(TSX / STATS) — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Detroit Tigers won despite Francisco Rodriguez blowing another lead.
Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run single in a four-run eighth inning as the Tigers rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 10-7 on Monday night.
Eric Hosmer homered with Lorenzo Cain aboard off Rodriguez in the seventh to give the Royals a 7-6 lead. Rodriguez (2-5) got a blown save but claimed a victory.
Rodriguez, who leads all active pitchers with 437 saves and logged 44 last year with the Tigers, had not pitched since May 21. He lost the closer job earlier this season, as he has five blown saves in 12 opportunities. He has given up six home runs in 17 1/3 innings.
“To be honest with you, I was probably going to use Frankie today anyway,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “I just think, normally, guys like him are more effective when the game’s on the line. He’s always pitched like that. We have to find out if he can pitch with the game on the line.”
The Tigers scored four runs in the eighth to regain the lead. Joakim Soria (2-2) faced five batters in that inning and retired none. He walked two and yielded three hits, including Alex Presley’s RBI single, and he threw a run-scoring wild pitch. Soria blew his fourth save opportunity.
“Walks and command affected us,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
The Royals trimmed the Tigers’ lead to one run in the sixth. With the bases loaded, Alex Gordon drew a walk from left-hander Blaine Hardy, who began his career with the Royals as a 2008 22nd-round draft pick. Alcides Escobar’s sacrifice fly scored Whit Merrifield, who had doubled, with the second run.
Merrifield finished a single shy of the cycle. He flied out to center in the seventh in his final at-bat. George Brett was the last Royal to hit for the cycle on July 25, 1990, at Toronto.
“Anytime your name is next to George, you’ve done something special,” Merrifield said. “Rusty (Kuntz, first base coach) told me to hit a homer and miss first.”
Justin Wilson worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to pick up his fourth save in five chances.
The Tigers batted around in a six-run fifth and chased Royals starter Jason Hammel, who walked three and uncorked a wild pitch in the inning. When he walked Cabrera with the bases loaded, that was Yost’s cue to go to the bullpen.
“I think it’s hard to relax when you lose three games in Houston and three games in Chicago,” Cabrera said. “It puts a lot of pressure on us. Today we just go out there and play baseball.
“We stopped thinking about the bad things we do in the past, the mistakes we do in the past. We’re coming here to play baseball. Hopefully we can do that tomorrow and play our game.”
Left-hander Mike Minor was summoned, but on his first pitch he gave up a two-run double to Victor Martinez that tied the score at 3.
Next J.D. Martinez uncorked a three-run homer, making it 6-3 Detroit.
“Minor came in with the bases loaded and really made a good pitch to Victor Martinez,” Yost said. “A nice piece of hitting on the inside corner of the plate and just got the head out and drove it down the line. He cut a slider that caught too much of the plate for J.D. Martinez and he drove it out of the park.”
Hammel allowed four runs on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.
“I felt good in the fifth, and I just got too cute,” Hammel said. “Walks are what bothered me the most tonight. Not really any hard-hit balls. I got us into trouble with the walks.”
Merrifield put the Royals in front 1-0 in the third with his sixth home run, driving a 2-1 Daniel Norris pitch into the left field seats. Merrifield extended his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games, which is the longest by a Royal this season.
Merrifield was in the middle of the Royals’ two-run fourth. Salvador Perez was hit by a Norris pitch and scored on a Merrifield two-out triple to right. Jorge Soler’s single scored Merrifield, giving the Royals a short-lived 3-0 lead.
Norris allowed three runs on six hits in five innings.
NOTES: The Royals placed LHP Danny Duffy on the disabled list with an oblique strain. He is expected to be out six to eight weeks. Duffy sustained the injury Sunday while covering first base in a loss at Cleveland. … The Royals optioned RHP Miguel Almonte to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. They recalled RHP Kevin McCarthy from Triple-A Omaha, and he threw a scoreless inning Monday. … Royals LHP Eric Skoglund was promoted from Omaha, and he will make his major league debut Tuesday, starting against the Tigers. RHP Justin Verlander (4-3, 4.87 ERA) will start for Detroit.
Photo credit – Charlie Riedel / Associated Press / Kansas City, MO
