GDT147: 9/13/13 - DET (84-62) VS KC (77-69) - 7:08 p.m. ET

Tigers: RHP Justin Verlander (12-11, 3.64 ERA)

Verlander took a loss at Kansas City last Saturday, logging seven innings and allowing eight hits and four runs. Verlander, now 0-3 this season against the Royals, was beaten by a Salvador Perez two-run homer in the sixth.



Royals: LHP Bruce Chen (7-2, 2.79 ERA)

Chen only gave up a two-run homer to the Tigers on Sunday, giving up on five hits with no walks in seven innings. He's allowed a home run in each of his past three starts, but has held opponents to two runs or fewer.





Royals ready to test mettle against Tigers
Plenty on line for AL Central rivals as Chen, Verlander square off

By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | 9/12/2013 12:35 AM ET

For the second time in less than a week, the Royals and Tigers will meet for a three-game series. The time passed since that meeting hasn't lessened what's at stake.

Kansas City took two of three from American League Central-leading Detroit then, and after taking two of three from Cleveland, the Royals sit right in the thick of the postseason race. But they'll have their hands full on Friday night, as the Tigers will have Justin Verlander on the hill.

But the perfect answer could be veteran lefty Bruce Chen, who's coming off working seven innings of two-run ball against the Tigers. He's allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last three starts and has two straight quality starts.

"After the last game I pitched against Detroit, we went in and we had a game plan," Chen said. "I think [pitching coach] Dave Eiland really recognized things that we could do today, things that we did a little bit different. I have to face them again, so I am just going to try to keep everything the same and change my speeds and different arm angles."

One of the big focuses was shutting down Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, who went a combined 0-for-6 against Chen.

"They are probably the two best players in the big leagues," Chen said. "Their whole lineup revolves around them. The guys in front of them get on base, and they become more dangerous. I think we did a really good job of changing speeds and making sure that they were not comfortable in the box."

One can excuse Royals hitters if they end up feeling the same.

Verlander owns a 15-5 career mark against Kansas City, though he has yet to pick up a win against the Royals in five games this season. He allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts.

Royals: Skipping Duffy in the rotation
The Royals on Thursday get their first off-day in over three weeks. They've decided to use the break to revamp their rotation going into the final 16 games of the season.

Danny Duffy, who was scheduled to start on Friday in Detroit, will be skipped in favor of Chen. Right-handers Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie will finish out the weekend series.

Duffy's started five games since returning from Tommy John surgery last May, so resting him was also a priority.

"You're always planning," manager Ned Yost said. "It moves everybody up now, but it moves everybody up at the end, too, which allows us to have [ace] James Shields available for a playoff game -- another reason we did it, too. It benefits Duffy and just solidifies the rotation going through the last two and a half weeks of the season."

Tigers: Downs gets surprise call
Darin Downs enjoyed a relaxing Monday back home in Florida when he received a call from the Tigers.

Though he's been on the 40-man roster all season, he wasn't called up when the rosters expanded on Sept. 1, nor when Triple-A Toledo's season ended.

"They just thought it might be good to have another lefty," manager Jim Leyland said.

Since Aug. 1, Downs has allowed just one earned run on seven hits over 13 1/3 innings.

Worth noting
• Royals closer Greg Holland is 6-for-6 in save opportunities against the Tigers this season, yielding no earned runs in eight innings. He's held hitters to a .083 batting average in those games.

• Cabrera is hitting .405 (15-for-37) with three doubles, five home runs and 11 RBIs against Chen.

AJ Cassavell is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.





INJURY UPDATE:


• RHP Octavio Dotel (Right elbow inflammation, transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list on June 8, 2013.)





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• THU, Sep 12:
OFF DAY

• FRI, Sep 13:
TIGERS: (RHP Justin Verlander (12-11, 3.64 ERA)) VS
ROYALS (LHP Bruce Chen (7-2, 2.79 ERA))
7:08  p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)


• SAT, Sep 14:
TIGERS: (RHP Doug Fister (12-8, 3.77 ERA)) VS
ROYALS (RHP Ervin Santana (8-9, 3.35 ERA))
7:08  p.m. ET (FS-D, MLBN / FM 97.1)


• SUN, Sep 15:
TIGERS: (RHP Max Scherzer (19-3, 3.01 ERA)) VS
ROYALS (RHP Jeremy Guthrie (14-10, 4.11 ERA))
1:08  p.m. ET (FS-D, TBS / WXYT 1270)


• MON, Sep 16:
TIGERS: (RHP Rick Porcello (12-8, 4.56 ERA)) VS
MARINERS (?HP TBA (TBA ERA))
7:08  p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)

STARTING LINEUPS:

Kansas City
Gordon, A, LF
Bonifacio, 2B
Hosmer, 1B
Butler, B, DH
Perez, S, C
Moustakas, 3B
Lough, RF
Escobar, A, SS
Dyson, J, CF


Detroit
Jackson, A, CF
Hunter, To, RF
Cabrera, M, 3B
Fielder, 1B
Martinez, V, DH
Dirks, LF
Infante, 2B
Avila, C
Iglesias, SS

Kansas City - Top of 1st
Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit
A Gordon flied out to left.
E Bonifacio flied out to left.
E Hosmer flied out to left.


Detroit - Bottom of 1st
Bruce Chen pitching for Kansas City
A Jackson doubled to deep left, A Jackson to third on error by left fielder A Gordon.
T Hunter grounded out to shortstop, A Jackson scored.
DET 1 - 0

M Cabrera grounded out to third.
P Fielder struck out swinging.

DET 1 - 0 AFTER 1 INNING

Kansas City - Top of 2nd
Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit
B Butler singled to left.
S Perez struck out swinging.
M Moustakas popped out to third.
D Lough grounded out to second.


Detroit - Bottom of 2nd
Bruce Chen pitching for Kansas City
V Martinez lined out to first.
A Dirks reached on infield single to shortstop.
O Infante grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, A Dirks out at second.
A Avila lined out to left.

DET 1 - 0 AFTER 2 INNINGS

Kansas City - Top of 3rd
Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit
A Escobar popped out to shortstop.
J Dyson struck out swinging.
A Gordon struck out swinging.


Detroit - Bottom of 3rd
Bruce Chen pitching for Kansas City
J Iglesias struck out swinging.
A Jackson grounded out to third.
T Hunter struck out swinging.

DET 1 - 0 AFTER 3 INNINGS

Kansas City - Top of 4th
Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit
E Bonifacio singled to left.
E Bonifacio caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop.
E Hosmer reached on infield single to third.
B Butler grounded out to third, E Hosmer to second.
S Perez singled to deep left, E Hosmer scored.
TIED 1 - 1
M Moustakas popped out to shortstop.


Detroit - Bottom of 4th
Bruce Chen pitching for Kansas City
M Cabrera doubled to deep right center.
P Fielder homered to right, M Cabrera scored.
DET 3 - 1

V Martinez popped out to shortstop.
A Dirks flied out to center.
O Infante flied out to center.

DET 3 - 1 AFTER 4 INNINGS

Kansas City - Top of 5th
Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit
D Lough struck out swinging.
A Escobar popped out to first.
J Dyson reached on bunt single to third.
J Dyson picked off first.


Detroit - Bottom of 5th
Bruce Chen pitching for Kansas City
A Avila walked.
J Iglesias flied out to center.
A Jackson hit a ground rule double to deep left, A Avila to third.
T Hunter singled to right, A Avila and A Jackson scored, T Hunter to second advancing on throw.
DET 5 - 1

M Cabrera intentionally walked.
T Hunter to third, M Cabrera to second on balk by B Chen.
P Fielder singled to right, T Hunter scored, M Cabrera to third.
DET 6 - 1
F Bueno relieved B Chen.
V Martinez flied out to left.
A Dirks lined out to center.

DET 6 - 1 AFTER 5 INNINGS

Kansas City - Top of 6th
Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit
A Gordon singled to right.
E Bonifacio struck out swinging.
A Gordon to second on balk by J Verlander.
E Hosmer grounded out to third, A Gordon to third.
B Butler singled to left, A Gordon scored.
DET 6 - 2

S Perez doubled to deep right, B Butler scored.
DET 6 - 3

M Moustakas struck out looking.


Detroit - Bottom of 6th
Francisley Bueno pitching for Kansas City
O Infante popped out to second.
A Avila struck out swinging.
J Iglesias struck out looking.

DET 6 - 3 AFTER 6 INNINGS

Kansas City - Top of 7th
Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit
D Lough flied out to center.
A Escobar singled to center.
A Escobar to second on wild pitch by J Verlander.
J Dyson struck out swinging.
D Smyly relieved J Verlander.
A Escobar stole third.
A Gordon struck out swinging.


Detroit - Bottom of 7th
Louis Coleman pitching for Kansas City
L Coleman relieved F Bueno.
A Jackson lined out to right.
T Hunter struck out swinging.
M Cabrera struck out swinging.

DET 6 - 3 AFTER 7 INNINGS

Kansas City - Top of 8th
Drew Smyly pitching for Detroit
E Bonifacio struck out swinging.
E Hosmer walked.
J Veras relieved D Smyly.
B Butler walked, E Hosmer to second.
S Perez popped out to first.
M Moustakas hit by pitch, E Hosmer to third, B Butler to second.
J Benoit relieved J Veras.
D Lough struck out swinging.


Detroit - Bottom of 8th
Donnie Joseph pitching for Kansas City
D Joseph relieved L Coleman.
P Fielder struck out swinging.
V Martinez struck out swinging.
A Dirks struck out swinging.

DET 6 - 3 AFTER 8 INNINGS

Kansas City - Top of 9th
Joaquin Benoit pitching for Detroit
A Escobar singled to center.
J Dyson grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, A Escobar out at second.
J Dyson stole second.
A Gordon flied out to left.
E Bonifacio grounded out to second.


TIGERS WIN 6-3

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE


W: Verlander
L: Chen, B
S: Benoit


GAME INFO

WP: Verlander.
Balk: Chen, B, Verlander.
IBB: Cabrera, M (by Chen, B).
HBP: Moustakas (by Veras).
Pitches-strikes: Chen, B 61-37, Bueno 19-11, Coleman 9-7, Joseph, D 11-9, Verlander 111-79, Smyly 13-6, Veras 11-3, Benoit 14-10.
Groundouts-flyouts: Chen, B 4-3, Bueno 0-1, Coleman 0-0, Joseph, D 0-0, Verlander 3-4, Smyly 0-0, Veras 0-0, Benoit 2-1.
Batters faced: Chen, B 22, Bueno 5, Coleman 3, Joseph, D 3, Verlander 27, Smyly 3, Veras 3, Benoit 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Bueno 2-0, Smyly 1-0, Veras 1-0, Benoit 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Bob Davidson. 1B: John Hirschbeck. 2B: James Hoye. 3B: Jim Reynolds.
Weather: 57 degrees, clear.
Wind: 17 mph, Out to RF.
T: 2:47.
Att: 40,389.
Venue: Comerica Park.
September 13, 2013