KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals evened their series against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night, thanks to an eighth-inning home run from superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
In addition to Witt Jr.’s clutch hitting, trade deadline acquisition Stephen Kolek made his Royals debut.
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Here’s how the Royals got their 70th win on the season:
Witt Jr., Garcia provide much-needed runs
Maikel Garcia got the scoring started at Kauffman Stadium with a solo shot to left field in the fourth inning. Garcia’s production has been a constant for an offense that struggled to find any sort of consistency outside of the month of August. He continues to bat near .300 after earning his first All-Star nod in 2025.
However, the Tigers had answers of their own; they’d tie it up in the seventh 1-1.
That was before Bobby Witt Jr. came up to bat.
In the bottom of the eighth with one out and Tyler Tolbert at first base, Bobby Witt Jr. dug in and smoked a second-pitch home run to centerfield, putting the Royals up 3-1. It was his second hit of the day as well.
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Stephen Kolek shines in Royals debut
Right-handed starter Stephen Kolek was on the mound for his KC debut vs. the Tigers. He went six full innings, giving up just four hits and one run while striking out three with no walks.
While Kolek’s AAA numbers weren’t great following his acquisition for Freddy Fermin from the San Diego Padres, Kolek quickly made his presence felt in Kansas City. It’s a good sign for the Royals’ pitching staff that, frankly, needs all the arms it can get at this point in the season.
Up next
The Royals will close out the three-game series with a rubber match tomorrow night. It’ll be 2024 triple crown and Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal (11-4, 2.28 ERA) facing off against Michael Wacha (8-10, 2.29 ERA), who just welcomed his first son earlier this week.
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The Royals remain just out of an American League Wild Card spot, two games back of the Seattle Mariners and just one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians. They’ll need a series win Sunday if they want a good shot of clawing their way in.
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