Tigers vs. Royals odds, tips and betting trends

At Kauffman Stadium on Friday, the Kansas City Royals (69-65) take on the Detroit Tigers (78-57), fellow members of the AL Central, at 8:10 p.m. ET.

As the favorite, the Tigers (-120 moneyline odds) play at the Royals (+101). The Tigers will give the ball to Chris Paddack (5-11) versus the Royals and Seth Lugo (8-6).

The Tigers lost 7-0 to the Athletics Wednesday, with Casey Mize (3 1/3 innings, giving up five earned runs on seven hits while striking out four) on the hook for the loss. Spencer Torkelson went 1 for 3 with a triple to lead the Tigers offensively in the defeat.

The Royals knocked off the White Sox 12-1 Wednesday. Mike Yastrzemski went 2 for 5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs, and Ryan Bergert got the win, pitching six innings, giving up one earned run on six hits while striking out three.

Before the Tigers vs. Royals matchup, here is everything you need to prepare for Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.

Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals odds, line and spread

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 6:20 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Favorite: Tigers (-120, bet $120 to win $100)
Underdog: Royals (+101, bet $100 to win $101)
Over/under: 9

Tigers vs. Royals: Game time and live stream info

Game day: Friday, August 29, 2025
Game time: 8:10 p.m. ET
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Stadium: Kauffman Stadium
TV channel: FDSKC and FDSDET
Live stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)

Watch Tigers vs. Royals on Fubo!

Tigers stats and trends

Tigers betting records

The Tigers have entered the game as favorites 96 times this season and won 60, or 62.5%, of those games.
Detroit is 56-30 this season when entering a game favored by -120 or more on the moneyline.
The Tigers have a 54.5% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
Detroit and its opponents have hit the over in 70 of its 135 games with a total this season.
The Tigers are 65-70-0 against the spread this season.

Chris Paddack (Tigers probable starter)

Paddack (5-11 with a 4.98 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 137 1/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Tigers, his 27th of the season.
The right-hander’s last time out came on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, when he threw five innings, surrendering one earned run while allowing five hits.
In 26 games this season, the 29-year-old has amassed an ERA of 4.98, with 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are batting .265 against him.
Paddack is looking to collect his seventh quality start of the year.
Paddack is aiming for his fourth straight outing lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.3 innings per appearance on the mound.
He has had one outing this season in which he held his opponents to zero earned runs.
The opposing Royals offense has the 19th-ranked slugging percentage (.394) and is 25th in MLB play with 128 home runs. It has a collective .247 batting average, and is 18th in MLB with 1110 total hits and 27th in MLB action scoring 523 runs.
Head-to-head against the Royals this season, Paddack has thrown five innings, giving up one earned run on five hits while striking out one.
The 29-year-old ranks 50th in ERA (4.98), 33rd in WHIP (1.260), and 52nd in K/9 (6.4) among qualifying pitchers in MLB play this season.

Tigers batting stats

The Tigers have hit 173 homers this season, which ranks ninth in the league.
Fueled by 411 extra-base hits, Detroit ranks ninth in MLB with a .423 slugging percentage this season.
The Tigers’ .249 batting average ranks 12th in the league this season.
Detroit is among the highest-scoring teams in the majors, ranking eighth with 650 total runs this season.
The Tigers have an OBP of .318 this season, which ranks 13th in MLB.
Detroit ranks 26th in strikeouts per game (8.8) among MLB offenses.

Royals stats and trends

Royals betting records

The Royals have been underdogs in 76 games this season and have come away with the win 35 times (46.1%) in those contests.
This season, Kansas City has come away with a win 24 times in 63 chances when named as an underdog of at least +101 or longer on the moneyline.
The Royals have an implied victory probability of 49.8% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
Contests with Kansas City has gone over the total set by bookmakers in 59 of 134 chances this season.
In 134 games with a line this season, the Royals have a mark of 70-64-0 against the spread.

Seth Lugo (Royals probable starter)

Lugo (8-6) takes the mound first for the Royals in his 26th start of the season. He’s put together a 3.99 ERA in 142 2/3 innings pitched, with 120 strikeouts.
His last time out was on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, when the right-hander went 4 1/3 innings, surrendering six earned runs while allowing six hits.
In 25 games this season, the 35-year-old has an ERA of 3.99, with 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are hitting .237 against him.
Lugo has collected 12 quality starts this season.
Lugo has 20 starts this season where he pitched five or more innings.
In three of his 25 total appearances this season he has not surrendered an earned run.
He will face a Tigers offense that ranks eighth in the league with 650 total runs scored while batting .249 as a unit. His opponent has a collective .423 slugging percentage (ninth in MLB action) and has hit a total of 173 home runs (ninth in the league).
Lugo has thrown 14 1/3 innings, giving up 13 earned runs on 16 hits while striking out 13 against the Tigers this season.
The 35-year-old’s 3.99 ERA ranks 34th, 1.239 WHIP ranks 31st, and 7.6 K/9 ranks 40th among qualifying pitchers this season.

Royals batting stats

The Royals average one home run per game to rank 25th in MLB action with 128 total home runs.
This season, Kansas City ranks 19th in the majors with a .394 slugging percentage.
The Royals are 17th in MLB with a .247 batting average.
The offense for Kansas City is No. 27 in MLB action scoring 3.9 runs per game (523 total runs).
The Royals’ .308 on-base percentage is 23rd in the majors.

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