Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers

· Major League Baseball

Kansas City Royals

62-50, 26-28 Away

Final
5 - 6

Detroit Tigers

53-59, 26-30 Home

Wenceel Pérez's two-out single in the 11th lifts Tigers to improbable 6-5 win over Royals

The Tigers trailed in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings, and ended a five-game losing streak. Kansas City had won five straight.

“Our young guys are trying to grow and survive as major leaguers,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s been a tough week, so I appreciate the fight.”

Parker Meadows led off the 11th with an RBI triple and the Royals intentionally walked Javier Báez. Jake Rogers hit into a double play, but Pérez lined a ball off the wall in right center field off James McArthur (4-5).

“What a game,” said Meadows, who also made a diving catch to rob Bobby Witt Jr. of a hit in the 10th inning. “I was just thinking about getting the runner to third, but he left the ball up and I was able to drive it.”

The Royals led 3-1 going into the ninth, but Bligh Madris led off the ninth inning with a home run off Hunter Harvey. Zach McKinstry followed with a pinch-hit double.

McKinstry took third on Meadows' groundout and scored on Báez's double. Báez stole third without a throw, but Pérez grounded out to end the inning.

“We're going to take our chances in the ninth, up 3-1, with Hunter Harvey every time,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “They put some good swings on the ball — you have to give them credit."

The Royals took a 4-3 lead in the 10th on Witt's sacrifice fly off Jason Foley (3-3), but Meadows' catch limited the damage and Justyn-Henry Malloy tied the game with a two-out double.

Witt went 0 for 4 with a walk, ending his 15-game hitting streak

“It went back and forth in extra innings,” Quatraro said. “On the road, you are going to have to score more than one, and we didn’t do that."

Vinnie Pasquatino made it 1-0 in the sixth inning with a long homer off Kenta Maeda — his fourth homer in as many games — but Andy Ibáñez tied it with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

Paul DeJong put the Royals back in front 3-1 with a seventh-inning homer — the 18th homer off Maeda in 80 innings this season.

Hinch made an unusual defensive move early in the game. Pérez started the game in left field with Matt Vierling playing right, but they reversed positions for the second.

The first pitch was delayed 25 minutes by a ceremony to retire the No. 10 worn by former Tigers manager and 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Jim Leyland.

“We're dedicating that one to Jim,” said Hinch, who got behind the plate to catch Leyland's first pitch. “When I went down there, I wasn't sure I was getting up, but it was great to celebrate before the game and after the game.”

The teams finish the four-game series on Sunday afternoon, with Royals RHP Michael Wacha (8-6, 3.58 ERA) pitching against the Tigers' bullpen.

How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit Tigers?

TV Channel: Royals at Tigers 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on FanDuel SN DET.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Tigers: 51.4%

Royals: 48.6%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	11th Inning	Pérez singled to right, Meadows scored.
	11th Inning	Rogers grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Báez out at second.
	11th Inning	Báez intentionally walked.
	11th Inning	Meadows tripled to right, Vilade scored.
	11th Inning	McArthur relieved Bubic
	11th Inning	Hampson at first base.

Statistics

KC		DET
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
16	Ground Balls	12
8	Strikeouts	8
5	Runs Batted In	6
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
9	Hits	11
1	Stolen Bases	1
1	Walks	4
0	Catcher Interference	0
5	Runs	6
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
1	Sacrifice Flies	0
41	At Bats	42
2	Home Runs	1
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
12	Runners Left On Base	17
0	Triples	1
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	2
1	Doubles	5
18	Fly Balls	22
0	Caught Stealing	0
152	Pitches	155
0	Games Started	0
2	Pinch At Bats	2
0	Pinch Hits	1
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
16	Total Bases	21
43	Plate Appearances	46
324.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
3	Extra Base Hits	7
4.1	Runs Created	6.8
.220	Batting Average	.262
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.500
.390	Slugging Percentage	.500
.220	Secondary Average	.357
.233	On Base Percentage	.326
.623	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.826
0.9	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.5
3.3	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	5.7
38.0	Batter Rating	51.5
20.5	At Bats Per Home Run	42.0
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	1.00
3.53	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.37
.171	Isolated Power	.238
0.13	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.50
.023	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.087
.000	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.095
10.0	Runs Produced	12.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.4	Patience Ratio	0.6
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.3
84.8	MLB Rating	94.5
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0