Detroit at Kansas City

Detroit righty Justin Verlander (3.45 ERA) certainly has his groove back! Verlander is off a masterful outing, losing a no-hitter in the ninth inning Wednesday in a 5-0 rout of the Angels. He is 2-1 his last three starts, allowing one run in 23 innings with 24 strikeouts. He has a 2.17 ERA on the road. Detroit has a strong offense, top 10 in runs scored and second in baseball in on-base percentage. So how is Johnny Cueto doing in the AL with his new team? Not so good, allowing 21 hits, 13 runs his last two starts (11 innings). Cueto was battered for seven runs on 13 hits without walking a batter and striking out three over six innings of a 7-2 loss to the Red Sox on Friday. The Royals are 1-5 as a favorite of -151 to -200, plus 1-4 as a home favorite of -151 to -200. Play Detroit.