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ANAHEIM -- The Tigers were scheduled to get into Kansas City around 5 a.m. CT on Friday morning, and into their hotel beds about an hour later. They're hoping to avoid the kind of wakeup call the Royals gave them early last season.

While last year's 88 Tigers losses left a lot of credit to go around for opponents, the early crushing blows went largely to Kansas City. The Royals shocked baseball with the three-game series sweep at Comerica Park to open last season, and their repeat sweep at Kauffman Stadium sent Detroit dropping toward double-digit games under .500 in mid-May.

The Tigers battled back to gain some measure of revenge in July and August, but one more Royals sweep in late September sealed last place for the Tigers for the first time since 2003. That was also the last time the Royals hadn't finished in the cellar.

"They have good starting pitching," said Zach Miner, who returns to the Tiger rotation with his scheduled start Saturday night. "They had a younger-type lineup, but those guys are going to be a year older with more experience and guys who swung the bat well last year."

While Kansas City entered the season as a darkhorse pick to make a major jump in wins, Detroit was a major question either way. Now they meet as two-thirds of the first-place tie atop the American League Central with the White Sox, all of them a game over .500. It's the lone division in the Majors where still no team has reached double-digit wins.

A decisive series one way or the other could be an awakening in that direction. But the Tigers are going to have to sleep fast first.

How much of an issue was the late-night flight for the Tigers? They flew Friday's scheduled starter, 20-year-old Rick Porcello, to Kansas City a day early, something they've rarely, if ever, done during manager Jim Leyland's tenure.

Leyland understands the need to draw fans at their best time for attending games, but he was at least a little worried about the early morning arrival.

"I certainly am aware of the financial part of the business. You want everybody to get as much [of a crowd] as you can," Leyland said. "They talk about making the gate, but you're also talking about the gate [Friday] in Kansas City. We have a responsibility as Major League players to put on a performance, and guys are going out there sleeping at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and going to the ballpark and playing a game."

At some point during the series, the Tigers expect to have Joel Zumaya back in their bullpen. However, Leyland indicated that isn't likely to happen Friday.

Pitching matchup
DET: RHP Rick Porcello (1-1, 3.75 ERA)
Porcello won his first big league game -- in his second career start -- Sunday in dazzling fashion. He worked seven innings, allowing just five hits and one run in an 8-2 victory. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter in his 86-pitch outing. He yielded a third-inning home run then retired the final 14 batters in a row. His first victory comes at age 20 years, three months and 22 days.

KC: RHP Zack Greinke (3-0, 0.00 ERA)
Greinke is on a big-time roll to start the season. He has gone 20 innings without allowing a run and has his franchise-record scoreless-innings streak up to 34. He pitched the best game of his career on Saturday against the Rangers, notching his first career shutout with a seven-hitter, striking out 10. Greinke is working beautifully with catcher Miguel Olivo, who is forcing him to pitch inside more with his fastball. That is opening up the outer part of the plate and making his silder, curveball and changeup even more effective.

Tidbits
Curtis Granderson has a seven-game hitting streak, including a 2-for-4 performance on Thursday against the Angels. ... Brandon Inge's sixth home run of the year Thursday moved him into a second-place tie among AL players, trailing only White Sox slugger Carlos Quentin ... Inge has driven in a run in 10 of Detroit's 15 games. ... Miguel Cabrera continues to top the Majors with a .431 batting average.


Up next
• Saturday: Tigers (Zach Miner, 1-1, 8.10) at Royals (Kyle Davies, 1-0, 2.89), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 2-0, 1.96) at Royals (Sidney Ponson, 0-2, 7.04), 2:10 p.m. ET
• Monday: Tigers (TBD) vs. Yankees (CC Sabathia, 1-1, 4.81), 7:05 p.m. ET

Tigers out to exorcise KC demons | tigers.com: News