Royals 4, Tigers 3
Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Justin Verlander in the sixth inning as host Kansas City rebounded from a humiliating loss to even the three-game series.
Emilio Bonifacio and Alcides Escobar added RBI singles for the Royals, who gave up 26 hits and lost 16-2 in Friday’s series opener. Wade Davis (7-10) walked home a run in the fifth that was charged to starter Danny Duffy and two relievers bridged the gap to Greg Holland, who tossed a perfect ninth for his 39th save.
Verlander (12-11) fell to 0-3 in five outings against Kansas City this season after yielding four runs and eight hits over seven frames. Miguel Cabrera drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers, whose lead over Cleveland in the American League Central dropped to 5 1/2 games. The Royals climbed within 3 1/2 of Tampa Bay for the second wild-card spot.
Austin Jackson drew a leadoff walk and scored on Prince Fielder’s line-drive base hit to shallow right in the first before Bonifacio’s two-out bunt single plated Escobar in the third. Duffy walked the bases loaded with one out in the fifth and Cabrera drew a free pass from Davis after falling behind 0-2 in the count to restore Detroit's lead.
Kansas City got back the run in the bottom half as Jarrod Dyson drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on Escobar's single. Perez put the Royals ahead for good when he hammered a low 1-0 fastball from Verlander over the fence in left-center.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit LF Nick Castellanos - the team’s top prospect - made his first career start and went 1-for-2, delivering an infield single and scoring on Cabrera’s bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning. … Royals DH Billy Butler singled in three at-bats against Verlander but is still 7-for-12 against the six-time All-Star this season. … Jackson went 1-for-3 and is batting .406 (13-for-32) with seven RBIs during his eight-game hitting streak.