Tigers fail to protect 3-1 lead, lose to Royals on walk-off single

Count Friday night as a continuation of the test. Maybe an intensification of it.

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The Tigers lost a 3-1 lead in the span of three hitters in the bottom of the eighth and then were walked off with two outs in the ninth — dropping their fourth straight, 4-3 to the Kansas City Royals.

“We didn’t finish the game,” said Hinch, whose team falls three games under .500 (18-21). “Credit (the Royals) for staying in there and then the bottom of their order, with two out and nobody on, they scratch their way to a win. It’s a tough loss. It was in our grasp, but we didn’t do enough.”

Kyle Finnegan, who had allowed just one run this season in 17.2 innings, gave up a double to Michael Massey and an RBI single by Kyle Isbel to make it 3-2. Isbel’s ball got by right-fielder Wenceel Perez and rolled all the way to the track.

Isbell stopped at third and scored the tying run on a single by Maikel Garcia

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“It’s a mistake,” Hinch said. “But the batter-runner (Isbel) was the bigger deal. With him on first, they’ve got to do a lot to get him into scoring position and then across the plate.”

Finnegan left after walking Bobby Witt, Jr.. Lefty Brant Hurter took over and kept the game tied. He got Vinnie Pasquantino to ground into a 3-6-1 double-play, scampering over to cover first.

BOX SCORE: Royals 4, Tigers 3

Hinch had Kenley Jansen warming but the Royals had a pocket of left-handed hitters due up in the ninth so he stuck with Hurter.

After getting the first two outs, Hurter left a sinker up to right-handed pinch-hitter Nick Loftin and he drove it into the left-center gap for a double. Isbel, a left-handed hitter was next. Lefties were 2-for-31 against Hurter coming into the game.

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Hurter jammed him with a sinker. Isbel fought it off and snuck it (67-mph exit velocity) through the left side of the infield for the game-winning single.

“I shouldn’t have given up the double,” Hurter said. “It was supposed to be a sinker in and I missed away and he put a good swing on it. That base hit (by Isbel), I’m more concerned about the double. If he’s not on, that single isn’t an issue.”

So the frustration mounts. The Tigers were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Zach McKinstry led off the top of the ninth with a double and he never moved. In the top of the eighth, Isbel made two superb catches on drives by Perez and Torkelson.

And then to lose on a seeing-eye single.

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“That’s baseball,” said Torkelson, who doubled in a run in the Tigers’ two-run sixth inning. “We got good pitches to hit, put good swings on them and they made good plays. You tip your cap. We’re going to get those jam-jobs and cap singles, too. It’s part of the game.”

It comes down to winning battles, though. And the Royals won more of them.

“You want to keep giving yourself as many opportunities as you can,” Hinch said. “And in a game like this, if you can just inch away a little bit, it gives you a little bit of breathing room so the back-to-back hits is no pressure. The two-out double is no pressure. But they won those battles.

“As much as we’re happy with Hurter working through the eighth and Tyler Holton working through his inning (the seventh), you’ve got to win the at-bats and their side one the at-bats on the pitching side with runners in scoring position. It was the difference in the game.”

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The Royals were 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

“I haven’t felt it in the locker room,” Hurter said when asked if all the injuries and losses are starting to take a toll. “Just some tough breaks. We are going to be fine with it and we’re going to come back strong. I don’t think there’s any pressing or anything like that.”

Keider Montero put the Tigers were in position to win with another stout pitching performance. He pounded the strike zone and generated a lot of early contact from the Royals hitters. He worked efficiently through six innings on 71 pitches, yielding three hits and one run.

“Just trying to be aggressive and trying to make them get themselves out with early contact,” he said through interpreter Carlos Guillen. “When I can do that, I can pitch deeper into the game. That’s been super positive for me. And of course, I trust the guys behind me to make plays.”

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The Tigers broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth and it took a bit of derring-do from third base coach Joey Cora to do it.

With two outs and catcher Dillon Dingler on first, Perez lined a ball in the left-center field gap. Centerfielder Isbel did a good job cutting the ball off and got it to cutoff man Witt, Jr.,

Cora continued to wave Dingler home. Witt didn’t get a great grip on the ball but his throw still got to the plate well ahead of Dingler. But catcher Carter Jensen lost the ball as he tried to apply the tag.

That ended the night for Bubic and Torkelson greeted reliever Nick Mears with an RBI double.

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“I think our at-bats were great,” Torkelson said. “We were swinging at good pitches. We weren’t leaving the zone. We need to take the positives out of it and the hits will follow.”

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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers lost to the Kansas City Royals in the opener Friday