INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central

Detroit Tigers 1, Kansas City Royals 3

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

7:15 PM ET · Kauffman StadiumGame-day snapshot Aug 22, 9:30 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
1
1–3
FINAL
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 32
3
T-Score32
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherRoyalsThe starters are close overall, but Wacha owns the better strikeout and control profile.
Offense vs handEvenThe handedness splits are nearly even, with less than a .004 difference in OPS.
BullpenTigersDetroit has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
Recent formRoyalsKansas has won 7 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
Team strengthTigersDetroit leads 57–32 in T-Score.

Starting pitchers

DET
Drew Anderson RHP
Drew Anderson
Detroit Tigers
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.01
69th
WHIP
1.30
99th
K/9
10.26
47th
BB/9
3.42
144th
P-Score53i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.30
138th
OPS/R
–
IP
76.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.00
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
KC
Michael Wacha RHP
Michael Wacha
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.58
39th
WHIP
1.15
36th
K/9
6.94
165th
BB/9
2.37
45th
P-Score61i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.21
142nd
OPS/R
–
IP
155.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.26
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
5
How the starters differ
·Anderson strikes out 3.3 more batters per nine innings.
·Wacha allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.15 WHIP compared with 1.30.
·Wacha has produced a quality start in 60% of outings versus 0%.
·Anderson enters with a 4.17 road ERA; Wacha owns a 2.93 ERA at home.
Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent
MetricAndersonWachaNote
Career vs opponent18.90 ERA, 3 GS1.29 ERA, 2 GSCareer history against this opponent.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Wacha arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam28%93.1
Changeup25%80.6
Cutter15%89.5
Sinker14%93.2
Curveball10%75.9
Slider9%85.0

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Tigers vs RHP (Michael Wacha)
14th
in MLB
0.723OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Royals vs RHP (Drew Anderson)
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 RHP Michael Wacha
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Wacha (BvP)
1Kevin McGonigleLSS74.80618.8680-for-2Very small sample
2Gleyber TorresR2B57.7278.7021-for-7Very small sample
3Colt KeithL3B59.72810.7574-for-9Very small sample
4Dillon DinglerRC69.74827.8201-for-2Very small sample
5Zach McKinstryLRF36.5824.6292-for-6Very small sample
6Brett CallahanLLF—.6121.602No MLB historyNo history
7Spencer TorkelsonR1B69.76626.7864-for-19Small sample
8Max ClarkLCF51.7673.630No MLB historyNo history
9Hao-Yu LeeR2B59.74610.7532-for-3Very small sample
1Kevin McGonigle SS · L.278 / .806 · 18 HRvs hand .868 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample74H-Score2Gleyber Torres 2B · R.260 / .727 · 8 HRvs hand .702 · 1-for-7 · Very small sample57H-Score3Colt Keith 3B · L.258 / .728 · 10 HRvs hand .757 · 4-for-9 · Very small sample59H-Score4Dillon Dingler C · R.243 / .748 · 27 HRvs hand .820 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample69H-Score5Zach McKinstry RF · L.199 / .582 · 4 HRvs hand .629 · 2-for-6 · Very small sample36H-Score6Brett Callahan LF · L.211 / .612 · 1 HRvs hand .602 · No MLB history · No history—H-Score7Spencer Torkelson 1B · R.230 / .766 · 26 HRvs hand .786 · 4-for-19 · Small sample69H-Score8Max Clark CF · L.272 / .767 · 3 HRvs hand .630 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score9Hao-Yu Lee 2B · R.264 / .746 · 10 HRvs hand .753 · 2-for-3 · Very small sample59H-Score
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Drew Anderson
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Anderson (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC76.79027.837No MLB historyNo history
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS78.80018.7832-for-3Very small sample
3Jac CaglianoneLRF75.83423.8821-for-1Very small sample
4Salvador PerezRDH56.65721.628No MLB historyNo history
5Vinnie PasquantinoL1B69.76117.8261-for-1Very small sample
6Nick LoftinR3B53.7108.6850-for-2Very small sample
7Michael MasseyL2B60.73513.7211-for-1Very small sample
8Tyler TolbertRSS43.7393.817No MLB historyNo history
9Kyle IsbelLCF36.5916.6520-for-1Very small sample
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · No MLB history · No history76H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 2-for-3 · Very small sample78H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample75H-Score4Salvador Perez DH · R.229 / .657 · 21 HRvs hand .628 · No MLB history · No history56H-Score5Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · 1-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-Score8Tyler Tolbert SS · R.285 / .739 · 3 HRvs hand .817 · No MLB history · No history43H-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 18th.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 ERA3.68vs4.84
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.25vs1.44
no league rank
Saves32vs38
DETKC
ResultsDETDET·KCKC
+3556th
Run differential
+18626th
76–86 Record69–93
3–7 Last 107–3
Last 10 games
Detroit Tigers (3–7)
L
L
L
W
L
L
L
W
L
W
Kansas City Royals (7–3)
W
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
L
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
9—4
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Tigers?+
Drew Anderson (4.01 ERA, 4–4) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Royals?+
Michael Wacha (3.58 ERA, 6–8) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
7:15 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?+
Drew Anderson is at 53; Michael Wacha is at 61. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.