Valdez vs. Avila: Tigers-Royals Series Finale at Comerica

Detroit entered Sunday's finale at Comerica Park with a 2-1 series edge over Kansas City, needing Valdez to help secure one win to close out a four-game set decided by the slimmest of margins in every outing three games settled by one run, one decided by a ninth-inning home run.

A Series Built on One-Run Decisions

The Royals arrived in Detroit on July 23 without their All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., sidelined with low back tightness on the 10-day injured list retroactive to July 21, and Kansas City's lineup showed the absence in each game.

Detroit took Game 1, 4-3, on a James Outman three-run homer in the seventh and a tiebreaking Dillon Dingler double in the eighth. The Royals had led 2-0 after Isaac Collins homered in the sixth, only to watch that lead evaporate in a three-run Detroit seventh. Friday's second game went 2-1 to the Tigers, with Tarik Skubal striking out a season-high 12 batters in 7⅓ innings. Salvador Perez led off the fourth with an opposite-field double and scored on a Nick Loftin double, but that was Kansas City's only run of the night.

Saturday changed the series. Perez led off the seventh against reliever Kyle Finnegan with a 401-foot homer to left his 318th career home run, breaking George Brett's franchise record held for 40 years to tie the game at 2-2. Loftin then hit a tie-breaking homer in the ninth off Jacob Waguespack, giving the visiting Royals a 3-2 victory and cutting Detroit's series advantage to 2-1. The record was confirmed by MLB.

Pitching Lines for Sunday

Sunday's 1:40 p.m. ET first pitch at Comerica Park set up a contrast in arm profiles and recent form. Framber Valdez, the Detroit left-hander, carried a 5-7 record and 4.57 ERA into the start with 88 strikeouts on the season, per reporting from Yardbarker through July 22. Luinder Avila, Kansas City's right-hander, entered at 5-3 with a 4.86 ERA and 57 strikeouts, per the official MLB starting lineup listing.

Both starters have been inconsistent in recent weeks. Valdez's most recent outing before this series was a short appearance against the Chicago Cubs on July 21 the second time in his career he failed to record an out in the first inning, charged with six earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. Avila's strikeout rate trails Valdez's considerably 57 punchouts to Valdez's 88 giving Detroit's lineup, anchored by Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene, and Kerry Carpenter, an advantage if both starters work six or seven innings.

Detroit's batting order as listed by MLB's official starting lineups page: Colt Keith 3B, Kevin McGonigle SS, Gleyber Torres DH, Riley Greene LF, Dillon Dingler C, Kerry Carpenter RF, Spencer Torkelson 1B, James Outman CF, Hao-Yu Lee 2B.

The Royals countered without several usual contributors. Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey were both absent from the official starting order. In Witt's place, infielder Andrew Velazquez called up from Triple-A Omaha on July 22 batted ninth. The official Kansas City lineup: Lane Thomas CF, Nick Loftin 3B, Salvador Perez 1B, Jac Caglianone RF, Starling Marte DH, Isaac Collins LF, Tyler Tolbert SS, Luke Maile C, Andrew Velazquez 2B.

What the Standings Show

Detroit entered Sunday at 50-55, fourth in the AL Central and 3.5 games out of a Wild Card position. Kansas City stood at 44-62, fifth in the division. The Tigers had gone 6-4 over their previous ten games heading into Sunday, and had won 16 of their last 21 overall a run that has put the Aug. 3 trade deadline decision around Tarik Skubal at the center of the franchise's short-term planning.

For the full four-game schedule context, including broadcast details for every game at Comerica Park this series, the Tigers vs. Royals series guide covered first pitch times and roster absences from the opening day of the series.

Witt, who entered the series hitting .279 with 13 home runs and 30 stolen bases, was scheduled to begin light baseball activity in Kansas City on Sunday as his club played approximately 643 miles northeast in Detroit. The Royals have not confirmed a return date.

Perez's Record in Context

Whatever happened Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park, Salvador Perez's 318th home run was logged before the first pitch of the finale. George Brett had held the franchise record for 40 years since April 9, 1986, when his 194th career home run passed Amos Otis until Perez's 401-foot shot off Kyle Finnegan in the seventh inning Saturday.

Brett set that record over a 21-year career and 2,707 games. Perez reached it in 1,802, in his 15th major-league season, catching for a team that entered the series at 44-62 and playing in a four-game series against a divisional opponent most national coverage had filed beside trade-deadline transaction logs.

Perez's record home run did not come in a nationally broadcast showcase. It arrived in a 3-2 game at Comerica Park, with the Royals trailing by a run, and it was immediately followed by Loftin's go-ahead shot to complete the comeback. The series continued without pause.

The Royals head to Minnesota after Sunday for a three-game series beginning July 28, with the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching and several roster decisions still unresolved.