MLB Game Preview - Detroit at Kansas City

Tue Sep 3, 2019 8:15 PM EDT

It's not often that one player can make a huge change in a baseball team, but shortstop Adalberto Mondesi certainly looks like a difference-maker for the Kansas City Royals.

Mondesi returned to from the injured list Sunday and made an immediate impact on offense and defense in the Royals' 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He matched career highs in hits (four) and stolen bases (three), and he made several good defensive plays.

The Royals hope that's a sign of things to come as the Detroit Tigers come to town for a three-game series beginning Tuesday evening.

"I'm not sure how many runs he scored, but he was right in the middle of all of our offensive scenarios," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He just looked great. He looked great at shortstop. I'm glad to have him back."

There was an energy that had been lacking in the 41 games that Mondesi missed due to a left shoulder injury. His teammates noticed, too.

"Mondi being back is huge for us," Royals pitcher Danny Duffy said. "He plays the game like it's a game. It's fun. It's supposed to be fun. It hasn't gone our way most of the time, but we have to treat every game like it's a one-game series. That's the mentality the rest of the year."

The Royals hope to use that up-tempo style Tuesday to help Mike Montgomery (3-7, 4.66 ERA). He lost his last start as Kansas City fell 2-1 to Oakland on Aug. 27. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out six over 6 1/3 innings.

Montgomery collected a career-high 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings with four hits in Detroit on Aug. 10. He is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Detroit, but he has held the Tigers scoreless with 16 strikeouts across 10 1/3 innings since 2016.

While the Royals were idle Monday, the Tigers saw a late lead get away against the visiting Minnesota Twins. Detroit led 3-2 going to the eighth, but it wasn't enough. The Twins loaded the bases, and Max Kepler hit a two-run single for the winning margin.

"We did a lot of good things today," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Just offensively, we didn't add on, and it ended up costing us a ballgame."

The Tigers will send left-hander Daniel Norris (3-11, 4.66 ERA) to the mound Tuesday. Norris is 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA in three appearances (two starts) against the Royals in 2019. For his career, he is 1-3 with a 4.37 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts) vs. Kansas City.

At Kauffman Stadium, he is 1-0 with a 3.62 ERA in five starts.

Norris has dropped 10 of his past 11 decisions, including taking the loss against Kansas City on Aug. 11, when he allowed four runs on four hits in three innings.

"I didn't have much of anything today," he said after that outing. "I had a blister that made me adjust my changeup grip, and I never got it to work."

The Royals won the last two games of their three-game set with the Orioles. The Tigers lost three of four to the Twins, and Detroit has dropped eight of nine overall.

--Field Level Media