-15 against AL Central opponents. The Kansas City pitching staff owns a team ERA of 5.22, Brad Keller leads the staff with a mark of 4.29.

The Tigers have gone 11-12 against division opponents. Detroit has a collective on-base percentage of .293, last in the American League. Miguel Cabrera leads the team with a mark of .359. This is the first game between these teams in 2019.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 32 extra base hits and is batting .241. Whit Merrifield has 12 hits and is batting .286 over the last 10 games for Kansas City.

Nicholas Castellanos leads the Tigers with 28 extra base hits and is batting .260. Niko Goodrum is 15-for-43 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games for Detroit.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 2-8, .231 batting average, 5.07 ERA, outscored by 28 runs

Tigers: 4-6, .274 batting average, 5.01 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Danny Duffy: day-to-day (leg), Lucas Duda: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Hunter Dozier: 10-day IL (chest), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).

Tigers Injuries: Jordan Zimmermann: 10-day IL (elbow), Tyson Ross: 10-day IL (nerve), Matt Moore: 60-day IL (knee), Michael Fulmer: 60-day IL (elbow), Jordy Mercer: 10-day IL (quad), Josh Harrison: 60-day IL (hamstring), Jeimer Candelario: 10-day IL (shoulder).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.