1* free play on the KC Royals...
The Kansas City Royals swept the White Sox at home over the weekend, and they'll play host to the struggling Detroit Tigers in a three game series at Kauffman Stadium beginning Monday. The Royals send Johnny Cueto to the mound in Game 1, and you have to like the home favorite given the mismatch on the mound.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - Cueto (7-7, 2.69 ERA) will be making his home debut for Kansas City, after coming up short in two starts on the road. The right-hander pitched reasonably well in those games, but the Royals failed to get him enough runs at Toronto and Detroit. The Tigers counter with rookie left-hander Matt Boyd, who picked up his first major league win in his debut for the club opposite Cueto last week. He was hammered in his two previous starts for Toronto, giving up 11 runs on 15 hits over 6.2 innings.

2. Home Cookin' - The Royals home record of 37-18 is the best in the American League, and their team batting average of .278 at Kauffman is third overall in the majors behind only Colorado and Toronto.

3. X-Factor - J.D. and Victor Martinez (not related) are a combined 1-for-16 lifetime versus Cueto.

Selection: This is a play on the Kansas City Royals (Free)