The Detroit Tigers (9-9) host the Kansas City Royals (7-11) this afternoon at Comerica Park, looking to complete a series sweep and extend their winning streak to six games. The Royals have lost three in a row. As a result, the Tigers have climbed to within a game and a half of Minnesota in the American League Central and the Royals have fallen 3.5 games off the pace.
This series has highlighted two struggling offenses. Detroit has won each of the first two games by the score of 2-1. The Royals managed but six hits and the Tigers seven with Gleyber Torres accounting for three of the seven.
Kansas City has scored an American League-worst 56 runs this season. Only the San Francisco Giants have scored fewer in all of baseball with 55. As a team, the Royals are hitting .214. They have hit just 13 home runs. Their slugging percentage is .330. Metrics suggest they are hitting the ball hard, which suggests things should improve but its rough right now.
As noted earlier, Kansas City will not be the only team on the field in Detroit today that is struggling to score. The Tigers have scored 74 runs to date this season. They rank near the bottom of baseball with a mere 213 total bases in 666 plate appearances.
Now that we know not to expect an offensive bonanza today, lets look at today’s matchup specifically. The Tigers will send right-hander Keider Montero (1-1, 1.74 ERA) to the bump against KC southpaw Kris Bubic (2-1, 2.50 ERA).
Know also that Detroit is now 7-1 at home this season.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Royals at Tigers
- Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026
- Time: 1:10PM EST
- Site: Comerica Park
- City: Detroit, MI
- Network/Streaming: MLB.TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Royals vs. Tigers
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Kansas City Royals (-122), Detroit Tigers (+102)
- Spread: Royals -1.5 (+135), Tigers +1.5 (-163)
- Total: 8.5 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers: Royals vs. Tigers
Pitching matchup for April 16:
- Royals: Kris Bubic
Season Totals: 18.0 IP, 2-1, 2.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 23K, 7 BB - Tigers: Keider Montero
Season Totals: 10.1 IP, 1-1, 1.74 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 10K, 2 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Royals vs. Tigers
- Bobby Witt Jr. is 2-14 over his last 4 games
- Carter Jensen is 3-21 over his last 7 games
- Kevin McGonigle has hit safely in 4 of his last 5 games (6-15)
- Gleyber Torres was 1 for his last 13 prior to his 3 hits last night
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Top Betting Trends & Insights: Royals vs. Tigers
- The Royals are 8-10 on the Run Line this season
- The Tigers are 8-10 on the Run Line this season
- The OVER has cashed an MLB-worst 5 times in the Royals’ 18 games this season (5-13)
- The OVER has cashed 7 times in the Tigers’ 18 games this season (7-9-2)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions: Royals at Tigers
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s game between the Royals and the Tigers:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Tigers on the Moneyline.
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Run Line.
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 8.5.
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