Detroit 7, Kansas City 3: KC BBQ’d

Jobe shines and Nido is King in Tigers win

Game Two of a four game home series against the Royals was a laugher early and a nail-biter at the end as the Tigers withstood a furious Royals rally. Let’s see how it all shook out.

Jackson Jobe took the mound for the Tigers. The rookie had a fine showing his last time out, going 6 innings with no runs allowed against the Twins. Unfortunately, his shutout was ruined early. After a groundout of Jonathan India, Bobby Witt Jr. scalded a ball to left field for a double. A wild pitch moved him to third, where Vinny Pasquantino drove him in with a second scalded double. A Salvador Perez grounded moved Pasquantino to third, and a walk to Maikel Garcia followed by a steal of second made things a bit anxious. Luckily Jobe rebounded to strike out Michael Massey to end the threat. There was a lot of hard contact in the inning, which was a concern.

The Royals threw out Cole Ragans, one of the best pitchers in baseball. He had been dominant so far this season, sporting a sparkling 2.28 ERA and an even lower FIP. Justyn-Henry Malloy flew out and Gleyber Torres struck out but Riley Greene – out to bust his slump – walked. Unfortunately, Andy Ibáñez struck out swinging to end the inning.

Hunter Renfroe laced a single to lead off the second. Jobe buckled down and struck out Drew Waters with a nasty slider. He struck out the next batter but walked India after a lengthy battle, bringing up the dangerous Witt Jr with two on. However, Jobe got him to foul out on a changeup, dodging any damage.

Spencer Torkelson continued his resurgence with a walk and a surprise steal. Ragans struck out the next two batters, bringing up light-hitting backup catcher Tomás Nido. He defied the odds and laced a single to left, scoring Tork and tying the game. Zach McKinstry grounded out to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1 and Ragans had thrown 40 pitches in two innings. With Jobe at 48 after the same, it looked like a shorter day for both starters.

Jobe worked around a two-out single to retire the side, while Ragans one-upped by getting a 1-2-3 inning.

Jobe easily retired the Royals in the top of the fourth. With the Tigers up to bat next, Ibáñez showed why he was hitting cleanup by launching a solo HR to deep left center. Tork struck out swinging but Carpenter sliced a single to the outfield. Kerry continues to get hits against lefties after never facing them last year. Javy struck out on a nasty pitch bringing up our unlikely hero, Nido. Nido continued to be the king of the evening, getting another single, bringing his All-Star caliber offense up to an OPS of .858 (what are sample sizes?) However, Ragans buckled down to retire Malloy to escape more damage.

Pitching with his first lead of the day, Jobe kept up the pressure. Witt Jr. reached second on a forceout and steal, but a filthy pitch (quarantine that baseball) struck out Pasquantino before Perez flied out to end things.

The Tigers had been patient against Ragans all day. Even when at-bats ended in strikeouts (through 4 he had 8), the pitch count was going up. They kept that going in the fifth. Malloy worked an 8-pitch walk before Torres singled, putting two on for Greene. Greene decided to put his slump behind him, singling in a run to chase Ragans before an out had been recorded in the inning. The Royals went to their bullpen, putting in former Tiger John Schreiber. Hinch pinch-hit Sweeney, a move that payed off with an RBI single. Schreiber settled down to induce a run-scoring double-play and a popup, but the Tigers were up 5-1 after five innings. Any time you can chase a great starter and put up a five spot on them, it’s a good day.

Jobe’s night was done after 5 innings of 1-run ball, striking out 5 Royals. His replacement, Brenan Hanifee, has had a whirlwind few days. He was optioned to AAA a few days ago, hadn’t reported yet, and ended up called back up to the squad when Beau Brieske went on the IL today. He got the call for the sixth. He struck out Garcia swinging, gave up a single, induced a pop-up that Torres made a nice run to get to, then gave up a double that was nearly disastrous as Sweeney’s relay throw to third base was off-line and only an El Mago play from Baez kept it from going into the dugout. Holton came in to face Kyle Isbel with two men on and two outs. Sweeney redeemed himself by fielding a grounder to end the inning.

Steven Cruz was the next Royals pitcher up and he mowed down the Tigers with little drama. Detroit countered the bullpen game by bringing out their safety Vest, matching Cruz by dominating.

The bottom of the 7th started quietly, with new reliever Lucas Erceg getting two quick outs. However, Greene swatted a 109 mph comebacker right up the middle…directly into Erceg’s ankle. The Royals defense nearly got Riley on the bounce but he reached safely. Erceg though, clearly in extreme pain, had to come out of the game and was replaced by Angel Zerpa, a lefty. Sweeney hit a slow chopper to short and Jonathan India just missed it while charging, meaning both runners were safe. This brought up Torkelson, who delivered yet another knock, doubling in Greene and Sweeney. That hit gave him the AL lead in extra-base hits at 13, which is something nobody sane would have suggested before the season started. Carpenter struck out, but another crooked number got put up on the scoreboard.

John Brebbia was out for the 8th. He immediately got into trouble, allowing a deep double to Sal Perez and a walk to Garcia. Brebbia rebounded to strike out Massey before facing a pinch-hitting Cavan Biggio, a guy many Tigers fans wanted to trade for. He worked a 3-1 count before a pitch timer violation forced a walk, loading the bases for Waters. He got Waters looking before Isbel popped one sky high. Multiple infielders converged, but Torres made the catch. Disaster averted.

Chris Stratton has struggled this season and the Tigers greeted him warmly. A Baez flyout was followed by a Nido single (they cannot stop him) and a McKinstry double. However, the Tigers couldn’t deliver as the next two batters were retired without a run scoring.

Top of the 9th and a six run lead meant it was Kenta time. Maeda got India to fly out but the insanely speedy Witt Jr. beat out a grounder for an infield hit; almost anyone else in baseball was out on that play. Witt took 2nd on indifference, allowing him to score with a Pasquantino single. Perez drew a catcher’s interference call by hitting Nido’s glove on a swing. A wild pitch advanced the runners, then an increasingly wild Maeda walked the bases loaded. At this point, with the tying run on deck, Hinch pulled him for Tommy Kahnle. Kahnle couldn’t find the strike zone, immediately walking in a run and bringing the tying run to the plate in Biggio. After a tough battle, Biggio struck out on an inside changeup. Waters knocked a ball that looked like it was going to drop for a few RBIs but a charging McKinstry made a highlight diving catch to end the threat and the game. Tigers win, 7-3.

Tigers and Royals will play game 3 of a 4 game series tomorrow afternoon with Casey Mize taking on Seth Lugo in a premium pitching matchup.