Last month, the Detroit Tigers continued their recent dominance of Kansas City by sweeping a three-game series.
On Sunday night, the host Royals can return the favor by handing the reeling Tigers a season-high sixth straight defeat.
From April 14-16, Detroit posted three straight one-run victories over the visiting Royals to record a sixth consecutive winning series between the two American League Central foes.
However, Kansas City rallied for a 4-3 walk-off win Friday. The Royals then used seven strong innings from Michael Wacha, a two-run, inside-the-park-homer from Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey’s conventional three-run shot in a 5-1 victory on Saturday.
Kansas City, which secured its first winning series over the Tigers since August 2024, is 12-5 since losing eight in a row.
“We’ve got a special team,” Witt told Royals.TV. “This is a great series win, but we’re not satisfied. … We’re always trying to get better.”
Witt has recorded three of his five home runs over the last six games.
Massey, meanwhile, is 5-for-11 with two home runs and five RBIs in his last four contests.
Some low-back tightness forced Noah Cameron (2-2, 5.40 ERA) to miss his previous turn in Kansas City’s rotation, but he’s slated to be back on the mound for this Sunday start.
“If it were August or September, I would be very capable of pitching through it,” Cameron told the Royals’ official website of missing his previous scheduled start.
“Just trying to be smart and see where we are. … It’s feeling a lot better.”
Cameron allowed two runs over 10 2/3 innings of his first two starts this season. He since has yielded 20 runs — 17 earned — in 21 innings over his last four games.
Though the left-hander has made 30 career starts for the Royals since debuting last season, this will be his first appearance against the Tigers.
Detroit managed just four hits Saturday and has been outscored 28-11 during a five-game skid that matches the team’s longest losing streak of 2026.
“Just find a way to weather the storm,” said Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling, who went 0-for-4 Saturday.
“Get a couple wins. … Get some momentum.”
Already dealing with injuries to key offensive contributors in Gleyber Torres (oblique) and Javier Baez (ankle), the Tigers could be minus outfielder Kerry Carpenter. He exited Saturday’s contest with shoulder soreness from banging into the wall while misplaying Witt’s hit into that inside-the-park home run.
“It’s next man up,” Vierling said.
Though the Tigers continue searching for some potency at the plate, Riley Greene drove home Saturday’s lone run with a double in the eighth inning. He is batting .385 with eight RBIs in his last 18 contests and batting.458 with five doubles during his last six games at Kansas City.
With ace Tarik Skubal out at least six weeks following elbow surgery and Framber Valdez currently serving a suspension, the Tigers are slated for a bullpen game Sunday.
Right-hander Brenan Hanifee (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.2 IP) is scheduled to get the start in a potential opener role for Detroit, which has a 4.74 ERA over the last five games. He is 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA in 10 career appearances (one start) versus the Royals.
