Final Score: KC 9 | DET 2

Overall Record: 62-49

Winning/Losing Pitcher

• W: Cole Ragans (8-7 | 3.36 ERA)
• L: Tarik Skubal (12-4 | 2.58 ERA)

Royals Player of the Game

Salvador Perez

3-5, HR (20), 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R

Whenever the big moment happens, I just expect Salvador Perez to be a part of it and contribute every way he can. On Friday evening, he fell a foot short of the cycle, but not the way you think. He started his evening off by hitting a straight up BOMB off of an AL Cy Young candidate. Smashing the ball 448 feet in the process. Second at bat, a screamer past the pitcher. Which lead to an amazing circling of the bases by Salvy scoring from first on a Hunter Renfroe double. He was just able to squeak into home plate and slide under the catcher’s tag. He was originally called out on the play, but thank God for instant replay. Then in his fourth, a racing double to put an explanation point on the Royals rally. The last at bat of the night is the one that took my breath away truly. He hit one to right field slicing away from the defender, with three bags written all over it. The catch was made, so the cycle drought for the Royals continues, but I’ll be honest, that one got me out of my seat. There was a legitimate shot if that ball got down. Salvy was also Mic’d Up for the Apple TV broadcast (which is remarkable, I feel like all baseball should feel like that), and I know it sounds stupid, but whenever Salvy is under the microscope he just seems to be better. Tonight was just another one of those notches in his armor. On the National stage, for a young up and coming ballclub in a playoff race, he supplied the magic, entertainment, and spectacle of the night. Proving why this man is a baseball Hall of Famer when he decides to hang it up. 

Key Highlights

This one started off hot for the Tigers, after a frustrating first inning for Cole Ragans. Ragans started the night with a lead off walk to Matt Vierling after a grinding at bat. He retired the next two hitters, but then Justin Henry-Malloy made a statement with a two-run bomb to start the night’s festivities. Just a pitch in the middle of the plate, low 90s to a good hitter in this lineup. He is going to burn you at that point. Thankfully, Ragans was able to bounce back, retiring 9 of the next 10, en route to a pretty solid outing for Cole. 

Royals were able to score on the aforementioned Salvy homer, double from Hunter Renfroe, and then surprisingly, a sac fly from Paul DeJong, who is doing what you ask of him. Can’t get mad at him for that. Ragans then left the game going five and two thirds strong, with Lucas Erceg coming in for the biggest high leverage situation in the game. Which props to Royals manager, Matt Quatraro, for that move. Might sound like a small thing, but Erceg got you out of that higher leverage situation, then the offense came through and rewarded him. Making that outing by Erceg the true “save” of the game. The top of the seventh started with Paul DeJong popping out, and then all hell broke loose. Dairon Blanco single, Maikel Garcia single, and that got the basepaths involved. The Tigers just got absolutely terrified when the Royals got runners on base. That is when all the wheels came off, and it got ugly real quick for Detroit. Tarik Skubal was then taken out when Bob came up to the plate, with Shelby Miller replacing him. The moment you had runners on for Bobby Witt Jr., it was over. But this time he killed you in a different way. He got an infield single, giving us the bases loaded with only one out. This way, he beat the Tigers psychologically, because they thought they won. They kept the best player in The Royals lineup from killing them, and so, the Tigers relaxed and that was their fatal flaw. It then sounded like the fourth of July on the second day of August in Detroit. Vinnie Pasquantino singled, bringing two runners in, and making it a two run game. Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie pull off a double steal, putting both runners in scoring position for Salvy. But wait, remember when I said Detroit got terrified when Royals runners were on base? Wild pitch, and Bob is able to come right in and score. Making the score 6-2 in a flash. But do you think this offense stopped there? No! This leads to Salvador Perez doubling in Vinnie, Renfroe single, Freddy Fermin RBI single, Garret Hampson single, Paul DeJong single. IF you’re doing the math at home, that makes nine. NINE consecutive hits from the Royals offense on Friday night. How often have you literally ever seen that? 

I couldn’t think of one time of that happening in my life. Nine hits in a row, what a remarkable achievement, how do you get an entire lineup to do that? The Tigers pitching staff everyone, it is possible. Anyway, this makes the score 9-2, and that’s what we finish with here in Detroit. The Royals also got great innings from Angel Zerpa, Chris Stratton, and James McArthur, closing it down and putting those final nails in the coffin. How did the Royals hit nine straight hits? I cannot begin to comprehend it, it didn’t even feel like it was happening, but that has to be some sort of crazy trivia for you next time. Last team to have every single player in their lineup get a hit in the same inning? The 2024 Kansas City Royals.

Summary of the Next Game

The boys in blue will try to continue their winning ways in Detroit and go for their sixth win in a row. This is a big one, as Michael Lorenzen will make his Royals debut. He has a 3.81 ERA in 16 starts this season, so not a bad sample size so far. The 2023 All-Star finds himself now in a very solid rotation, taking that fifth spot from Alec Marsh. Lorenzen won’t blow it past you or completely overwhelm you, but he’s a smart pitcher. Staying on the corners and relying on his offspeed stuff and pitch mix to confuse the hitters. Definitely more of a pitch to contact guy, which is good for the Royals, for their stadium of course, but more importantly: their defense. The Tigers haven’t announced a starter for Saturday yet, since they are still trying to figure out what their rotation will look like after the Trade Deadline. They are using a few different young options, bullpen games, and other means to compete, so hopefully the Royals can take advantage of that. It is a 5:10 CST first pitch Saturday at Comerica Park, and let’s hope the boys can continue to play some ball. Stay Hot!

Image Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports