Royals 4, Tigers 3 (F/10): No sweep for you

Tarik Skubal had a lackluster outing and the pesky Royals avoided the four-game sweep in extra innings on Easter Sunday.

The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals locked into a classic game of small ball between the two clubs. Tarik Skubal wasn’t particularly good, and the Royals were trying hard not to get swept out of town by the division leading Tigers. It was kind of a classic Tigers-Royals matchup where power did not rule the day. Instead both teams struggled to take advantage of their opportunities, and the game eventually went to extra innings. The Royals were able to push a run across, while the Tigers failed to do so and lost in 10 innings.

The Royals have had unusual success against Skubal and so he was clearly set on establishing the fastball inside and topped 99 mph right out of the gate. Jonathan India grounded out while Bobby Witt Jr. sent a drive out to Riley Greene in center field. After a first pitch fastball right on the inner edge for strike one against Salvador Perez, Skubal turned to the changeup and got a hard ground ball. Javier Báez at third knocked it down with a nice play and threw out Perez for a snappy first inning on just seven pitches.

Michael Wacha took the mound for the Royals in the bottom of the first, and after a ground out from Gleyber Torres, Kerry Carpenter flared a single into center field. Wacha punched out Zach McKinstry with a changeup, but Spencer Torkelson is currently unstoppable and he too lined a single into center field. Carpenter went first to third, daring Hunter Renfroe to throw him out, and Renfroe did not throw him out. Unfortunately, Riley Greene swung at an 0-1 changeup and grounded out to end the inning.

The Royals got something started pretty quickly in the second. Mark Canha flew out on a nice play by McKinstry in foul territory down the right field line, but Maikel Garcia singled sharply to right field and Hunter Renfroe flared a soft single to right and was able to take second as Garcia sped into third. Vinnie Pasquantino got a 2-2 slider away off the plate and flicked an RBI single to center field. 1-0 Royals.

Skubal bounced back to punch out Freddy Fermin whiffing at a changeup, but Drew Waters looked like he was sitting changeup and he got one down in the zone and flared a single off the end of the bat for an RBI single. 2-0 Royals. Jonathan India worked a 3-2 count but Skubal got him with the changeup to stop the bleeding.

It was a nickel and dime kind of inning for the Royals, but those pay too. The Tigers could’ve used one too, but instead Dillon Dingler and Colt Keith grounded out, and after a battle Wacha punched out Trey Sweeney with a fourseamer that the shortstop swung through.

As you’d expect, Skubal turned things around in the third. He altered his pitch mix a little and got Witt Jr. and Perez to fly out to start the inning. The problem remained some poorly placed pitches more than the gameplan. Mark Canha lined a changeup that hung up for single to right center field, and then Skubal missed with several pitches and walked Garcia. A ground ball from Renfroe to Báez fortunately snuffed the inning out before any more damage accrued on the scoreboard.

However, the Tigers couldn’t get anything going against Wacha. Báez flew out to start the bottom of the third, and Torres pulled a ground ball to Witt for the second out. Kerry Carpenter then got fooled and tapped a checked swing bouncer back to Wacha to end the inning.

Skubal was clearly trying to amp himself up and frustrated with some sloppy command as the fourth inning began. He victimized Pasquantino and Fermin with changeups to start the inning. However, the Royals weren’t overwhelmed and Waters got a changeup too much in the zone 1-2 and managed another two-out single on a flare into the outfield. India flew out to shallow center field to end the frame.

The Tigers finally got a baserunner in the bottom of the fourth after struggling with Wacha’s deep pitch mix the first time through the order. Zach McKinstry lined a single to right to start things off. Unfortunately, Torkelson flew out off the end of the bat to left, and Riley Greene fouled off a fastball and a cutter over the middle of the zone, clearly still not seeing it very well, and eventually pulled a grounder to Perez at first, who was able to force McKinstry at second. So, man on first, two outs. Wacha got ahead of Dingler 0-2 with a curveball for strike one and then a whiff on a slider. Dingler worked the count full as Wacha missed with a few fastballs, but fouled off ball four before swinging through a fastball.

Instead of the Tigers getting something going, the Royals turned them away and then Witt took advantage of Skubal leaving his changeups up and singled into right field to open the fifth inning. Skubal popped up Perez for the first out. He and Dingler were keeping a close eye on the speedy Witt and it seemed a matter of time before he broke for second. A Canha pop up right near the steps of the Tigers dugout should have been caught, but Dingler got turned around and while Báez came a long way from third base and would’ve had it, the communication wasn’t ideal and Dingler ended up in Báez’s way as the ball dropped. Canha eventually flew out to McKinstry in right and Witt was running on the play and had to turn on the jets to avoid getting doubled off first on a strong throw in. Witt then tried to run again, and Dingler cut him down with a perfect strike to Torres at second.

Colt Keith opened the bottom half with his best hit ball in a while, smoking a 106.3 mph line drive to right for a single. Sweeney got a changeup down and just flared a single to right while Keith read it perfectly to go first to third. Báez got the string pulled on him as Wacha changed speeds and dropped a curveball in that the third baseman swung right over. Torres then popped out on a first pitch changeup and we were not happy.

We got happier quickly, as Carpenter took a 2-2 cutter down the middle and pulled it through the right side of the infield. McKinstry was next and lined a 1-2 fastball for a single, and suddenly it was tie ballgame. Torkelson popped out on a changeup, but a pair of two out knocks had reset the stage and we had a whole new game on our hands.

Skubal was at 91 pitches, so his day was done, and it clearly wasn’t his best. 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K. Most of those hits were pretty cheap but it was on Skubal for wasting too many pitches and getting himself into bad counts after a quick first inning.

Brant Hurter took over in the sixth. Garcia came up with yet another two-strike hit for the Royals, striping a leadoff single to right field, and it was going to be crucial to stop them from recapturing a lead right after the Tigers tied it up. Garcia and Hurter did some dancing as the speedy utilityman thought about running. Renfroe popped out to shortstop on a dangerous sweeper up over the middle of the plate. Pasquantino saw a first pitch strike and then fouled off a sinker on his hands. Hurter just missed the outer corner with a sweeper against the left-handed hitter, then he poured in a sinker on the same eyeline to the outer edge with a little swing back action for a called strike three.

As Fermin settled into the batter’s box, Garcia broke for second and Hurter had time to step off and fire to first. Torkelson made a really nice throw to second and got Garcia by a step to end the frame.

Wacha struck out Greene to open the bottom half, but Dingler reached on a ground ball as India threw low from third and Sal Perez failed to pick it. The Tigers’ catcher was able to take second base as the potential go-ahead run. That was the end of the day for Wacha, as lefty Daniel Lynch came on to face Colt Keith. Lynch is off to a strong start this year, and so Hinch countered with Justyn-Henry Malloy. After a battle, Malloy flew out deep into the right field corner, and Dingler tagged and took third with two outs. It was up to Trey Sweeney, and he hit one hard but pulled it down the line to Perez who stepped on first to turn the Tigers away.

Fermin was up first in the seventh, and he flared a little one-hopper that Torres made a nice pick on at second base. Hurter than carved up Waters and India to end a strong inning of work.

Javy Báez greeted Lynch with a sharp single up the middle off a fastball to open the bottom of the seventh. A bouncer to third from Torres saw Báez forced at second base. Hinch let Carpenter face Lynch as the alternative would have been Andy Ibáñez vs. RHP John Schreiber. Carpenter chopped a bouncer to first but it was slow enough that Perez had to hurry the toss and Lynch couldn’t handle it. Carpenter was safe and McKinstry then punched a single through the left side. Torres roared around from second base and just beat the throw in from left field. 3-2 Tigers.

Matt Quatraro turned to Schreiber to deal with Torkelson and keep the game close. Tork got ahead 3-1 and looked to pounce, but Schreiber was careful and missed up and away to walk him and load the bases with one out. Riley Greene stepped into the box with a chance to blow this game open. Instead, he got a 1-0 cutter right down the gut and bounced into a double play. Arrgghh.

It’s ok though. Good to be winning a lot of games with Riley struggling this much.

Tommy Kahnle took over on the mound for the Tigers. Bobby Witt opened the eighth by pulling a grounder to third, but Báez threw it away and Witt took second on the play. Perez grounded out, but the Tigers played Mark Canha to pull and instead he spanked a grounder up the middle for an RBI single that tied the game. Tyler Tolbert came in to pinch run, and he and Kahnle played some cat and mouse until Maikel Garcia lifted a deep fly out to Greene in center field. Tolbert retreated to first and continued to start for second and stop throughout Hunter Renfroe’s AB as Kahnle, veteran that he is, kept holding the ball and freezing him. Kahnle got into a full count and then fired yet another changeup right down the middle and Renfroe swung right through it.

So it was still a tie ballgame, and the Tigers had the advantage with six outs to work with to the Royals three. Instead the Tigers squandered some chances as Dingler foul tipped strike three into Fermin’s glove and Malloy took a called strike three from Schreiber that was just off the plate away. Trey Sweeney popped out, and we were on to the ninth.

Tyler Holton entered the game as Hinch inserted Ryan Kreidler for Carpenter and playing center field, while Greene moved back over to left field. While it’s hard to argue with Hinch, putting Kreidler in when Carpenter would’ve been hitting third in the bottom of the ninth was a choice. Jason Benetti and Dan Petry openly wondered if Carpenter was banged up somehow, so odd a decision it seemed at this point in the game.

After the game, it would come out that Carpenter was dealing with a sore hamstring.

Holton carved up Pasquantino with a nasty sweeper to start the ninth. That pitch has looked better than ever this spring. Fermin sent a roller out to Torres at second base for out number two. Drew Waters saw more cutters and changeups as a right-handed hitter, and in a 2-2 count Holton fired a fourseamer up and got the whiff. Very strong inning from Holton and it was time to walk this one off.

Hard-throwing right-hander Carlos Estevez took over for the Royals in the bottom of the ninth. He was facing Báez, Torres, and Kreidler.

Báez pulled a broken bat grounder to third for the first out, and Torres swung first pitch and flew out to shallow center field. Wonderful. It was up to Kreidler and as you’d expect he struck out to send this to extras.

Holton stayed in the game in the 10th, with Waters starting the inning on second and Jonathan India at the dish with Witt lurking. Ideally, you’d get India without Waters advancing and walk Witt to create the force plays. It didn’t work out that way as India drilled a sharp one-hopper to Torres for the first out. Waters took third and so the Tigers pitched to Witt. The star shortstop lifted a fly ball out to Greene in left, and Waters tagged and just beat an accurate throw to the plate. 4-3 Royals.

Holton carved up Perez to shut things down, and so it was last call for the Tigers.

With Kreidler on second, McKinstry popped out in foul territory to start the bottom of the 10th. Estevez got ahead of Tork with strike one, then jammed him. Tork looked like he checked his swing on a slider that backed up on his hands, but strike two was called. Torkelson eventually flew out in foul territory down the right field line, and Kreidler took third base on the play. So it was all up to Riley Greene once again. However, the Royals didn’t want it to be up to Greene, and so they walked him to put the go-ahead run on base, and preferred to pitch to Dillon Dingler.

Estevez missed three times and in a 3-0 count fired a fastball for a strike at the bottom of the zone. A slider in got a swing and pop-out behind second base to end it.

Frustrating loss for the Tigers, but another really good series win for the good guys. They fall to 13-9 on the year.

The Tigers will now welcome in the San Diego Padres for three. RHP Keider Montero will take on RHP Randy Vasquez on Monday night at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Final: Royals 4, Tigers 3 (F/10)