The final weeks of the 2014 Major League Baseball season are here, and with less than 20 games remaining, division races are getting closer than ever.

The closest division race is taking place in the American League Central between the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers.

The Kansas City Royals recently closed out a three-game series against their rivals, defeating them 3-0. Starting pitcher James Shields was brilliant, throwing seven shutout innings and not allowing a single run in the process. Shields would also strike out eight Tigers hitters, while walking just one all game. With that win, the Royals are now 80-66.

Unfortunately for the Royals, they may have won the game, but they lost the series. The Tigers won games one and two and now find themselves at 80-64 in the MLB standings. The Tigers have the upper hand because they have played two less games, and they are 9-4 against Royals this year.

Amazingly, both teams have exactly 38 home wins and 42 road wins.

Despite being ranked last in home runs hit, the Royals offense is getting timely hits from a lot of players. Alex Gordon leads the team with 19 home runs and 77 runs scored. Venezuelan shortstop Alcides Escobar is having a breakout season with a team-leading 140 hits and his base running has been exceptional. Escobar leads the team in doubles and triples hit, and has 29 stolen bases.

The Royals experienced a hot August, going 19-9 during that month of play. The Royals have a great opportunity to take the division lead going forward as they play the Boston Red Sox in a four-game series. The Red Sox have been one of the worst teams in baseball this year, and the Royals will be playing them four consecutive games at home.

As for the Tigers, they do have the tie-breaker, but their road schedule going forward may be more difficult. They still have to play the Royals three more times on the road. The Royals will not be traveling to Detroit anymore this season.

The Tigers are benefiting much from Miguel Cabrera's bat. The Venezuelan-born slugger has 100 runs batted in for the 11th consecutive season, and he's batting .310 this season at the plate. Fellow countryman Victor Martinez leads the club with 30 home runs hit this season and a .333 batting average.

The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner is having another great season. Max Scherzer has a 16-5 record and a 3.19 earned runs against average.

The Royals and Tigers will still play one another three more times this season, all in Kansas City. The Tigers have made the playoffs the last three consecutive seasons. During that span, they have won a playoff series in the first round all three seasons. They have lost in the AL Championship two of the last three years. The Royals, on the other hand, haven't made a single playoff appearances since 1985. That World Series victory against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 was the last time Royals fans experienced a playoff game.

The AL Central Cleveland Indians are 74-69, but it doesn't look like they will be playing this October.

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