Vini Jr focused on UCL amid Ballon d Or clamor

Kansas City Royals (17-10, second in the AL Central) vs. Detroit Tigers (14-12, third in the AL Central) Detroit; Saturday, 6:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Brady Singer (2-1, 2.76 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 28 strikeouts); Tigers: Casey Mize (1-0, 2.95 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 16 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Tigers -117, Royals -103; over/under is 8 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Tigers take on the Kansas City Royals looking to end their three-game home skid. Detroit is 14-12 overall and 4-8 in home games. The Tigers have the fifth-ranked team ERA in the AL at 3.19. Kansas City has a 17-10 record overall and a 5-5 record in road games. The Royals have a 6-2 record in games when they hit two or more home runs. The teams play Saturday for the second time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Kerry Carpenter has five doubles, two triples and three home runs for the Tigers. Mark Canha is 13-for-35 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games. Salvador Perez has four doubles, seven home runs and 25 RBI for the Royals. Maikel Garcia is 10-for-37 with a double, a home run and six RBI over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 5-5, .226 batting average, 3.48 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs Royals: 6-4, .221 batting average, 3.28 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs INJURIES: Tigers: Carson Kelly: day-to-day (rib), Gio Urshela: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Sawyer Gipson-Long: 60-Day IL (groin), Andy Ibanez: 10-Day IL (hamstring) Royals: Alec Marsh: 15-Day IL (forearm), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Jake Brentz: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Carlos Hernandez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder) ------ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.