Royals have felt pain of losing an All-Star less acutely than Tigers
Both the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers are missing an All-Star. Royals left fielder Alex Gordon is expected to be out at least until late August after suffering a groin strain shortly before the All-Star break, and Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera strained his calf a few days before Gordon went down and is looking at a mid-August return.
Detroit clearly has felt the impact much more than Kansas City.
ROYALS' 2015 NUMBERS FROM STARTING LEFT FIELDERS
| Statistic | Alex Gordon | Rest of starting left fielders |
| Batting average | .280 | .265 |
| On-base plus slugging percentage | .854 | .910 |
| Home runs | 11 | 5 |
| RBIs | 39 | 16 |
| Errors | 0 | 0 |
| Team record | 45-32 (.584) | 17-10 (.630) |
TIGERS' 2015 NUMBERS FROM STARTING FIRST BASEMEN
| Statistic | Miguel Cabrera | Rest of starting first basemen |
| Batting average | .350 | .194 |
| On-base plus slugging percentage | 1.034 | .529 |
| Home runs | 15 | 3 |
| RBIs | 54 | 8 |
| Errors | 3 | 2 |
| Team record |
40-37 (.519) |
11-17 (.393) |
The Royals and Tigers both got the day off Monday -- something that has boded well for both clubs in 2015.
ROYALS/TIGERS - 2015 RECORD BREAKDOWN
| Royals | Tigers | |
| With one or more days off between games |
10-6 (.625) | 7-4 (.636) |
| In all other games |
52-36 (.591) | 44-50 (.468) |
It would be no surprise if either the Royals or Tigers already had a lead after the first inning in this series.
BEST FIRST-INNING RUN DIFFERENTIAL IN 2015
| Team | First-inning run differential |
| Kansas City Royals | +39 (75-36) |
| New York Yankees |
+29 |
| Washington Nationals |
+28 |
| Detroit Tigers | +25 (72-47) |
| Cincinnati Reds | +20 |
Danny Duffy gets the start for the Royals in the series opener. Duffy has improved his numbers remarkably since returning from the disabled list June 24.
DANNY DUFFY'S 2015 STATISTICS PRE- AND POST-DL STINT
| Statistic | Before DL | After DL |
| Starts | 8 | 7 |
| Record | 2-3 | 2-2 |
| ERA | 5.87 | 2.89 |
| Opponent batting average |
.299 | .248 |
| WHIP | 1.70 | 1.19 |
Salvador Perez, meanwhile, has been a thorn in Verlander's side since going 2 for 5 in his first game against the big right-hander on Aug. 28, 2012.
MOST WINS VS. ANY OPPONENT SINCE 2006
| Pitcher and opponent | Wins |
| Justin Verlander vs. Royals | 19 (19-7 record) |
| Felix Hernandez vs. A's | 19 (19-8) |
| Johnny Cueto vs. Pirates |
18 (18-4) |
| Tim Lincecum vs. Padres |
18 (18-6) |
| Justin Verlander vs. Indians | 18 (18-15) |
ACTIVE PLAYERS, HIGHEST CAREER BATTING AVERAGE VS. JUSTIN VERLANDER*
| Player, current team | Batting average |
| Jose Abreu, White Sox | .500 |
| Salvador Perez, Royals | .429 |
| Melvin Upton Jr., Padres |
.429 |
| Billy Butler, A's | .405 |
| * Minimum 15 at-bats |