Martinez was in the heat of a potential second-straight all-star appearance before the injury, as Martinez was hitting.286/.358/.520, with 12 home runs and 39 runs batted in. Martinez’s first two homers were off left-hander Danny Duffy and in the ninth went deep off Chien-Ming Wang. Fans knew once the team had the lead in the seventh inning, that the game was over because those three rarely made mistakes in their roles. The Tigers placed Martinez on the 15-day disabled list following the game.
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Rookie Michael Fulmer looks to win his seventh straight decision and extend his impressive scoreless streak when his Detroit Tigers visit the Kansas City Royals on Friday for the second contest of their four-game series.
Detroit Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez left Thursday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals with a fractured right elbow that he sustained when running into the wall while chasing a fly ball. Kansas City scored nine of its runs against the Tigers’ bullpen while winning at home for the 10th time in 11 tries.
Kansas City Royals’ Lorenzo Cain (6) is tagged out by Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (3) during the third inning of a baseball game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 16, 2016. Martinez had a career year in 2015, hitting.282/.44/.535, with 38 home runs and 102 runs batted in, leading the Tigers in both categories.
Elsewhere, Colby Lewis lost his no-hit bid for Texas in the ninth inning when Max Muncy opened with a double that glanced off right fielder Nomar Mazara’s glove in the Rangers’ 5-1 victory over Oakland. The oft-troubled right-hander threw 6.1 innings, allowing no runs and five strikeouts. Royals LF Alex Gordon took another round of on-the-field batting practice and could be leaving this weekend on a minor league rehab assignment. Entering Friday night’s game, he was just the second pitcher in major league history to record four consecutive starts of six scoreless innings or more while allowing three or fewer hits. The Royals optioned OF Reymond Fuentes to Triple-A Omaha to make room for him.
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Even the remarkable patience of Royals manager Ned Yost has been challenged by young pitcher Yordano Ventura, who has all the makings of a star if he could ever put everything together.
