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Royals' series finale vs. Tigers rained out

DETROIT -- Ned Yost, amateur weatherman, sat in the visitors' clubhouse at Comerica Park next to his computer where a radar screen showed a ghastly green glob heading for Detroit.

It was already 34 degrees. Would rain threaten the third game of his Royals' first series at Detroit?

It was mid-morning on Thursday, but already options for the afternoon game were being considered. Ultimately, more than an hour before it was supposed to start, the game was postponed because of cold and the threat of rain.

So the series at Detroit ended after two walk-off losses for the Royals. They'll resume their season at 3:10 p.m. CT on Friday with their home opener against the Chicago White Sox.

Yost said right-hander Jeremy Guthrie would start as scheduled on Friday afternoon against the White Sox. Rookie Yordano Ventura, who would have started Thursday in Detroit, will be skipped over and used in the bullpen for a couple of days. He will then start in turn Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"I've had this rotation set up with Guthrie for Opening Day [at home] since Spring Training; I'm not deviating from that," Yost said. "I want a veteran to start Opening Day. With an 11-man staff, I can add another quality arm to my bullpen for the next couple of days to help us through."

Yost also said that by backing up his rotation, he would put James Shields on a seven-day program that would mean too much rest, creating, "too much havoc."

Thursday would have been a miserable day to try to play baseball in Detroit.

"I just went outside It's miserably cold out there, too," Yost said prior to the postponement. "It just seems like we go through this every year here. First trip in, we get a rainout."

Indeed, last April 22 the series opener at Detroit was rained out and rescheduled for Aug. 10 as part of a day-night doubleheader.

Weather aside, Yost said before the game's postponement that he was hoping to play it, especially after losing the first two games to the Tigers on walk-offs by margins of 4-3 and 2-1. But it was not to be.

"Just like last year -- started 0-2 last year too," Yost said, recalling a trip to Chicago. "We need to get the offense going a little bit. They'll get going. It's early, we're facing good pitching."

True enough. Justin Verlander won the 2011 American League Cy Young Award, and Max Scherzer won it last year -- they were the Tigers' starters in the first two games.

"You've got two Cy Young Award winners that are two top-of-the-line pitchers in the league," Yost said.

The Tigers later announced a make-up time of 1:08 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, a mutual off-day following a three-game set at Comerica Park.

"I'd rather have a split or a doubleheader than play on an off-day, but I don't have any control over that," Yost said before the announcement.

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: Kansas City Royals, Yordano Ventura