GDT: 5/15/11 - DET (22-18) VS KC (20-19) - rain out

Scherzer seeking seventh win vs. division-rival Royals

By Joey Nowak / MLB.com | 5/14/2011 9:31 PM ET

After scurrying out to a solid start to the 2011 season, the Royals have run into the buzzsaw that is the red-hot Tigers. And it's negatively impacting the Royals' standing in the American League Central.

Kansas City, which has somewhat exceeded expectations by occupying first place in the division at times this year, will look to avoid being swept by the Tigers on Sunday at Comerica Park.

Thanks to 10 wins in their last 11 contests, the Tigers (22-18) have since passed the Royals (20-19) in the standings and now sit just 3 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland.

"We're not worried about winning streaks or anything like that," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. "It's just trying to play a consistent baseball game that day."

Detroit has won three of the five meetings this season and looks to Max Scherzer (6-0, 3.20), who has been dynamite in the No. 2 spot in the rotation this year behind ace Justin Verlander. Scherzer is aiming to be the first seven-game winner in the Majors this season.

Scherzer earned the win against the Blue Jays on Monday, despite allowing two earned runs and five hits in five innings, and has reached the five-inning plateau in each outing this season.

Meanwhile, Royals manager Ned Yost believes Sunday's starting pitcher Kyle Davies -- despite his 1-5 mark and losses in his last four outings -- continues to make progress with consistency.

"I still see signs of things we need to clean up and they are not physical things per se," Yost said. "There are things like he'll get two quick outs on six pitches, and then it'll take him 20 pitches to get the third out."

Davies is 3-9 with a 5.85 ERA in his career against Detroit.

Royals: Maier to start in front of hometown crowd

Kansas City backup outfielder Mitch Maier, a native of Novi, Mich., is expected to get his third start on Sunday in Detroit, giving right fielder Jeff Francoeur a day off, Yost said. Maier has started one game in left field and one game in center.

"I like the fact that he's always prepared, never complains and always gives his best effort -- and can play," Yost said.

Maier has appeared in just nine games and has had 12 at-bats (four hits).

"I prepare myself every day like I'm going to, at some point, play that day," Maier said.

Tigers: Martinez continues to roll

Tigers catcher Victor Martinez continues to make good on his return from the disabled list, extending his hitting streak to 13 games after a 1-for-4 performance on Saturday.

Martinez, who missed 13 games with a groin injury, is batting .468 (22-for-47) with 10 runs, six doubles, two homers and 15 RBIs during the hitting streak. He has also reached safely in 20 of his 24 games played this year.

Martinez is a .333 career hitter against Davies with two homers and six RBIs.

Worth noting

• After seeing his 22-game hitting streak come to a halt on Friday against Verlander, Kansas City designated hitter Billy Butler went 1-for-4 on Saturday with a fourth-inning double. In his last 24 games, Butler is hitting .368 (35-for-95) with seven doubles, a home run and 13 RBIs.

• Detroit is 53-51 all-time at Comerica Park against Kansas City.

• Tigers fans can purchase $10 mezzanine level tickets -- normally $15 -- for Monday through Thursday home games this month (excluding the Boston series).



Tigers: RHP Max Scherzer (6-0, 3.20 ERA)

In his most recent start, against Toronto, Scherzer had trouble with his release point and his consistency. He allowed two runs in five innings on five hits, but his pitch count reached 97, so he was pulled.


Royals: RHP Kyle Davies (1-5, 7.08 ERA)

Davies just can't seem to get over the hump. He's gone five straight starts without a victory, losing four times but with only one stinker in the bunch. He's given up three or two earned runs in four of those five games.


Game Information

RECENT RESULTS: The Tigers recorded their 10th victory in the last 11 games with a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals yesterday at Comerica Park. Brad Penny (4-3) blanked the Royals on five hits over eight innings to earn the victory, while Jose Valverde worked the ninth for his 10th save. Jhonny Peralta led the Tigers offense with a pair of hits, including a double, and an RBI, while both Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez added an RBI in the victory. The club continues a five-game homestand today with the final game of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. The homestand concludes with a two-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays beginning Monday night.

SEVEN STRAIGHT, LOOKING FOR EIGHT: The Tigers enter today’s game against the Royals with a seven-game winning streak, the longest since also winning seven straight from June 11-18, 2010. The last club winning streak of more than seven games was an eight-game streak from April 29-May 8, 2007.

SEEKING A ROYAL SWEEP: The Tigers enter today’s game looking to complete a three game sweep of the Royals, which would be the Tigers first over Kansas City at home since July 23-25, 2002.

PUTTING ZEROES ON THE BOARD: The Tigers blanked the Royals yesterday afternoon for the club’s sixth shutout this season, which leads the American League. The six shutouts are tied for the third-most by a Tigers team through the club’s first 40 games since at least 1919, trailing seven from the 2006 Tigers and eight from the 1945 Tigers.

PITCHING IN AT HOME: The Tigers have posted a 9-4 record and 2.69 ERA
(117.0IP/35ER) over the last 13 games at home dating back to April 13 versus Texas. Detroit is second among American League clubs with a 3.06 ERA (162.0IP/55ER) at home this season.

ELECTRIC 11-GAME STRETCH: The Tigers have won 10 of the club’s last 11 games, marking the best 11-game streak by a Tigers team since also posting a 10-1 mark from April 30-May 12, 2007. The Tigers won 11 of 12 games from April 29-May 12, 2007.

MARTINEZ HAS BEEN MASHING: Victor Martinez extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the first inning yesterday against the Royals. He is hitting .468 (22x47) with 10 runs scored, six doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI during the streak. He has reached base safely in 22 of his 26 games this season.

JHONNY ON THE SPOT: Jhonny Peralta finished with a pair of hits yesterday against the Royals and is batting .358 (24x67) with three doubles, a triple, four home runs and 14 RBI in his last 18 games. He enters today’s game against the Royals with a 10-game hitting streak, two shy of matching a career best last accomplished May 23-June 3, 2007.

MIGGY MASHES AGAINST THE ROYALS: Miguel Cabrera enters this afternoon’s game hitting .342 (77x225) with 12 doubles, 16 home runs and 50 RBI in 60 games during his career against the Royals. He is sixth among all active major league players with a .609 slugging percentage against the Royals, while he is seventh with a .342 batting average.

EXTRA, EXTRA: The Tigers collected one extra-base hit yesterday against the Royals and have now collected at least one extra-base hit in all 40 games this season. The 40-game streak to begin the season is the second-longest streak to begin the season by a Tigers team since at least 1919, trailing a 51-game streak to begin the 1986 season. The Tigers are the only team to collect an extra-base hit in each game this season.

FOR STARTERS: Tigers starting pitchers have posted a 15-8 record and 2.85 ERA (202.1IP/64ER) over the last 30 games. Tigers starting pitchers are tied for the lead in the American League with 18 victories and 26 quality starts this season.

PERALTA REACHES 1,000 CAREER HITS: Jhonny Peralta doubled off Jeff Francis in the sixth inning yesterday against the Royals for the 1,000th hit of his major league career, becoming the 47th player from the Dominican Republic to record 1,000 career hits.

HAPPY AT HOME: The Tigers have compiled a 113-66 record at Comerica Park since the start of the 2009 season, a .631 winning percentage. Detroit is second among all American League clubs with a .631 winning percentage at home during that stretch, trailing only a .659 winning percentage by the New York Yankees.

INJURY UPDATE:
• OF Magglio Ordonez (right ankle weakness, 15-day disabled list on May 11),
• INF Carlos Guillen (left knee microfracture surgery, 15-day disabled list on March 30),
• RHP Joel Zumaya (right elbow olecranon fracture surgery, 60-day disabled list on March 30).


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• Monday, May 16:
Tigers (RHP Rick Porcello (3-2, 3.67 ERA)) VS Blue Jays (RHP Kyle Drabek (2-2, 4.81 ERA)), 7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / WXYT 97.1 FM & 1270 AM)

• Tuesday, May 17:
Tigers (LHP Phil Coke (1-5, 4.54 ERA)) VS Blue Jays (RHP Jesse Litsch (4-2, 4.14 ERA)), 7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / WXYT 97.1 FM & 1270 AM)

Royals-Tigers series finale washed out
Postponed game rescheduled for Sept. 1 at Comerica Park
By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 05/15/11 11:24 AM ET

Sunday's series finale at Comerica Park between the Tigers and the Kansas City Royals was postponed due to steady rain, which was expected to continue throughout the day. The game has been rescheduled for Sept. 1 at 1:05 p.m.

It was the first postponement of a game this season for the Tigers, who were looking to sweep the Royals and increase their winning streak to eight games.

The Tigers had six games postponed last season, three of which were in May and two of which were at home.

The Royals will head back home to host a two-game set against the American League Central-leading Indians starting Monday night.

The Toronto Blue Jays come to Comerica Park for a two-game series beginning Monday.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.