Detroit Tigers @ Kansas City Royals

Detroit Tigers @ KC Royals
Arguably the closest knit division in baseball, the American League Central tends to contain well rounded teams, and there does not appear to be much of a heirarchy in the division. We know Kansas City and Cleveland are expected to round out the bottom, but between the White Sox, Twins and Tigers-1st place could likely end up coming down to a 1 game playoff (again). Unless we get some surprises, KC and Cleveland don't have the back end of their pitching rotations, or bullpens to stretch a healthy amount of wins through this season. With all the off-season acquisitions however, it looks like we are in for a competitive race between the projected top 3 teams in the Central.
Arizona Diamondbacks' youthful cornerstone prospect Max Scherzer was dealt to Detroit primarily for hard throwing RH, Edwin Jackson. He blossomed with a few slip ups his rookie year with the D'Backs, but the upside was incredible and the potential on him was outstanding. I bet alot on the D'Backs when he took the mound for a start, and more often than not, whether I played a straight win or a +1 or 2 (run line) they took care of business. I expect a good start from Scherzer tonight, but he could get a bit jittery in the new uniform and an opposing ballpark-even so, I would give the Tigers the merit here. Me favoring Detroit in this game has more to do with Scherzer's counterpart on the mound. KC Royals starter Luke Hochevar still has a tall ceiling to reach, with a bit of experience under his belt and being a highly touted prospect out of the U of Tennessee. He hasn't produced consistently thus far, although showing flashes of brilliance on occasion. I am not willing to count him out yet, but I have seen his numbers and performances against this Detroit Tigers lineup and the results are ugly-they pretty much hammer him every outing. I understand this is a different season, and these pitchers fine tune their mechanics to the point where Hochevar may very well just go out there and shut down all the Tiger bats...but that would be wishful thinking for a Royals fan. It is my belief that Detroit takes the 1st two games in Kansas City, tonight's being the 2nd.
Detroit Tigers (-130).