It’s hard to quantify an early-season game in April as a must-win.
However, it’s fair to say the Kansas City Royals needed a victory Thursday afternoon against the Tigers — if for no other reason than to at least regain some momentum after three straight losses.
It didn’t work out that way … and to make matters worse, the Royals dropped a 10-9 walkoff heartbreaker to close out their three-game series at Comerica Park.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “They battled and had a lot of good at-bats. Put some balls in play hard and they beat us.”
Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg took the loss. Called upon to close out a KC victory, the Royals leading 9-7, the veteran right-hander instead gave up a leadoff single to Gleyber Torres. And then walked Kevin McGonigle.
Erceg struck out Kerry Carpenter for one out and got catcher Dillon Dingler to line out to second.
But the Royals reliever was not so fortunate against Riley Greene, who doubled to right, driving in two to tie the game. Colt Keith singled to right to drive in Greene and end it.
“Personally, I just feel bad,” Erceg said after the blown save. “Just because, you know, I feel like our offense hasn’t been the best. In this game, it showed up and it was finally time to turn a corner. And I come out and blow a lead like that, lose the game. I feel like this loss is on me.”
It was a long afternoon that included rain delays and tarps. The stop-start contest found the Royals trailing 6-2 through six innings.
Then came a script-flipping inning that — for a while, anyway — had the Royals on the doorstep of avoiding a series sweep.
Designated hitter Salvador Perez capped a six-run seventh inning with a go-ahead three run homer for Kansas City. It was Perez’s 306th career homer and the team captain is now just 11 shy of tying Hall of Famer George Brett’s franchise record.
Perez finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs. He snapped an 0-for-22 skid with runners in scoring position with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
“Just trying to do my job,” Perez said. “Every time I step to home plate, I know my job and I’m super aggressive. Everybody knows that. I’m just trying to do my job and help my team to win.”
The Royals (7-12) have needed that kind of offensive production. Prior to the seventh, KC had scratched across just two runs against Tigers right-handed starter Keider Montero.
Montero ran out of gas late. The Royals chased him from the game after Jac Caglianone’s RBI single. From there, KC’s bats did damage against Detroit relievers Drew Anderson and Tyler Holton.
“There were a lot of positives offensively,” Quatraro said. “Obviously, the big inning, but we chipped away earlier than that. You know, got it back to 6-2 and adding on the extra run. But yeah, there were great at-bats throughout that seventh inning.”
Caglianone finished 1-for-4 but recorded an outfield assist by throwing out Dingler in the fourth inning. Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. hit RBI singles. And five Royals drove in runs.
The Tigers scored once in the bottom of the seventh. Royals reliever Nick Mears gave up a run, but was bailed out by a sliding catch from Kyle Isbel.
The Royals got that run back on Vinnie Pasquantino’s solo homer in the top of the ninth. Another bright spot: Daniel Lynch IV pitched a scoreless eighth before Erceg came on for the fateful ninth.
“The pitching staff has picked us up all year, keeping games close,” Pasquantino said. “Without them being so good, they aren’t as close. So it’s almost like we haven’t been able to put together a full game yet.”
The Tigers improved to 10-9. The Royals, meanwhile, fell to 34-24 in series finales dating to the 2025 season.
“We’ve just got to keep going,” Pasquantino said. “Focus now shifts to tomorrow night’s game.”
What’s next: Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (2-0, 0.43 ERA) will start on Friday night against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He will oppose Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler (2-1, 2.49 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. Central Time.
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