Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals delayed by rain at Comerica Park

The Detroit Tigers experienced two rain delays in one game.

The Tigers and Kansas City Royals entered a rain delay Thursday, April 16, ahead of the three-game series finale at Comerica Park, delaying first pitch by 65 minutes. The teams began playing at 2:15 p.m., but at 4:33 p.m., more rain delayed the game again with two outs in the top of the seventh inning.

The grounds crew brought the tarp onto the field immediately after Salvador Perez put the Royals ahead, 8-6, with a three-run home run off left-handed reliever Tyler Holton. The game resumed at 5:19 p.m. after the second round of rain for a 46-minute delay.

The game was supposed to begin at 1:10 p.m.

“I don’t know what happens today,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Thursday’s game. “We’ll meet as it gets closer to game time, but it’s obviously a mess out there.”

The pitching matchup for Thursday was right-hander Keider Montero for the Tigers and left-hander Kris Bubic for the Royals. After Thursday’s game, the Tigers (9-9) will play Friday (7:15 p.m., Apple TV) against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The starters for the four-game series against the Red Sox: right-hander Casey Mize on Friday (vs. left-hander Ranger Suárez), left-hander Tarik Skubal on Saturday (vs. right-hander Brayan Bello), left-hander Framber Valdez on Sunday (vs. left-hander Garrett Crochet) and right-hander Jack Flaherty on Monday (vs. right-hander Sonny Gray).

The Tigers are riding a five-game winning streak.

“I was talking to Q [Royals manager Matt Quatraro] across the way,” Hinch said. “Obviously, we all want safety and a window, as they say, but there’s a lot of unknown going into the day.”

This story will be updated.