KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The American League Central remains up for grabs as the trade deadline approaches.
The Detroit Tigers needed to take a step in the right direction against the Kansas City Royals, the worst team in the worst division, in Monday’s series opener at Kauffman Stadium.
A three-run eighth inning, which snapped a 20-inning scoreless streak, was enough for the Tigers to take that step forward. The Tigers rallied to beat the Royals, 3-2, in the first of four games.
“There was a lot of good in the last third of the game offensively,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “There was a lot of good in the pitching department, and our outfield defense was sensational. We’ll take the good out of it. We escaped with a win. It wasn’t our best game, but it’s nice to walk away with a win.”
MIX AND MATCH: Tigers’ Zach McKinstry takes over at shortstop because Javier Báez needs mental reset
THE FUTURE IS NOW: Tigers sign prep standout Max Clark after picking him No. 3 overall in 2023 draft
The scoreless streak started in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 6-0 win against the Seattle Mariners. In Sunday’s series finale, the Mariners shut out the Tigers, 2-0, to avoid getting swept at T-Mobile Park.
The Tigers (42-51) have a 3-1 record since the All-Star break.
The best scoring opportunity for the Tigers occurred in the eighth inning against right-handed reliever Taylor Clarke. Akil Baddoo legged out a leadoff double — winning an eight-pitch battle — as part of a two-hit, two-strikeout performance, but Eric Haase popped out and Zach McKinstry struck out swinging.
“He obviously had a good read on it,” Hinch said of Baddoo’s double. “We had a couple guys on base and never moved him. Akil moved himself by getting the double, and then we hung in there late in that inning.”
Riley Greene was hit by a pitch, followed by a walk to Spencer Torkelson to load the bases and force a pitching change. The Royals called on righty reliever José Cuas to face red-hot slugger Kerry Carpenter.
Carpenter drew a four-pitch walk for the Tigers’ first run in 20 innings, cutting the deficit to 2-1. The ensuing two-run double from Matt Vierling snapped his mini-slump (an 0-for-13 stretch) and put the Tigers ahead, 3-2.
“I felt pretty good,” Vierling said. “I was talking to our hitting coaches about it. My process is good. I’m swinging at the right pitches. I knew something would happen at some point, and luckily, it happened at that time.”
Right-handed reliever Jason Foley tossed a scoreless bottom of the eighth.
The scoreless inning from Foley, with help from an incredible running catch by Baddoo in the left-field corner to save a run, put the one-run lead in the hands of righty reliever Alex Lange. The de facto closer came into Monday’s game with a 10.13 ERA in his past 14 appearances.
“It was slicing,” Baddoo said of his game-saving catch in the eighth. “I tried to get a read on it as best as I could and bring it down. I felt like I was running for days, but I was glad to get that catch.”
This time, Lange slammed the door.
He retired all three batters he faced: Nick Pratto (strikeout, 86.6 mph curveball), Drew Waters (86.3 mph curveball) and Matt Duffy (groundout, 85.8 mph curveball). He threw seven of 10 pitches for strikes.
“It’s a great team win,” Lange said. “I’ve been making this team work a little too hard giving up some leads. It’s time to buckle it back down, make it tight, take responsibility and lock it back down. It’s a pride thing. You want to end the game when it’s time. I’m appreciative for the opportunity and continued trust.”
LISTEN UP: ‘Days of Roar’: Identifying Detroit Tigers SS Javier Báez’s real problem
Royal flush
The Royals scored their two runs in the fourth inning.
Right-hander Matt Manning was responsible for MJ Melendez’s single (with one strike), a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and Freddy Fermin’s single (with two strikes), but the Royals took a 1-0 lead because of a bad throw from Baddoo in left field.
Baddoo picked up the ball — from Fermin’s single — before Melendez reached third base. The Royals, though, tested Baddoo’s throwing arm from left field, and Melendez scored standing up.
“We played that play fine,” Hinch said. “If it was a little more on line, we would have had a little better chance at home, but it’s just baseball.”
The Royals tacked on another run, taking a 2-0 lead in the fourth, when Nick Pratto singled (with two strikes) to left field to score Fermin. Manning escaped further damage by inducing an inning-ending double play.
“Better two-strike execution, I think that’s the next step in my development,” Manning said. “That’s what I need to work on. I’m getting count leverage, and now it’s just about putting them away.”
Manning had three strikeouts through his first three innings, only to finish with three strikeouts in 5⅔ innings. He allowed two unearned runs on four hits without conceding a walk.
The 25-year-old, who threw 56 of 81 pitches for strikes, used 32 four-seam fastballs (40%), 23 sliders (28%), 21 curveballs (26%) and five changeups (6%). He generated eight whiffs and 18 called strikes.
His fastball averaged 94.2 mph, an increase of 1.3 mph from his velocity in his first five starts.
“One thing that I wanted to focus on is using all my pitches,” Manning said. “I think I’m getting to that point where my splits are good. I’m not relying on my fastball, and I’m going out there with some serious weapons.”
TIGERS NEWSLETTER: Can Matt Manning grab another piece of history vs. Royals?
Twice as nice
A different ugly streak was snapped in the fifth inning, when the Tigers collected two hits in the same inning for the first time in 17 innings with a pair of two-out singles from Andy Ibáñez and Baddoo.
Haase grounded out, though, to strand the runners on the corners.
Royals right-hander Jordan Lyles, who entered Monday with a 1-11 record and a 6.42 ERA across 17 starts, dominated the Tigers. The 32-year-old tossed six scoreless innings on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts, throwing 55 of 83 pitches for strikes.
“We really had a hard time getting on time with Lyles,” Hinch said. “And then our at-bats came alive a little bit.”
His changeup, while used sparingly compared to his curveball and fastball, was his best pitch and generated five of his 12 whiffs.
It was Lyles’ first start of the season without giving up a run.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.