MLB Game Preview - Kansas City at Detroit

Thu Aug 8, 2019 7:10 PM EDT

Matthew Boyd could have made meaningful starts the rest of the season if the Detroit Tigers found a suitable trade package for their ace before the July 31 trade deadline.

Boyd would rather pitch for the worst team in baseball. He's content being part of the rebuilding process, rather than a trade chip to bring in more prospects.

He'll make his second start since the trade deadline passed in the opener of a four-game home series with Kansas City on Thursday.

"This is where I want to be," Boyd said to MLB.com. "I feel called to Detroit, the city, this team. Detroit truly is home, and I'm so grateful for that. It means everything to me when I put on that uniform every single day.

"Things are changing here for the better. Everybody in this locker room knows it, and we're going to come out on the other side as a squad very, very soon."

It's hard to imagine that right now, as the Tigers can't even put back-to-back wins together. But the strength of their farm system is pitching, as some of those young arms will start helping the major league club as early as September.

"We're going to win here," Boyd said. "We're going to bring a championship here. It's going to happen. Things are changing. We have the right guys here, and we have the right people at the helm in the dugout every day. They've set the culture, and we believe in it. We know we can do it.

"It may seem dark right now, it may seem kind of gloomy, but the guys in here, the fight's there."

Boyd (6-8, 3.91 ERA) has been one of the few bright spots for the Tigers. He has 69 strikeouts over the last seven games, yet he's just 1-4 since the beginning of June, a span of 11 starts.

In his last outing, he got a no-decision while allowing two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings at Texas on Saturday.

He's already faced Kansas City three times this season, going 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA. The Royals have traditionally given him trouble, as he's 4-9 with a 6.29 ERA in 17 career starts against them.

Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield has a .441 average in 34 at-bats against Boyd, including six extra-base hits.

Detroit dropped three of four to the Chicago White Sox this week, while the Royals had a 4-4 game at Boston suspended in the 10th inning on Wednesday night.

Right-hander Jorge Lopez is expected to make a spot start for Kansas City. Left-hander Danny Duffy was placed on the 10-day IL this week, forcing manager Ned Yost to improvise.

"He's up to 75 pitches and probably our smoothest move," Yost said to MLB.com of Lopez.

Duffy, who is 5-6 with a 4.93 ERA, has a hamstring strain.

"Maybe back in the day, I would have tried to prove that I can come back quicker, I can do this faster," Duffy said to MLB.com. "But being where I'm at in my career and how long I've been around, I know pushing it doesn't do you any good."

Lopez (1-7, 6.19 ERA) pitched 3 1/3 innings at Minnesota on Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits.

He's faced the Tigers six times (three starts), posting an 0-2 record and 6.75 ERA, but the worst of those numbers came in a seven-run inning of work last year. In five appearances (two starts) this season against Detroit, Lopez is 0-1 with a 3.79 ERA.

--Field Level Media