No-quit Tigers rally to beat Royals, narrow Twins' lead to 1 1/2 games

KANSAS CITY, Mo.— This no-quit Detroit Tigers thing, it’s real.

Down by four runs twice to an All-Star pitcher who has not only beaten them twice this season, allowing a run in 15 innings, but is probably running second or third to Tarik Skubal in the American League Cy Young race – pretty stiff challenge.

And yet, the Tigers were more than equal to the task Monday, rallying back against right-hander Seth Lugo and beating the Kansas City Royals 7-6 in the first of three vital games at Kauffman Stadium.

It was their 34th comeback win and, coupled with the Minnesota Twins’ 4-3 loss in Cleveland, it moves the them to within 1 1/2 games of the final wild-card spot.

It was rock-em, sock-em baseball at its finest.

The Royals punched first. Bobby Witt, Jr., spoiled right-hander Reese Olson’s return to duty with a grand slam homer in the fourth inning. The Royals scored single runs in the fourth and fifth.

The Tigers countered first with a body blow in the fourth. Zach McKinstry tripled off Lugo and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Trey Sweeney.

In the fifth, Colt Keith stepped in with two outs. Lugo had gotten Keith out with runners on base in the first and third innings, stranding five runners.

This time Keith got him. He jumped a first-pitch changeup and drove it 406 feet over the wall in right-center. His 13th homer made it a 6-4 game.

They tied the game in the sixth inning on a two-run, pinch-hit double by Wenceel Perez off lefty reliever Sam Long.

Manager AJ Hinch went to two right-handed pinch-hitters in the inning. Andy Ibáñez ripped a single ahead of Perez’s double.

An RBI single by Matt Vierling made it 7-6.

Right-hander reliever Brenan Hanifee allowed a run but he slowed the Royals’ momentum getting seven outs from the fifth into the seventh.

Will Vest got the Tigers through the seventh with some clutch work. With runners at first and third and one out, he got Witt to fly out to shallow right and Salvador Perez to fly out to center.

It was Beau Brieske’s turn in escape trouble in the eighth. The first two Royals reached against him and then he dialed it up. He struck out MJ Melendez with a 99.5 mph four-seam fastball. It was the hardest pitch he’s thrown in his career.

He then got Maikel Garcia to hit into a 6-4-3 double-play.

Jason Foley again got the ninth, and for the second straight game he locked it down, getting three straight outs and leaving Witt in the on-deck circle. It was his 24th save.

Vierling and McKinstry each had three hits in the game.

As for OIson, he was making his first start since the end of July and he set down the first six hitters he faced. And he looked sharp doing it. He was spinning his slider (up to 2,994 rpm) off his four-seam and two-seam fastballs.

The Royals whiffed five times on six swings at the slider.

Then came the third. It was already going to be a short outing for Olson, who had thrown up to three innings and 45 pitches in two rehab starts. But he didn’t plan on it ending this abruptly.

He got small-balled by the bottom three hitters in the Kansas City order – walk, ball-in-play single through shortstop and a bunt single – loading the bases and turning the lineup over.

Olson struck out leadoff hitter Tommy Pham for the second time in the game. That brought MVP candidate Witt Jr.

Olson got him to rollover a slider in the first inning, hitting a hard bouncer to shortstop Sweeney. He tried to get the same result again, but this time hoping to show a different shape.

He threw a 1-1 curveball that was intended to be down and away. He hung it and Witt clobbered it. The ball left his bat with an exit velocity of 108 mph and flew 383 feet inside the foul pole in left.

It was Witt's 32nd homer to go with 107 RBI.

The Royals scratched another run in the fifth off lefty Sean Guenther. MJ Melendez tripled and scored on a single Adam Frazier.

It was the first run allowed by Guenther in 12 innings and it re-established a four-run lead for the Royals.

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