Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy said in spring training that he preferred anonymity to the fame of his teammates who got to appear on late-night television after winning the World Series last season.
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Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Detroit Tigers from being swept Wednesday night at Comerica Park. Eventually Eric Hosmer walked to end Anibal Sanchez’ flawless game, doubled to end his no-hitter and homered against Shane Greene to put the Royals in the lead. Tigers hitters were 2-for-15 (with two walks) against it on Tuesday. With one out, Eric Hosmer hit a line drive to deep left-center, and though Tyler Collins ran it down, Orlando scored easily on the sacrifice fly.
The Royals added an insurance run in the ninth on Lorenzo Cain’s RBI single off Blaine Hardy.
Kelvin Herrera pitched a 1, 2, 3 ninth inning to earn his sixth save of the season. They’re hitting. The bullpen is shutting down opponents once more.
Ventura scattered five hits over his 6.1 innings and got a sterling defensive play from Cheslor Cuthbert to save a run or two in the fourth inning. In the eighth, Justin Wilson allowed a solo homer to Alex Gordon, tying the score at one. In the second inning, Ventura threw what looked like a two-seam fastball low and in to Victor Martinez, who jumped on the pitch to put it in the right field seats.
“You’d expect a pitcher’s duel from those two, and that’s really what it was, ” Yost said.
Hosmer broke up Sanchez’s no-hit bid in the seventh inning with a double off the wall in left. Sanchez threw a no-hitter as a rookie for the Florida Marlins on September 6, 2006.
The Tigers lost slugger Miguel Cabrera after four innings to a strained left biceps.
Aroldis Chapman entered with one out in the ninth inning with a pair of runners on and retired the next two batters for his fifth save with the Cubs and 25th this season. In 2011, Aybar bunted to try to break up Justin Verlander’s no-hitter in the eighth inning, drawing an angry response from both the Tigers ace and the fans. The Tigers on Tuesday acquired SS Erick Aybar from Atlanta for UTL Mike Aviles and a prospect.2.
Verlander worked a quick 1-2-3 top of the 1st, disposing the Royals on only ten pitches.
Tigers: Detroit plays Boston on Thursday in the first of a four-game series.
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“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to stay fair, so I just started running, ” he said.
