The Detroit Tigers are looking to stay in contention for both the AL wild card as well as the AL Central heading into September. If they're able to sweep the Kansas City Royals this week, they'll be in an even better spot.

Justin Verlander is scheduled to start Monday evening's series-opener at Kauffman Stadium. If the past repeats itself, the Royals could be in for a long night. Verlander is 9-2 with a 1.83 ERA in his career at Kansas City and has given up just four runs in 17 innings against the Royals in his two starts this season.

Kansas City will counter with Luis Mendoza on the mound, a righty making his first career start against Detroit. Mendoza will need to rebound quickly from his last outing, too, considering he lasted just over four innings before getting pulled last Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Royals and Tigers are scheduled to play 10 more games this season -- including Monday night's affair -- as Detroit looks to add as much space as possible in the standings between the two clubs.

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