The Kansas City Royals are doing a fine job of playing spoiler while the Detroit Tigers drift down the standings.
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Anibal Sanchez is through six hitless innings for the Detroit Tigers against the Kansas City Royals. He has recorded six consecutive quality outings, including a seven-inning performance at Seattle on Wednesday when he held the Mariners to one run.
Hosmer hit his 17th home run of the season to give his team a 3-1 lead in the ninth. He did draw a walk in the first inning and came around to score.
Kelvin Herrera pitched a 1, 2, 3 ninth inning to earn his sixth save of the season. Dillon Gee (4-6, 4.78) is scheduled to start against Minnesota’s Tyler Duffey (8-8, 5.71).
Paulo Orlando started the game with a four-pitch walk, then went to third when Norris threw away Cuthbert’s infield single, leading to the collision with Cabrera as he reached for the ball.
The right-hander retired the first 12 batters Wednesday night, then walked Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon in the fifth inning. First pitch is at 7:15 p.m. Royals 2B Raul Mondesi hit his first career home run on Tuesday.3.
The Tigers, already short-handed after Cabrera’s injury, lost Collins in the bottom of the eighth when he was ejected by plate umpire Dan Iassogna for arguing a called third strike.
Justin Wilson replaced Sanchez for the eighth with a 1-0 lead and allowed a tying homer to Alex Gordon on his first pitch.
Hosmer broke up Sanchez’s no-hit bid in the seventh inning with a double off the wall in left. The offense didn’t hit Justin Verlander particularly hard, but they made their hits count, socking three solo home runs before adding on insurance late. Starting pitcher Chase Anderson and left fielder Ryan Braun both departed the second game with left leg injuries.
The Tigers announced shortly before the first pitch that they had traded utilityman Mike Aviles and minor-league catcher Kade Scivicque to Atlanta for infielder Erick Aybar. Rookie Matt Strahm also made a key contribution by getting a ground ball double play from Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera with one out in the seventh.
When I asked Clint why multi-millionaires would be motivated by 25 cents, Clint said it wasn’t the amount, it was the competition. “So that will make things easier in the clubhouse”.
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Royals: Kansas City returns home to start a four-game series with the Twins on Thursday night. He’s the first Detroit player to wear that number since Brandon Inge.
