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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central

Detroit Tigers 2, Kansas City Royals 5

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

8:10 PM ET · Kauffman StadiumGame-day snapshot Aug 21, 10:55 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 4, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score57
Detroit Tigers
76–86 · 4th AL Central · T-Score 57
2
2–5
FINAL
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 31
5
T-Score31
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherEvenThe starters grade similarly overall, with no clear advantage across P-Score, ERA and WHIP.
LineupTigersDetroit's official lineup includes 7 right-handed bats against the opposing starter.
BullpenTigersDetroit owns a 3.94 bullpen ERA this season, compared with Kansas's 4.76.
Recent formRoyalsKansas has been the better recent team, at 6–4 over the last 10.
Team strengthTigersDetroit leads 57–31 in T-Score.

Starting pitchers

DET
Troy Melton RHP
Troy Melton
Detroit Tigers
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
1.49
18th
WHIP
0.96
43rd
K/9
7.79
143rd
BB/9
2.67
93rd
P-Score59i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.85
81st
OPS/R
–
IP
84.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
0.92
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
KC
Noah Cameron LHP
Noah Cameron
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.16
110th
WHIP
1.22
86th
K/9
8.20
117th
BB/9
2.80
96th
P-Score58i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.91
88th
OPS/R
–
IP
138.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
1.19
QUALITY
START %
80%
(4 of 5)
DAYS
REST
5
How the starters differ
·Melton allows fewer baserunners, with a 0.96 WHIP compared with 1.22.
·Melton enters with a 1.49 ERA compared with Cameron's 4.16.
·Cameron has produced a quality start in 80% of outings versus 60%.
·Melton carries a 2.71 road ERA, compared with Cameron's 4.58 mark at home.
Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent
MetricMeltonCameronNote
Career vs opponent3.60 ERA, 1 GS2.45 ERA, 2 GSCareer history against this opponent.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Melton arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam33%96.4
Cutter22%92.2
Slider17%87.0
Changeup10%89.4
Sinker9%95.7
Curveball8%79.5
Splitter1%88.4
Cameron arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam24%92.5
Cutter21%89.8
Changeup20%81.0
Curveball17%81.7
Slider13%85.2
Sinker5%91.5
Eephus Pitch0%57.4

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Tigers vs LHP (Noah Cameron)
13th
in MLB
0.711OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Royals vs RHP (Troy Melton)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Detroit TigersOfficial lineupvs LHP Noah Cameron
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Cameron (BvP)
1Gleyber TorresR2B57.7278.8030-for-1Very small sample
2Hao-Yu LeeR2B59.74610.6292-for-4Very small sample
3Kevin McGonigleLSS74.80618.6481-for-3Very small sample
4Dillon DinglerRC69.74827.6040-for-4Very small sample
5Eduardo ValenciaRDH741.01681.041No MLB historyNo history
6Spencer TorkelsonR1B69.76626.7300-for-4Very small sample
7Ben MalgeriRRF59.7675.5780-for-2Very small sample
8Max ClarkLCF51.7673.999No MLB historyNo history
9Javier BáezRSS31.6343.669No MLB historyNo history
1Gleyber Torres 2B · R.260 / .727 · 8 HRvs hand .803 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample57H-Score2Hao-Yu Lee 2B · R.264 / .746 · 10 HRvs hand .629 · 2-for-4 · Very small sample59H-Score3Kevin McGonigle SS · L.278 / .806 · 18 HRvs hand .648 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample74H-Score4Dillon Dingler C · R.243 / .748 · 27 HRvs hand .604 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample69H-Score5Eduardo Valencia DH · R.341 / 1.016 · 8 HRvs hand 1.041 · No MLB history · No history74H-Score6Spencer Torkelson 1B · R.230 / .766 · 26 HRvs hand .730 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample69H-Score7Ben Malgeri RF · R.250 / .767 · 5 HRvs hand .578 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample59H-Score8Max Clark CF · L.272 / .767 · 3 HRvs hand .999 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score9Javier Báez SS · R.241 / .634 · 3 HRvs hand .669 · No MLB history · No history31H-Score
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Troy Melton
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Melton (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC76.79027.8371-for-2Very small sample
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS78.80018.7831-for-2Very small sample
3Jac CaglianoneLRF75.83423.882No MLB historyNo history
4Salvador PerezRDH56.65721.6280-for-2Very small sample
5Vinnie PasquantinoL1B69.76117.8260-for-1Very small sample
6Nick LoftinR3B53.7108.6850-for-2Very small sample
7Michael MasseyL2B60.73513.7211-for-1Very small sample
8Isaac CollinsSLF51.6416.6601-for-2Very small sample
9Kyle IsbelLCF36.5916.6520-for-1Very small sample
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample76H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample78H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · No MLB history · No history75H-Score4Salvador Perez DH · R.229 / .657 · 21 HRvs hand .628 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample56H-Score5Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample69H-Score6Nick Loftin 3B · R.240 / .710 · 8 HRvs hand .685 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample53H-Score7Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample60H-Score8Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample51H-Score9Kyle Isbel CF · L.224 / .591 · 6 HRvs hand .652 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample36H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseDETDET·KCKC
AVG.241 20th.248 8th
OPS.720 14th.718 16th
Home runs181 18th170 21st
Runs723 14th690 22nd
OBP.320 10th.316 17th
SLG.400 17th.402 12th
PitchingDETDET·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
ERA3.67vs4.77
DETKC
WHIP1.22vs1.41
DETKC
K/98.2vs7.4
DETKC
HR Allowed167vs210
DETKC
BullpenDETDET·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.94vs4.76
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.28vs1.43
no league rank
Saves32vs38
DETKC
ResultsDETDET·KCKC
+3477th
Run differential
+17927th
76–86 Record69–93
4–6 Last 106–4
Last 10 games
Detroit Tigers (4–6)
L
L
W
L
L
L
W
L
W
W
Kansas City Royals (6–4)
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
L
L
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
9—4
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Tigers?+
Troy Melton (1.49 ERA, 7–1) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Royals?+
Noah Cameron (4.16 ERA, 7–8) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
8:10 PM ET at Kauffman Stadium.
Where is the game being played?+
Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Tigers and Royals performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Royals 4–9 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Troy Melton is at 59; Noah Cameron is at 58. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.