Only for Guild Members » Nolan Arenado and cleanup hitter Trevor Story

KANSAS CITY Denny McLain Jersey , Mo. (AP) — Jakob Junis had just served up a home run to JaCoby Jones and a base hit to Jeimer Candelario, and the Royals‘ young right-hander could feel the inning starting to get away from him.So when he turned around to watch his infield turn a timely double-play on a grounder by Jose Iglesias, Junis wheeled right back around with the kind of fist pump rare for the soft-spoken starter.“That was a big at-bat,” Junis said. “Who knows if I would have gotten a chance to go back out.”Junis did indeed get to go back out for the ninth, and when he mowed through Detroit’s lineup one more time, he had his first career complete game. The six-hitter allowed Kansas City to roll to a 6-2 victory to begin a midweek, two-game set between AL Central rivals Tuesday night.Not only was it his first big league complete game, it was his first as a professional.“That’s a goal you set out to do,” said Junis, who improved to 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA in four starts against Detroit this season. “A great feeling to accomplish that. Hopefully more to come.”The only runs Junis (7-12) allowed came in the third, when Candelario managed a sacrifice fly, and the eighth http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-daniel-norris-jersey , when Jones went deep. Otherwise, the young right-hander worked briskly and efficiently, with seven strikeouts and no walks producing his second win since May 18.“You have confidence against certain teams. Pitchers get that,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “You have success and that gives you confidence. You ride that.”Junis’ three previous wins against Detroit came in April and May, when he was off to a hot start, but he struggled throughout June and landed on the disabled list with lower back inflammation. But he’s been solid in eight starts since his return, cutting down his walks and home runs.“He wasn’t showing it, but he was very frustrated when he was going through that period. He’s not a robot,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Tonight he was pretty much in control the whole way.”Adalberto Mondesi went deep off Matthew Boyd (8-12) to lead off the third inning, and the Royals wound up batting around. Jorge Bonifacio hit a sacrifice fly, Hunter Dozier added a two-run double and Alcides Escobar wrapped up the big inning with a two-out single that gave Kansas City a 5-1 lead.That turned out to be plenty with Junis on the mound.Boyd, who threw six shutout innings against the White Sox his last time out http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-kirk-gibson-jersey , wound up allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks in six innings. The Tigers’ right-hander dropped to 3-7 in 13 career starts against Kansas City, and he’s just 8-21 in 41 starts on the road.“I just got away from my fastball. Hats off to Mondesi, he hit my pitch,” Boyd said. “I lost a little feel for the fastball as the inning went on and that’s what happened.”Detroit could have used a gem from him as they opened a nine-game trip. They’ve lost four straight and five of six, their offense failing to score more than three runs in any of the defeats.STATS AND STREAKSJunis had the first nine-inning complete game by the Royals since Jason Vargas on June 2, 2017, against the Indians. … Royals 1B Hunter Dozier has six RBIs in his last six games. He had four in his previous 35. … Tigers LF Mikie Mahtook has reached base in 13 straight games.JONES RETURNSJones (right hamstring strain) was back in the lineup for the first time since hitting the DL on Aug. 13. OF Mike Gerber was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday to create a roster spot for him.TRAINER’S ROOMTigers: LHP Daniel Norris (left groin strain) could start Saturday against the Yankees in New York, Gardenhire said. Norris has been sharp in rehab outings at Toledo after compiling a 5.87 ERA in five appearances for Detroit before getting hurt.Royals: OF Brian Goodwin (left groin strain) will rejoin the club when rosters expand Sept. 1, Yost said. … OF Jorge Soler (left toe fracture) will finish the season with Triple-A Omaha before he rejoins the Royals. That would mean Soler is expected back Sept. 4.UP NEXTTigers RHP Michael Fulmer tries to build on a solid start in his return from the disabled list, when he threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the White Sox last Friday. The Royals counter with LHP Danny Duffy as the teams wrap up their two-game series with a matinee Wednesday. LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers will send their longtime staff ace to the mound Tuesday in a key National League West clash, while the Colorado Rockies will have their difference maker poised for another second-half masterpiece.September matchups with a division title on the line do not get much better than three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw against outside Cy Young contender Kyle Freeland in a must-see duel of left-handers.The Dodgers will enter Tuesday with a half-game lead on the Rockies after beating their division rival 8-2 on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.Article continues below ...“In September (great matchups) get elevated because of the situation,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “(Tuesday) is a good one just because our guy has been pitching great and their guy has been pitching great for about 10 years. What can you say? The left-handedness is pretty cool too.”Freeland is not only 15-7 with a 2.96 ERA this season Willie Horton Jersey , he is 9-2 at Coors Field with a 2.36 ERA. Numbers like that should give him extra credit in the Cy Young chase, but he probably is not going to get enough of it to edge out other award contenders like Aaron Nola of the Phillies, Max Scherzer of the Nationals and Jacob deGrom of the Mets.In three starts against the Dodgers this season, Freeland is 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA.Kershaw has been there and done that when it comes to a late-season Cy Young Award drive. He has gone through two separate disabled-list stints this season, and even though he hasn’t looked like a no-hitter waiting to happen like in recent years, he has been plenty good enough.Kershaw is 7-1 with a 2.39 ERA in 15 starts since returning from a back injury that wiped out three weeks in June.“I think that people want to look at, I guess, the strikeout percentage, but if you look at what he’s done and how efficient, how successful he is, he is our ace,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s doing it a little bit of a different way http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-victor-martinez-jersey , but he might argue that. He’s still an elite pitcher and he’s our No. 1.”Kershaw will be tasked with facing what Roberts called one of the best top of the orders in the game from Rockies leadoff man Charlie Blackmon to DJ LeMahiey, Nolan Arenado and cleanup hitter Trevor Story. In the fourth inning Monday, though, Story left the game with an apparent back injury.That foursome has been the heart and soul of the Rockies for a few years now. Freeland at the top of the pitching rotation has turned the Rockies into a title contender. But even though Colorado has appeared in a World Series, it has never won an NL West title.After Tuesday, the Rockies have just one more chance on Wednesday to create some space between them and the Dodgers.The offense in L.A. is currently being powered by a focused Yasiel Puig, who was named NL player of the week, mostly for a two-game flurry over the weekend in St. Louis when he hit five home runs in two games. But Joc Pederson emerged Monday to hit a pair of home runs.