The Tigers have played good enough baseball in the last two weeks to put themselves in a premium position.
Coupled with a Chicago White Sox tailspin, the Tigers are just one win (or one White Sox loss) away from claiming back-to-back American League Central Division championships.
Standing in the Tigers way is a familiar foe.
The Tigers send Rick Porcello (9-12, 4.68 ERA) to the mound to face the Kansas City Royals tonight in Kansas City.
If you remember 2006, it was the Royals who swept the Tigers in the final series of the season and cost them a division title.
The Royals will counter Porcello by sending Bruce Chen (11-13, 5.13 ERA) to face a Tigers lineup he knows very well.
Chen shut down the Tigers the last time they came to Kaufmann Stadium, allowing no runs over eight innings in a game Kansas City won, 1-0.
He gave up two runs to the Tigers over 6 2/3 innings last Tuesday in Detroit.
Miguel Cabrera enters the game looking to become the first triple crown winner since 1967.
Cabrera is leading the American League in batting average (.325) and RBIs (136). He is tied with Texas’ Josh Hamilton with 43 home runs.
The Tigers have won six of their last seven games entering tonight, and will look to clinch the division with a win instead of backing into a title via a White Sox lost.
First pitch from Kansas City is scheduled for 8:10.
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