Royals belt four homers, win slugfest vs. Tigers
DETROIT -- Salvador Perez, Cheslor Cuthbert, Raul Mondesi and Alex Gordon each hit a home run and the Kansas City Royals pounded out 19 hits Sunday in a 12-9 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Detroit entered the day a half-game behind Baltimore for the American League's second wild card but struggled right out of the chute.
Kansas City had hit for the cycle four batters into the game and when Paulo Orlando singled, it drove starter Matt Boyd (6-5) from the game without retiring a batter.
The Tigers made it interesting as the game wound down, rallying for two runs off Kevin Herrera in the eighth inning. A sacrifice fly by J.D. Martinez made it 11-8 and the Royals' setup man's wild pitch plated another run before getting Erick Aybar on a groundout to strand a runner at third.
Royals closer Wade Davis notched his 26th save, although he had to strand runners at first and third with one out to do it.
Jordan Zimmermann, making just his third appearance since June 30, gave up an RBI single to Mondesi in the ninth to expand Kansas City's lead to 12-9.
Victor Martinez hit a grand slam in the third inning, which briefly cut Detroit's deficit to 7-4. Singles by Ian Kinsler and Cameron Maybin plus a Cabrera walk in the third preceded Martinez's 27th home run of the season and fifth career grand slam.
The Royals pounced on the Tigers' fourth pitcher, Shane Greene, for two more runs in the fourth to get the margin back to 9-4. Kendrys Morales had an RBI single and scored on a two-out double to deep right center by Gordon, who also hit a two-run home run in the sixth, his 17th, to make it 11-4 as Kansas City worked over six Detroit pitchers.
Maybin tripled with one out in the fourth for Detroit and scored on a groundout to second by Miguel Cabrera, who now has 95 RBIs, to make it 9-5.
Edinson Volquez got out just two of the nine batters he faced in the third. Peter Moylan relieved and ended the inning with one pitch -- a squeeze try by Andrew Romine that he mistakenly bunted right back to the pitcher for an easy force at home.
Dillon Gee (8-9), the third Kansas City pitcher, picked up the win although he allowed two runs on four hits over 2 2/3 innings.
Billy Burns singled, Whit Merrifield tripled, Morales doubled and Perez hit his 22nd home run to give Kansas City the cycle and a 4-0 lead with the game four batters old.
Orlando led off the third with a single and scored on Cuthbert's 11th home run, which came off Anibal Sanchez. Mondesi followed by hitting a cookie for his second home run of the year.
Brian Flynn, the fourth Royals' pitcher, wild-pitched home a run with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth to make it 11-6, Justin Upton hit his 28th home run off Joakim Soria leading off the seventh to reduce the margin to 11-7.
NOTES: Detroit SS Jose Iglesias, a native of Cuba clearly distraught over the death of Miami RHP Jose Fernandez, was scratched from the starting lineup Sunday by manager Brad Ausmus. ... Tigers 3B Casey McGehee, a former teammate of Fernandez's, was also distraught over the pitcher's death. "The tough part for me is having to tell my son (Mack, who has cerebral palsy). Jose had a real feel for him. They had a special bond." ... Kansas City 1B Eric Hosmer, who reached 100 RBIs for the first time in his career Saturday, was not in the starting lineup Sunday. "He's had one day off all year long," manager Ned Yost said. "It's a perfect day for it. Got a tough lefty on the mound."