The Kansas City Royals begin their four-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday as one of the worst road teams in Major League Baseball.

Kansas City is 2-7 away from Kauffman Stadium and just got swept at Yankee Stadium, but the matchup in play on Thursday at Comerica Park suits the Royals.

Michael Lorenzen has been a steady force on the mound that the Royals can trust to get beyond the fifth inning.

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The Kansas City lineup owns some favorable numbers against Reese Olson, most notably Bobby Witt Jr., who has incredible head-to-head splits versus the Detroit right-hander.

Michael Lorenzen lasted at least 5.1 innings in each of his three starts to begin the season.

That’s the target again on Thursday to clear the over on his outs recorded prop.

Lorenzen has allowed his share of hits (17), but he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his appearances.

A year ago, Lorenzen went five and 5.2 innings in two starts versus Detroit. He only allowed three hits in the appearance in Detroit, an outing that would’ve lasted longer had he not walked five batters.

Four of the last six starters to face the Tigers went at least five innings. The Tigers lineup has produced 15 runs in the last five games, but nine of them came on Monday.

As long as Lorenzen avoids a high volume of walks, he can cruise into the sixth inning against a Detroit lineup trending in the wrong direction.

Betting the over on Bobby Witt Jr.’s total bases is a good move on almost any night because he’s one of the best hitters in baseball.

It’s an even better bet when you look at Witt’s history against Reese Olson.

The superstar shortstop owns a .545 batting average, 1.902 OPS, two home runs and six RBIs in 11 career at-bats versus Olson.

Witt owns a nine-game hitting streak in which he’s had five extra-base hits.

At least one hit seems like a guarantee against Olson, and with the gap-to-gap power he has, it’s also worth looking into betting him to record a double (+310) or triple (+1000).

Seven of his 22 hits this season have been doubles, and one of his 11 triples last season came in Detroit.

Witt isn't the only Royal with strong numbers against Olson. Michael Massey (2-for-8, 1 HR) and Maikel Garcia (3-for-10, 1 HR) and Kyle Isbel (2-for-5) have had success against the Detroit righty.

Olson has allowed 10 earned runs, 17 hits and eight walks in 15 innings this season.

Kansas City does have a bad road record and it is second-to-last in batting average against righties this season, but the familiarity against Olson will help the Royals get out to an early lead and out of their road rut.