This time it's a nail-biter, but Royals beat Tigers to expand division lead
Make that 10 in a row for these amazing Royals.
And unlike many of the other wins during the streak, which were blowouts, this was a white-knuckler all the way as the Royals squeaked past the Tigers, 2-1. They did so behind spectacular starting pitching from Jeremy Guthrie and superb relief efforts from Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland.
The Royals now are guaranteed to be in first place when they come home Friday for a long homestand as they take a 1 1/2-game lead in the Central.
Guthrie threw perhaps his best game as a Royal, certainly for six innings. He got nicked for a home run from J.D. Martinez in the seventh and also left with the tying run on second and two outs. But Herrera got a pop-up from Don Kelly to end the threat.
Guthrie went 6 2/3 innings and gave up just four hits and one run. He walked only one and struck out nine as he overmatched the mighty Tigers lineup.
"This could be the best game he's pitched this year," manager Ned Yost said on the FOX Sports Kansas City postgame show. "He just pitched a beautiful game."
Davis, as he has done so often, promptly struck out the side in the eighth.
And then Holland, after giving up a leadoff single to Miguel Cabrera, got Victor Martinez on a pop-up and struck out J.D. Martinez. Then Alex Avila, sensing a game-winning home run, drove one deep to left center that Jarrod Dyson chased down for the final out.
"You get that adrenaline playing a division rival," Holland told FOX Sports Kansas City's Joel Goldberg. "You try to treat it just like any other inning, but it doesn't always work out that way."
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Holland, like the rest of the Royals, is feeling blessed these days.
"It's a lot of fun," he said. "To see our progress as a core group over the years has been good."
Second baseman Omar Infante, a former Tiger, simply was impressed with the Royals' bullpen.
"Our closers ... unbelievable," Infante told Goldberg.
3 UP
-- Gordon's good fortune. Alex Gordon got the Royals on the board in the first inning with a bit of luck: He rolled a soft grounder up the middle that ricocheted off the second-base bag and into short right field. That allowed Eric Hosmer to score from first. But give credit to Hosmer for some big-time hustle. Hoz stole second with two outs to get in scoring position. And he ran hard to score from second on the soft grounder.
-- Omar does it again. For the second time in the series, Infante came through with a huge homer. His three-run bomb Monday night broke that game open. And in this low-scoring affair, Infante belted a slow curve from left-hander Drew Smyly over the left-field fence, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead and a slight bit of breathing room. It was huge, too, because Smyly was mostly having his way with the Royals' hitters.
-- "The catch." Gordon showed yet again why he has won three Gold Gloves. The Tigers had a runner on second with two outs in the fourth when the red-hot Martinez came up against Guthrie. Martinez smoked a liner toward left-center. Gordon streaked over and, fully extended, made a diving catch to save a run. That catch certainly rivaled Lorenzo Cain's spectacular catch earlier in the series.
3 DOWN
-- Hoz drops another one. Hosmer, who won a Gold Glove last year, again dropped a perfect pickoff throw from a pitcher. Guthrie threw a low pickoff attempt about a foot off the dirt as he tried to get Ian Kinsler at first. Hosmer simply dropped it, and Kinsler got up and reached second. Fortunately, Guthrie worked his way out of the inning with no damage. The error, by the way, was given to Guthrie, which could get changed, though it's unlikely the Royals will ask for that. As Rex Hudler said: "Keep it Guthrie's error. He's not going to win a Gold Glove anyway."
-- Use that challenge. It was odd that Yost did not challenge when Cain got picked off first base in the seventh. Cain took off for second and first baseman Victor Martinez threw relatively high to the shortstop. Cain was called out but appeared to slide under a high tag. But Yost didn't challenge.
-- Human after all. It's hard to pick on the offense, especially with the way Royals hitters have been flogging pitchers lately. But for a rare time, they did not come through in the clutch. The Royals had a great chance for some tack-on runs in the eighth when Dyson reached on a bunt single and Infante singled to center with none out. But Hosmer did nothing to advance them and struck out on three pitches. Then Billy Butler rolled into a double play.
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
