Detroit Tigers bounce back with 9-4 win against Kansas City Royals; Game thread recap
Detroit Tigers (31-41) vs. Kansas City Royals (20-53)
When: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, series finale.
Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1 in Detroit; Tigers radio affiliates).
Probable pitchers: Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd (4-5, 5.60 ERA) vs. Royals RHP Brady Singer (4-6, 6.63).
Tigers lineup:
SS Javier Báez
3B Nick Maton
LF Andy Ibáñez
2B Zack Short
THURSDAY'S VICTORY: Matthew Boyd bounces back, Spencer Torkelson delivers in Detroit Tigers' 8-4 win vs. Twins
Game notes: OK, who broke Brady Singer? The K.C. righty, who went 18th in the 2018 draft (17 picks after the Tigers took Casey Mize) out of Florida, appeared to be ready for a breakout season after posting a 3.23 ERA with 150 strikeouts and 35 walks over 153⅓ innings last season. Instead, he’s been one of MLB’s worst starters, with a 6.33 ERA — despite striking out 65 in 69⅔ innings. True, his walks are up, with 28 already in 14 starts. But his FIP — an ERA-like stat that attempts to measure how well a pitcher is controlling the things he can control (walks, strikeouts, homers) — is just 4.47. So what’s the deal? There are at least a couple of answers.
No. 1: He has been moderately unlucky, at least in pitching terms. Singer is allowing a .354 batting average on balls in play (aka, BABIP). That’s … not good. The MLB average is .297, with the St. Louis Cardinals — who, we’ll note, have been gawdawful on defense — ranking last at .328 and the Tampa Bay Rays (who field pretty well everywhere) ranking first, at .271. If that .354 for Singer holds up, it’d tie for the 11th-worst BABIP in AL or NL history among starting pitchers qualified for the ERA title. (Though Singer is just below the innings bar right now, thanks to several short starts, such as his May 22 outing against the Tigers in which he gave up five runs in just 3 2/3 innings.) But it’s not all on his defense, or random balls falling in for hits.
No. 2: Singer has also been hit hard. A LOT. He’s allowing hard contact (defined as an exit velocity of 95 mph or more) on 55.9% of his balls in play, No. 2 in MLB. (His total of hard-hit balls, 124, ranks fourth; slightly behind San Francisco’s Logan Webb at 126 and slightly ahead of Arizona’s Zac Gallen at 114, but their hard-hit percentages are in the mid-40s.) To put that 55.9% in perspective: Tigers reliever Rony Garcia led all MLB pitchers last season in hard-hit percentage — at 51.1%. Just three other qualified pitchers in the Statcast era (dating back to 2015) have posted a hard-hit percentage at 55% or higher: Toronto’s Nate Pearson (56.7%) this season, Minnesota’s Randy Dobnak (55.6%) in 2021 and Cincinnati’s Nate Jones (56.4%) in 2020.
The Tigers, meanwhile, will send Matthew Boyd to the mound; he has a similar schism between his ERA and FIP — 5.60 and 4.57, respectively — suggesting a bit of unluckiness, too. But his BABIP is just .295, while his hard-hit percentage is a manageable 34.4%. Boyd has a rough ERA from his past against the Royals, coming in at 5.32 over 135 1/3 innings. But against hitters still on the roster, he’s doing better, with a .613 OPS allowed. He’ll have to watch out for Salvy Perez, who has two career homers off the lefty — but that’s in 48 plate appearances.
After today’s matinee, the Tigers get a day off at home to rest up for a rematch with the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins — yes, they’re still hovering around .500 — beginning Friday night. The Royals, meanwhile, continue east for a four-game set against the MLB-best Rays. Ouch.
TIGERS NEWSLETTER: Why opening acts are all the rage around MLB
Live updates
Can't see the chatter? Refresh the page or check it out on Twitter.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers bounce back with 9-4 win against Kansas City Royals
