Let’s even this bad boy up.
The big cat baseball team from Detroit will take on the livestock show baseball team from Kansas City tonight at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City will look to level the series after dropping last night’s opener.
Cole Ragans starts for the Royals. I covered his last start in which he pitched quite well aside from one mistake pitch to the second-best hitter in baseball. Ragans has faced Detroit twice this season, tossing six shutout innings with 12 strikeouts in a May start at Kauffman before allowing two runs in 5.1 innings on August 2 in Detroit.
The Tigers will counter with Casey Mize. Between injuries and general underperformance, Mize has not been able to live up to the potential that made him the first overall draft pick in 2018. He’s returned to the rotation this season after missing all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery and has been starting all season aside from a couple months spent on the IL with a hamstring injury. Despite seeing his fastball velo jump compared to pre-TJ, he struggles to miss bats and tends to get hit hard. Mize has faced the Royals twice this season, allowing three runs in a five inning April start before lasting just 1.2 innings and allowing six runs in his last outing at Kauffman Stadium, his worst outing of the season.
First pitch: 6:40 pm CDT
Royals lineup
Cole Ragans heads to the mound tonight as we look to even the series vs. Detroit. pic.twitter.com/RLDknUwAKk
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 17, 2024
Tigers lineup
Game 152 ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/sH8N4e9urA
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 17, 2024