Phoenix ? Gil Meche will be the starter for the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day at Detroit, manager Trey Hillman said Saturday.

It will be the second year in a row Meche opens for the Royals. Meche took the loss in Kansas City’s 8-3 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday, but pitched well. He finished with three runs on six hits, walking two and striking out eight in five innings.

“I was really happy,” Meche said. “As far as stuff-wise, I don’t think I’ve had that good of stuff in camp in a while. I was just able to do a lot of things with all my pitches.”