Michael Massey's 2-run, 2-out homer in 8th helps Royals beat Tigers 5-4 for 2nd straight win

Published Jul. 26, 2026 5:02 p.m. ET

Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Michael Massey hit a go-ahead, two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Sunday.

The Royals led 3-0 through four innings, fell behind after giving up four runs in the fifth before going back ahead on Massey's blast to right.

Nate Pearson (2-0) threw a scoreless inning. Steven Cruz pitched the ninth for his second save after giving up a walk and hit to the first two batters, closing the game by striking out Riley Greene.

Drew Sommers (0-1) allowed two runs on two hits over 1 1/3 innings.

Dillon Dingler hit a go-ahead, two-run single in a four-run fifth inning for the Tigers, but they failed to maintain the lead and lost a second straight game to the last-place team in the AL Central.

The Tigers have a week to decide whether to keep ace Tarik Skubal or to trade him ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Lane Thomas led off the game with a homer and Luke Maile had an RBI double in the fourth, giving the Royals a 3-0 lead.

Matt Strahm entered to face Greene in the fifth and he hit a ball up the middle that could have been fielded by shifting shortstop Tyler Tolbert or second baseman Andrew Velazquez, who was charged with an error, and two Tigers scored.

Dingler followed with a shot that went behind Strahm's head to give Detroit a 4-3 lead that wasn't large enough.