Riley Greene hit a go-ahead double in the fourth inning to record his 100th RBI and help lead the Detroit Tigers to a 5-3 series-opening victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
The Tigers (79-57) snapped a four-game losing streak and extended their lead over the second-place Royals (69-66) to 9 1/2 games in the American League Central.
“A lot of guys had good at-bats, and there were some good defensive plays. It was a complete game and a complete win for this team. I’m really, really proud of our fight,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters in Kansas City.
Greene’s double, which followed singles by Gleyber Torres and Kerry Carpenter, gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead and knocked Royals starter Seth Lugo out of the game. Greene became the first Tiger to drive in 100 runs since Nick Castellanos in 2017, and the first with 30 homers and 100 RBIs since Miguel Cabrera in 2016.
The Tigers fell into an early hole for the third straight game. Mike Yastrzemski took Tigers starter Chris Paddack deep on his first pitch of the night, and a few batters later, Maikel Garcia hit a two-run homer to put Kansas City up 3-0.
Paddack eventually settled in to retire the final eight batters he faced, but he didn’t make it out of the fourth inning and finished with no strikeouts. Over his last five starts, he has a 6.37 ERA with just nine strikeouts in 24 innings, allowing eight homers in that stretch.
The Tigers left the bases loaded in the first but broke through in the second with four straight singles. The last was Carpenter’s two-run base hit that cut the Royals’ lead to 3-2.
The Tigers’ defense saved runs with two impressive, if somewhat awkward, catches against the wall.
The Tigers’ defense contributed with two awkward but impressive catches against the wall. Wenceel Pérez robbed a hit in center to end the third inning, and Carpenter did the same in right field in the sixth, helping reliever Troy Melton strand two runners.
Kyle Finnegan delivered the biggest outs of the game in the seventh, striking out Vinnie Pasquantino and getting Salvador Perez to ground out with two on base. He returned for a 1-2-3 eighth, striking out two. Finnegan has now made 11 straight scoreless appearances, covering 13 1/3 innings, since joining the Tigers at the trade deadline.
“He’s got the stuff for it. He’s got endurance. His last pitches were some of his best pitches, which tells me he can handle it,” Hinch said. “And when we need it the most, he comes in and jumps right into the competition. This dude has been incredible at attacking the game at the biggest moments and coming through with huge performances.”
Dillon Dingler added insurance with a solo homer to lead off the eighth against reliever Taylor Clarke, putting Detroit up 5-3.
Will Vest worked a scoreless ninth for his 20th save.
Up next: The series continues on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. Eastern time. Right-hander Jack Flaherty (7-13, 4.87 ERA) will start for the Tigers.
The Royals are expected to call up right-hander Stephen Kolek from Triple-A Omaha to make his first start for the team since being acquired at the deadline from the San Diego Padres.
Kolek was 4-5 with a 4.18 ERA (4.26 FIP) in 14 starts for the Padres.
Flaherty retired the first eight batters he faced but gave up seven straight hits in a six-run third inning in his last start against the Royals in Detroit on Aug. 24.
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