First pitch: Wednesday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Line: Detroit -115, Kansas City +105, Total: 9.5

Both the Tigers and the Royals will be hungry for a victory when the teams meet in Kansas City on Wednesday.

Detroit is coming off of a blowout victory over Kansas City on Tuesday, as the Tigers beat the Royals 9-3. They racked up 16 hits in that game and are hoping that their bats don’t suddenly go cold on Wednesday. The Royals, meanwhile, are desperate for a win in this one. They are gunning for a Wild Card spot in the American League, and they can’t afford to fall too far behind in the standings. The starters in this meeting on Wednesday are going to be RHP Justin Verlander (5-7, 4.66 ERA, 103 K) for Detroit and RHP Jason Hammel (4-8, 5.02 ERA, 81 K) for Kansas City. One trend that stands out when looking at this game is that the Royals are 11-5 against the money line in home games versus starting pitchers that strike out five or more batters per start this season. Kansas City is, however, 1-8 against the money line at home when Jason Hammel is on the mound with a total of 9 to 9.5 on the year.

Justin Verlander has allowed only three earned runs in his past 12 innings on the mound, but the Tigers need a lot more from their ace moving forward. Verlander needs to start working deeper into games, and he definitely needs to throw a lot more strikes moving forward. Verlander has walked three or more batters in seven of his past 10 outings. That is a big number, and he needs to be a lot better with his control. Verlander has, however, been sharp against the Royals this season, as he is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA and 11 strikeouts in two starts against Kansas City. Offensively, Detroit badly needs both 1B Miguel Cabrera (.265 BA, 12 HR, 45 RBI) and 2B Ian Kinsler (.245 BA, 9 HR, 24 RBI) to get it going the rest of the way. Both are going to be sought after via trade, but they are in Tigers uniforms for now. They each had their struggles in the first half of the year, but both are dangerous at the plate and should return to the mean soon.

The Royals really need to get back into the win column on Wednesday, but they will need to find a way to get to Verlander in this one. While he has not been his usual self this season, he is still a tough guy to hit when he is on. One guy that should be able to step it up for Kansas City is C Salvador Perez (.282 BA, 18 HR, 58 RBI) this season. Perez has absolutely dominated Verlander in his career, going 24-for-58 with eight doubles, two homers, and 16 RBI against the righty. It’d be big for the Royals if he can produce at the plate in this one. Kansas City will not have a chance of winning, however, if Jason Hammel can’t pitch a solid game. The righty actually has done that in his past two outings, allowing only six earned runs in his past 11.2 innings on the mound. While those aren’t necessarily great numbers, the Royals are really begging for quality starts whenever he is out there. Hammel was shelled in his most recent meeting with the Tigers this season, though. He allowed four earned runs in only 4.1 innings, and he can’t perform like that again on Wednesday.