A nice effort from Montero foiled by quiet bats.
Welcome to August, post trade deadline, and time to see what the rest of the year is going to to look like. The Tigers are finally done with the Guardians, but they do still have other division rivals on the schedule, starting with a weekend series against the Royals.
Seth Lugo was on the mound for Kansas City, up against a much thinner Tigers’ rotation with Keider Montero starting for Detroit.
Montero struggled off the hop, giving up a single to Maikel Garcia, who then stole second base. Bobby Witt Jr. walked, then a Vinnie Pasquantino homer scored three runs. After that rough start, Montero settled and got the next three outs. In the home half Colt Keith got a one-out walk, but was the only baserunner.
The second and third inning were 1-2-3 for both sides.
Salvador Perez kicked off the fourth inning with a single, but a strikeout and double play eliminated the threat. Colt Keith singled to leadoff the bottom half, then Wenceel Perez singled as well. Then Bligh Madris hit a sac fly to score Keith, putting the Tigers on the board. A rare passed ball from Perez advanced a runner, but the Tigers couldn’t take advantage.
In the fifth, Freddy Fermin singled to start things off. Three outs quickly ended the threat. Gio Urshela singled in the home half, but much like the Royals’ outing, was quickly eliminated by three outs.
The Royals went 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth. In the home half, the only baserunner was Matt Vierling with a leadoff single.
The several-inning scoreless streak for both teams ended in the seventh as Michael Massey hit a two-out double, then Fermin singled to bring him home. Two outs followed, limiting the damage to one run. Montero made it through seven, but that would be the end of the night for him, going 7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 88 pitches. Some early hiccups, but overall a good outing for his longest start to date. The Tigers were three-up, three-down in the bottom of the inning.
Brenan Hanifee came in in relief and… well… it was not a relief. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a one-out homer, then immediately after that Vinnie Pasquantino hit a solo home run of his own. Hunter Renfroe got a two-out single and that was it for Hanifee. Sean Guenther came in and hit Michael Massey with a pitch, but did manage to get the final out of the inning. The Tigers went down in order in the bottom of the inning.
In the top of the ninth Kyle Isbel was hit by a pitch with one out. Bobby Witt Jr then got a two-out double, scoring Isbel. Lugo, who had gone through eight, made way for Will Smith in the bottom of the ninth as the Tigers hoped to get a bit more movement in the run column. Alas, they did not, getting only one baserunner in the form of Wenceel Perez.
Final: Royals 7, Tigers 1