With the AL Central title secured and their playoff seed locked in place, the Detroit Tigers have nothing to play for in their next two games except to keep their momentum going. Miguel Cabrera, however, is playing for the chance to earn baseball's first Triple Crown since 1967 when Detroit takes on the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Looking for their third straight win, the Tigers will send Doug Fister (10-9, 3.38 ERA) to the mound to face Jeremy Guthrie (4-3, 3.18 ERA in K.C.).
Fister has been one of the best pitchers in the American League since the All-Star break, posting a 8-3 record and a 2.51 ERA. His last time out, he struck out an AL-record nine consecutive batters. Guthrie has been good since coming over to the Royals, but gave up three home runs in his last start against the Tigers.
Cabrera needs to hold steady over the last two games if he wants to hang onto his bid for the Triple Crown. He leads the Angels' Mike Trout in batting average, .329 to .325, and the Rangers' Josh Hamilton in home runs and RBI, 44-43 and 137-127. A couple hitless games to end the season could be enough to lose it, but Cabrera went 4-for-5 with a home run on Monday.
First pitch from Kaufmann Stadium is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on Fox Sports Detroit.