
Eckert walks out of press conference after 'spygate' questions
Southampton's Tonda Eckert walks out of press conference after 'spygate' questions
The Detroit Tigers aim to end a four-game losing streak against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. Ty Madden will start for the Tigers, while Michael Wacha pitches for the Royals.
We have reached the magical 40-game mark of the season, the point at which one should have a good idea of what a major league team is made of. However, with the plague of injuries that the Detroit Tigers have sustained so far, it is still pretty difficult to get a clear view of what the 2026 edition of the Olde English D has to offer at this juncture.
Friday night’s series opener saw the Motor City Kitties cough up a late-inning lead en route to a 4-3 walkoff win for the Royals. Keider Montero gave his team six innings of one-run ball and the offense slugged five doubles, but Kyle Finnegan and Brant Hurter could not hold on in the end.
Still dealing with a plethora of injuries, the Tigers turn to right-hander Ty Madden on Saturday night in hopes of providing a few strong innings in what will probably be a bullpen game. The 26-year-old gave Detroit five scoreless frames in relief in his only appearance this year against the Boston Red Sox; he allowed four hits and zero walks while striking out seven, not to mention his insane groundball rate of 69.2%.
For the Royals, fellow righty Michael Wacha will climb the hill for the first time against the Tigers this season. Last year, he faced Detroit four times: two of them were quality starts; the third was solid, but 1/3 of an inning short of the QS; the fourth was a bit of a stinker.
Five of the 34-year-old veteran’s seven starts in 2026 have been good enough for the QS, while the other two saw him post a combined 8.71 ERA and 5.46 FIP over 10 1/3 innings of work. Otherwise, he has not given up more than two runs and thrown no fewer than six frames in the other five.
The Detroit Tigers are currently on a four-game losing streak.
Ty Madden will start for the Tigers in the game against the Royals.
In their last game, the Tigers lost to the Royals 4-3 after giving up a late-inning lead.

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Take a look below at how the two match up on Saturday evening.
Time (ET): 7:10 p.m.
Place: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
SB Nation Site: Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 40: RHP Ty Madden (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (3-2, 3.05 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madden | 1 | 5.0 | 35.0 | 0.0 | 69.2 | 0.34 | 0.2 |
| Wacha | 7 | 44.1 | 20.7 | 8.6 | 31.1 | 4.06 | 0.7 |
MADDEN
WACHA