Royals vs. Tigers: A look at how they match up ahead of pivotal series

Royals vs. Tigers. Three games. AL Central Division lead on the line.

Yep, it’s a big series. Here is how the teams match up:

This weekend’s games (at Kauffman Stadium)

▪ Friday (7:10 p.m. on FSKC): Justin Verlander (13-12, 4.81 ERA) vs. Jason Vargas (11-9, 3.41 ERA)

▪ Saturday (12:05 p.m. on Fox): Max Scherzer (16-5, 3.26 ERA) vs. James Shields (14-7, 3.15 ERA)

▪ Sunday (1:10 p.m. on FSKC): Rick Porcello (15-11, 3.19 ERA) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (11-11, 4.35 ERA)

Season series

▪ Overall: Tigers lead 11-5

▪ At Kauffman Stadium: Tigers lead 6-1

Head-to-head so far (16 games)

▪ Royals batting average: .255

▪ Tigers batting average: .286

▪ Royals home runs: 8

▪ Tigers home runs: 15

▪ Royals ERA: 5.11

▪ Tigers ERA: 3.38 (2.76 at Kauffman Stadium)

Royals hitters vs. Tigers pitchers

▪ Hosmer .308

▪ Butler .294

▪ Infante .292

▪ Cain .286

▪ Perez .278

▪ Dyson .242

▪ Escobar .228

▪ Aoki .220

▪ Gordon .216

▪ Moustakas .154

Royals’ home runs vs. Tigers

▪ 2: Butler, Infante

▪ 1: Hosmer, Cain, Gordon, Moustakas

Royals pitchers vs. Tigers

5-11, 5.11 ERA

Probable starting pitchers vs. Tigers

▪ Jason Vargas (1-2, 5.18 ERA)

▪ James Shields (1-2, 4.05 ERA)

▪ Jeremy Guthrie (1-2, 10.13 ERA)

Bullpen vs. Tigers

▪ Greg Holland (4 games, 0-0, 2 saves 0.00 ERA)

▪ Wade Davis (6 games, 1-0, 1 save, 1.42 ERA)

▪ Kelvin Herrera (8 games, 0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Tigers hitters vs. Royals pitchers

▪ Overall: .286, 15 home runs

▪ J.D. Martinez .432

▪ Andrew Romine .360

▪ Torii Hunter .327

▪ Victor Martinez .326

▪ Austin Jackson .320

▪ Rajai Davis .318

▪ Ian Kinsler .292

▪ Alex Avila .233

▪ Miguel Cabrera .226

▪ Nick Castellanos .196

Tigers home runs vs. Royals

▪ 5: J.D. Martinez

▪ 3: Avila

▪ 2: Hunter, Kinsler

▪ 1: V. Martinez, Davis, Castellanos

Tigers pitchers vs. Royals

11-5, 3.38 ERA

Probable starting pitchers vs. Royals

▪ Justin Verlander (2-2, 5.57 ERA)

▪ Max Scherzer (1-1, 5.30 ERA)

▪ Rick Porcello (2-1, 2.18 ERA)

Bullpen vs. Royals

▪ Joe Nathan (6 games 1-0, 3 saves, 1.50 ERA)

▪ Al Albuquerque (8 games, 1-1, 1.42 ERA)

▪ Joba Chamberlain (7 games, 0-0, 1.29 ERA)

Head-to-head games this season

▪ March 31 at DET: Tigers, 4-3 — Opening day

▪ April 1 at DET: Tigers, 2-1, 10 inn. — Kinsler single wins it

▪ May 2 at KC: Tigers, 8-2 — Three hits for Victor Martinez

▪ May 3 at KC: Tigers, 9-2 — Tigers get six of Aaron Brooks

▪ May 4 at KC: Tigers, 9-4 — Bats stay hot for Tigers

▪ June 16 at DET: Royals, 11-8 — Infante homers against ex-teammates

▪ June 17 at DET: Royals, 11-4 — Seven-run seventh against Scherzer

▪ June 18 at DET: Royals, 2-1 — Guthrie fans nine in 6 2/3

▪ June 18 at DET: Tigers, 2-1 — Royals’ 10-game winning streak ends

▪ July 10 at KC: Tigers, 16-4 — This time, Tigers get Guthrie

▪ July 11 at KC: Tigers, 2-1 — Duffy’s second 2-1 loss

▪ July 12 at KC: Tigers, 5-1 — Royals fall to 7 1/2 games behind

▪ July 13 at KC: Royals, 5-2 — Avoid sweep with five in seventh

▪ Sept. 8 at DET: Tigers, 9-5 — Guthrie can’t escape third

▪ Sept. 9 at DET: Tigers, 4-2 — Dyson gets picked off second in 9th

▪ Sept. 10 at DET: Royals, 3-0 — Shields deals on rainy night

After Sunday

ROYALS

▪ Sept. 22-24 at Indians: Teams will finish Aug. 31 game with Indians leading 4-2 in bottom of 10th

▪ Sept. 25-28 at White Sox: Royals lead season series 9-5

TIGERS

▪ Sept. 22-24 vs. White Sox: Tigers don’t leave Motor City in final week

▪ Sept. 25-28 vs. Twins: Tigers 21-13 vs. Royals, Indians, 15-15 vs. Twins, White Sox

This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Royals vs. Tigers: A look at how they match up ahead of pivotal series."